Section 1 - ANALYSING THE PURPOSE AND IMPACT OF SOCIAL ACTION DOCUMENTARIES
I will be outlining the purpose and impact of social action and community media productions; to do so I will be using multiple examples.
What does 'Social Action' mean?
- Refers to an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals
Social Action media projects are ones which aim to promote a certain topic to people. This could be on a local, national or international scale.
- Local - ‘Relating or restricted to a particular area or one's neighbourhood.
- National - ‘Relating to or typical of a whole country and its people, rather than to part of that country or to other countries’
- International - ’Between or involving different countries’
The subject being explored may only affect certain communities or it could have an international effect. Commonly these types of things are created with the intention to inform others and potentially change/shape the way they view a topic.
One of the best things, about Social Action productions, is often they are on topics that the majority of people would never be aware of.
Some of the most documented topics with examples are:
- Drug Abuse - Students On The Edge: Drug Dealing On Campus (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p06lny4q/students-on-the-edge-1-drug-dealing-on-campus)
- Gender - Can our kids go genderless? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5R2LWhTrY)
- Global Warming - Drowning In Plastic (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bmbn47)
- Sex Related - Stacey Dooley Investigates Mum Selling Their Kids (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpbyRI9XfcQ)
How can you carry out Social Action?
There are multiple ways of presenting a Social Action and various purposes of them. Some of the methods to deliver a Social Action project may be via:
What is the impact of social action and community media productions?
As you can see on the list I have listed a couple of documentaries which were presented by Stacey Dooley. Now she has presented so many, she has a high profile and therefore this immediately gives her a platform. Potentially meaning that the social action being explored will appeal to more people as they recognize her name. The more appeal then potentially a greater amount of people will view that production; resulting in that production impacting more of us.
Social Action Media productions can lead to:
Dove Campaign
A few years ago the personal care company Dove released a video about beauty and self-confidence. It essentially asked the question of:
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DdM-4siaQw
Charities that focus on a Social Action:
With many people investing money and time into certain topics, there are now a variety of charities whose aims are to raise awareness about social issues. Here are a few: - Crisis - Focuses on homelessness - NSPCC - Focuses on children - Samaritans - Focuses on suicide
- Full Length Documentary
- Live Stream
- Podcast
- Posters / Billboards
- Short Film
- Book
What is the purpose of Social Action and community media productions?
One purpose of Social Action productions is to raise awareness about a chosen topic and to inform the viewers.
For example the documentary ‘Stacey Dooley Investigates World's Worst Place to Be a Woman’, addresses the high rates in which females are murdered. As the viewer it informs us about what it is like to be a woman in Honduras, most people would not have been aware of this. It features exclusive interviews with victims of brutal violence from gangs and men. If it wasn’t for this documentary we would be clueless, having a production which informs us can keep us safe as well. The location of this documentary is highly dangerous and without extreme protection the average person could never visit.
The impact of the this documentary certainly is powerful. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, as the viewer you can’t help but to feel sorrow.
Personally, I felt that the intended audience of this documentary was women. In particularly women who reside in Britain because the presenter says: “In Britain today, young women like me, take basic rights for granted".
However, I feel that the documentary is also aimed at men. There may be some men who treat the women in their lives in a certain way and may not be aware that they could see it as abuse. Other purposes might include:
- Raise funds for that Social Issues
- To encourage people to discuss that Social Issue
- Take part in an activity e.g. Sponsored Run, Voting
What is the impact of social action and community media productions?
In the media industry there are massive production companies and then much smaller, independent ones. One of the most well known broadcasting companies is BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation), and has a wide following. Over the years a wide range of Social Action productions have been aired, especially on BBC One. To highlight the sheer amount of Social Action productions BBC has broadcasted, here is a list:
- Professor Green: Suicide & Me
- Drowning In Plastic
- Stacey Dooley Investigates Mum Selling Their Kids for Sex
- Stacey Dooley Investigates World's Worst Place to Be a Woman?
- The Truth About… Box Set
As you can see on the list I have listed a couple of documentaries which were presented by Stacey Dooley. Now she has presented so many, she has a high profile and therefore this immediately gives her a platform. Potentially meaning that the social action being explored will appeal to more people as they recognize her name. The more appeal then potentially a greater amount of people will view that production; resulting in that production impacting more of us.
Social Action Media productions can lead to:
- More people being aware of that topic
- Money being raised to help that cause
- A wider amount of people discussing that topic
Dove Campaign
A few years ago the personal care company Dove released a video about beauty and self-confidence. It essentially asked the question of:
‘Would you describe yourself as beautiful?’
In this video women across the world had to either walk through a door labelled ‘Average’ or the other which was labelled ‘Beautiful’.I feel this video was very effective and I definitely feel it aimed to encourage individuals to think better of themselves. Dove wants everybody to be aware of self-image and worth.
In this video women across the world had to either walk through a door labelled ‘Average’ or the other which was labelled ‘Beautiful’.I feel this video was very effective and I definitely feel it aimed to encourage individuals to think better of themselves. Dove wants everybody to be aware of self-image and worth.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DdM-4siaQw
With many people investing money and time into certain topics, there are now a variety of charities whose aims are to raise awareness about social issues. Here are a few: - Crisis - Focuses on homelessness - NSPCC - Focuses on children - Samaritans - Focuses on suicide
From all of my research I now have a better understanding of the purpose and impact of social action and community media productions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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