The Telenovela Remixed: Hacking a TV Genre to Promote Sexual Health
Background/Objectives:
Imported telenovelas are the most popular TV genre across Africa. Broadcasters license them at low cost, while audiences are drawn to their high production values and dramatic storylines. Unfortunately, many of these shows demonstrate harmful social norms. Telenovelas CAN be a force for social good but for most SBCC practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa, they are cost-prohibitive to produce. In a low-cost experiment, Peripheral Vision International (PVI) remixed a Venezuelan telenovela (rescripting, recutting, redubbing and retitling the original) to create an altogether different storyline from the original - one which models positive gender norms and promotes sexual health. (Click here to view the trailer.)
Results/Lessons Learned:
We are inventing a new genre with the telenovela remix, and intend to learn through research and adaptation how to perfect the formula in the coming years. Thus far, formative research shaped the development of the first season of Love & Wealth. Prototype tests both validated our assumptions about this new genre and informed the production approach currently underway. PVI is also working with a team of scholarly researchers to design an evaluation of the series upon its launch in early 2020. While the impact has yet to be measured, the project demonstrates that more can be created with less when SBCC practitioners think outside the box, carefully monitor media consumption trends and are willing to experiment, prototype and iterate.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
Broadcast television, usually dismissed for its high cost and limited reach, is an emerging area for producers of SBCC to target. Specifically, with the move from analog to digital broadcast, TV stations in Sub-Saharan Africa are more plentiful than ever and hungry for content. Their budgets, however, don't permit them to produce high-quality content. With the Telenovela Remix, there is potential to bridge that gap by creating high-quality educational entertainment on low budgets but with a large scale.
Abstract submitted by:
Gosia Lukomska - Peripheral Vision International
Paul Falzone - Peripheral Vision International
Imported telenovelas are the most popular TV genre across Africa. Broadcasters license them at low cost, while audiences are drawn to their high production values and dramatic storylines. Unfortunately, many of these shows demonstrate harmful social norms. Telenovelas CAN be a force for social good but for most SBCC practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa, they are cost-prohibitive to produce. In a low-cost experiment, Peripheral Vision International (PVI) remixed a Venezuelan telenovela (rescripting, recutting, redubbing and retitling the original) to create an altogether different storyline from the original - one which models positive gender norms and promotes sexual health. (Click here to view the trailer.)
Results/Lessons Learned:
We are inventing a new genre with the telenovela remix, and intend to learn through research and adaptation how to perfect the formula in the coming years. Thus far, formative research shaped the development of the first season of Love & Wealth. Prototype tests both validated our assumptions about this new genre and informed the production approach currently underway. PVI is also working with a team of scholarly researchers to design an evaluation of the series upon its launch in early 2020. While the impact has yet to be measured, the project demonstrates that more can be created with less when SBCC practitioners think outside the box, carefully monitor media consumption trends and are willing to experiment, prototype and iterate.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
Broadcast television, usually dismissed for its high cost and limited reach, is an emerging area for producers of SBCC to target. Specifically, with the move from analog to digital broadcast, TV stations in Sub-Saharan Africa are more plentiful than ever and hungry for content. Their budgets, however, don't permit them to produce high-quality content. With the Telenovela Remix, there is potential to bridge that gap by creating high-quality educational entertainment on low budgets but with a large scale.
Abstract submitted by:
Gosia Lukomska - Peripheral Vision International
Paul Falzone - Peripheral Vision International
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: Peripheral Vision International
