Broadcasters block Asian health soap opera
BMJ 2003; 326 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.326.7380.110 (Published 11 January 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;326:110
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Dear Editor,
I feel that the producers of, 'Kismet Road' the multicultural 13 part
Soap fail in their aspiration to the Reithian Principles of 'educate,
entertain and inform'.
Indeed, a series featuring (a presumably white), 'hapless consultant'
who 'offends his patients by calling them' you people'', merely reinforces
a vision of the NHS as institutionally racist and disinterested in the
heathcare needs of minorities. Hardly a strategy to have the health
disenfranchised banging on the door for primary prevention or indeed to
'help the BBC improve interracial harmonies.'
It is an insult to the intelligence of UK minorities to attempt to
indoctrinate with hidden healthcare messages and perform social
engineering by soap opera. Focus groups felt an initial attempt, 'Zara
Dhyan Dian' [just a minute], to be 'too medical', suggesting the 'medical
message' was overt and unambiguous.
Isn't it slightly sinister to engineer hidden medical messages within
an entertaining soap, whatever the level of its production values, and
whoever the audience?
Steven Taylor
Competing interests:
Dr Taylor could not fit his 28" TV into his tiny hospital on-call room in 1998, and has not owned a set since.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Soap Hopes
Dr Taylor is too nice, if he thinks this is 'social engineering' and
unfair to the minority communities - remember the origins of the Archers,
and the fact that the BBC (and others) do many similar things, including
an Afghanistani version on the World service, and I am sure many others in
South Asia. Indeed, many 'focus groups' (such as those I am currently
analysing in connection with colorectal cancer screening) from the Asian
(and other minority) communities do suggest the value of such narrative
approaches in health promotion, the role of MTV and ZTV, Sunrise radio
(and other 'minority' media channels) etc to reach their members.
Are all 'soaps' for the 'white'/majority community free of such
product placement by Government agencies, HDA etc, and free from lobbying?
Incidentally, the 'stereotypical' consultant turns out to be very
sensitively and humorously depicted, and in the later episodes, had
clearly learned from his embarassment so that is a good thing - post-
modern irony, maybe?
Competing interests:
Mark Johnson has been collaborating with the Kismet Road team in their search for ways to develop this vehicle
Competing interests: No competing interests