Hum Log Story from Concept to After-Effects
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I ; I I Arvind Si~gh~' and Everett M. Rogers (1991). Hum Log Story; From Concept to After-Effects. ! Communication lOOOAD, New Delhi; Indian Institute of Mass Communications, pp. 17-25. HUM LOG STORY FROM CONCEPT \ TO AFTER-EFFECTS HUM WG represented nothing but a truly Indian lifestyle, wrote Abhinav Chaturvedi, who played the role of Nan he in Hum Log, in his personal diary, December 1985. HE purpose of the present Arvind Singhal On the other hand. entertainment article is to analyse India's Asslstant Professor at SCliool of interper- programmes like feature films and Texperience with Hum Lo g (We sonal Communlcat1on • College of television setials generall y obtain high People), a television soap opera which Communlcat1on. OhIo Unlverslty ~dience ratings, and hence are popular consciously auempted to combine and with commercial sponsors. So why not entertainment with education. We in- Everett M. Rogers use entertainment programmes to edu- vestigate the nature of the Walter H. Annenberg cate viewers? entertainment-education strategy in Professor of Communication. Annenberg This approach of combining en- SChool of Communlcat1on. Unlverslty of mass communication, and trace the South California tertainment with education toinfluence historical roots of Hum Log. viewers' attitudes and behaviours in a The reasons for Hum Log' spopu- socially desirable direction is called larity are'discussed, and the direct and theentertainment-education strategy in indirect effects of Hum Log are mass communication (Singhal. 1990). analyzed. Theentertainment -education strategy is highly versatile; it has been Historical roots utilized in television. radio, rock music, the print medium and theatre. While the roots of the entertainment-education strategy go The strategy back many thousand years to when storytelling originated. the first major A needless dichotomy exists in mass media experience with the almost all mass media content: That entertainment-education strategy mass media programmes must either occurred accidentally in 1969 with the be entertaining or educational (Singhal broadcast of the television soap opera and Rogers, 1989a; 1989b; 1989c). Simp/ememe Maria in Peru. National governments in many Third Simp/emente Maria told the rags- World countries often feel obliged to ((rriches story of Maria, a rural-urban produce educational programme for . migrant to Lima from the Andes Moun- broadcasting. Such programmes tains, who was employed as a maid in usually require a heavy investment. a rich urban household, and depicted in are perceived by audiences as relatively the television series as hardworldng, dull, and receive very low audience idealistic, and a positive role model for attention. Nor are such programmes upward mobility. Maria asked her popular with commercial employers for free time in the evening advertisers. to enrol ih adult literacy classes, and Communication 2000 AD 17 Silver Jubilee Commemorative Volume (199]), New Delhi: Indian Institute of ~l<lSS COTIununication. achieved a high socio-economic status against "bad", offering a unique soap operas for Televisa, each a spec- because of her sewing slcills with a opportunity to promote "good" tacular success (fable 1). Sabido's Singer sewing machine (Singhal and behaviour, and dissuade "bad" best-known soap operas are Ven Rogers, 1988). behaviour. Conmigo (Come with Me) and Simplemente Maria achieved very Acompaname (Accompany Me). high television ratings in Peru in 1%9, TABLEl Ven Conmigo promoted adult lit- and throughout Latin America. Miguel Sabklo's entertalnment-educatlon eracy in Mexico, which in 1975 had 80 Wherever Simplemente Maria was soap operas broadcast In Mexico lakh illiterate adults (about half of Mexico's labour force). Thesoapopera broadcast, housewives reported that Year Tille Theme young maids employed in their houses reinforced values of adult education, showed a sudden interest in learning 1. 1967 La Tormeflla The French self-teaching (encouraging illiterate (The Storm) invuion of adults to study), and social solidarity how to sew, and requested time in the Mexico evenings to participate in literacy 2. 1968 lAfCaJJdiJJos The Mexican (encouraging literate adults to help the classes. (The Leaden) struggle for illiterates to study). The Singer company astutely independence Ven Conmigo achieved average 3. 1969 La CoruliluciOfl Principles bought advertising time on (The Constitution) underlying the audience ratings of 33 per cent (higher Simplemente Maria. Sales of Singer drafting of than the average ratings for other soap sewing machines increased sharply, as Mexico's operas on Televisa), reaching an !llidi- coostinnion did the number of young women who 4. 1970 ElCarruaje Story of Benito ence of 40 1akhpeople just in the met- enrolled in sewing classes. In gratitude, (The Carriage) Juarez, a hero of ropolitan area of Mexico City. Between the Singer company presented Ms Saby Mexico's November 1975 and December 1976 freedom Kamalich, who played Maria. with a when Ven Conmigo was broadcast, small gold Singer sewing machine. 5. 1975-76 Veil Collntigo Adult educa- 8,39,943 illiterates enrolled in adult (Come With Me) tioo education classes in Mexico, 6. 1977-78 Acompaname FlIIIIily Sabido's so~p operas (Come Along planning representing more than nine times the With Me) number of enrolments of 1975, and Miguel Sabido, a brilliant writer- 7. 1979-80 Vamos JUIIlos Responsible twice the number of enrolments of 1977 (WbenWe Are parenthood (when Ven Conmigo was no longer producer 4rector at Televisa. the Mexi- Together) can national television system, closely 8. 1980 ElCombau Adult educa- broadcast) (TeIevisa's Institute for monitored the audience success of Sim- tioo and Co1TU7WllicationResearch, 1981). plemente Maria in Mexico. Sabido literacy Encouraged by the success of Ven 9. 1980-81 CamUwrtos Sexual respo- Conmigo in 1975-76, Sabido designed had previously produced, with a high (Let's Walk nsibility degree of audience success, four Together) amoog another entertainment-education soap historical-cultural soap operas for teenagen opera. Acompaname(Accompany Me), Televisa. Simplemente Maria's 10. 1981 Nosotras las SWUSlX which promoted family planning. MlIjuu (We the women audience popularity and ensuing effects Women) Broadcast by Televisa between August (such as encouraging young women to 11. 1981-82 PorAmor Family 19n and April 1978, Acompaname learn sewing) convinced Sabido that (For Love) planning was highly popular with Mexican the soap opera fonnat was ideally suited 12. 1990 Sangre JO'HII Family pI&nn- viewers, achieving average ratings of. (Young Blood) ing,AIDS, toperfonn an educational~evelopment drug abuse, 29 per cent (Rogers & AntoLa, 1985.) function in Mexican society. and teenage Soap operas were highly popular sexuality. 33% increase in Mexico, achieved spectacular SOfUCe:&lSed ill part all Tdevw'61IUlillilefor audience ratings,and commercial COnInIIUIicalioft RuetUcn (1981). The broadcasts of .4.companame sponsors were willing to underwrite were supported by the infrastructure of '" production costs. For four years, from 1970 to 1974, fami! y planning clinics of the Mexican ", Soap operas in Mexico typically Sabido' worked with his sister, Irene Health Services. The availability of reached viewers for half an hour five Sabido (also a television producer at such infrastructurn1 services is crucially days a week, for about one year, pro- Televisa), creating a methodology for important so that an individual viding massive exposure to an designing commercial soaP operas for motivated by television to perfonn a educational-development message. educational-development purposes. certain behaviour is not frustrated. The melodrama in soap operas Between 1975 'and 1982, Sabido pr0- When Acompaname was on the represented a ~nfrontation of "good" duced seven entertainment-education air, 5,62,464 Mexicans visited 18 Communication 2000 AD '~.:.. government family planning health his role in breeding the miracle wheat clinics in order to adopt contraceptives, varieties that set off the Green an increase of 33 per cent over the Revolution) and Dr M. S. previous year. Some 2,500 Mexican Swaminathan, India's top agricultural women registered as voluntary scientist, had a coffee break workers to help implement the conversation at a population Mexican National Plan for Family conference in Oslo, Norway. Planning, an idea promoted by Swaminathan expressed the Acompaname (Tele visa ,slnstitUlefor difficulties involved in implementing 1981). Co171l1WllicaiionResearch India's family planning programme. After Acompaname ended, Borlaug, who was familiar with Sabido produced several Poindexter's understanding of en tertainmen t-education telev ision Sabido's entertainment-education soap operas in Mexico until 1982, television soap operas in Mexico, each promoting a particular suggested that Swaminathan invite development theme (such as the stains Poindex ter to India in December 1981 of women, sexual responsibility for a forthcoming conference on the among teenagers, and child environment. development). While the Mexican experience with entertainment- Sabido's presentation education soap operas was highly successful, Sabido's soap opera Later in Septem her 1981 the topic methodology was unknown in other of the Mexican entertainment- countries. education television soap operas was And then, in 1984, came along put on the programme of the the Indian television soap opera Hum impressed by the idea of using International Institute of Log (We People), representing the