Social impact entertainment
Social Impact Entertainment (SIE) is "all storytelling that is self-aware of its potential impact on its audiences and incorporates that knowledge to effect positive change at the individual, local, or global scale on one or more social issues", as defined by the SIE Society.[2][3]
The practitioners in this field are predominately producers and directors who want to add a "social surplus" to their entertainment, as contrasted to the field of
The topic is explored in the book, The Power of Storytelling: Social Impact Entertainment written by Robert Rippberger.[5]
Overview
A focus in the field is the study of actual effects (impact measurement), while the predominant interest is still to create entertaining, profitable content and work within the ecosystem of commercial film production and distribution. A common theme in the field of SIE is that mainstream film production companies employ so-called "Impact Producers" who specialize in impact-oriented distribution campaigns which can often include community screenings, screenings for legislators as well as impact measurement and evidence-building.
Unlike many other aspects of the mainstream entertainment industry, SIE tries to be scientific at times in its decision-making and frameworks; most notably building upon the work of
Current Landscape
The most comprehensive overview over the field of Social Impact Entertainment, a report titled "The State of SIE", was published in March 2019 by the Skoll Center for SIE;[7] it features sections such as "What is SIE", applications in narrative film, documentary film, theater, television, and "emerging forms". Similar to the "Cinema of Change Ecosystem", the State of SIE report features a "SIE Map", a mindmap-like structure that gives an overview of the field and its pioneers, participants and products. The report purposefully does not define the field of SIE.[8]
Cinema of Change, a magazine and podcast dedicated to the field, reports on progress in the Social Impact Entertainment world since 2014. Currently, there are approximately 130 organizations, companies and film festivals operating in the Ecosystem,
Social impact entertainment is taught at a few universities and has taken foot with a handful of institutes, most notably
The Producers Guild of America launched its own initiative in the summer of 2018 - the PGA SIETF (Producers Guild of America Social Impact Entertainment Task Force). The task force concentrates on educating the PGA membership in impact matters as well as organizing interdisciplinary events for producers working with impact-oriented projects in the fields of film, television, gaming and interactive media.[14] During the PGA's flagship Produced By conference in 2019, the SIETF hosted a sold-out panel featuring Michael B. Jordan and impact producers, focusing exclusively on Social Impact Entertainment.[15]
SIE has a different approach to generating impact when compared to Social and behavior change communication (SBCC), namely putting story and characters first, and shaping the impact around an existing intellectual property - rather than creating it from scratch for the sole purpose of impact.
See also
- SBCC (Social Behavior Change Communication)
- The Power of Storytelling: Social Impact Entertainment — Book
- David Poindexter
- Educational entertainment
- Entertainment-Education
- Jeffrey Skoll
- Participant Media
- Miguel Sabido
- Population Media Center
- Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment
- Sonny Fox
References
- ^ "Social Impact Entertainment". Prodigium Pictures. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
- ^ "Getting Started". SIE Society. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
- ^ "SIE 101 Resources". SIE Society. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
- ^ "Entertainment-Education". PCI Media Impact. 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ^ "The Power of Storytelling".
- ^ "Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)". The State of SIE 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ "state of sie". UCLA School of TFT. 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ "Peter Bisanz: The State of Social Impact Entertainment (SIE)". The State of SIE Report. 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ "The Cinema of Change Ecosystem". www.cinemaofchange.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
- ISBN 9781412813747.
- ^ "About". SIE Society. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
- ^ "SIE Society Launches with an Alliance of Entertainment Industry Elite, Universities and Impact Thought Leaders". PRWeb. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
- ^ "Teri Schwartz: Welcome note — The State of SIE". The State of SIE Report. 2019-02-18. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ "COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT - Counsel With A Conscience: Social Impact Entertainment Gives PGA Members A New Way To Make A Difference - Producers Guild of America". www.producersguild.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (2019-06-08). "Michael B. Jordan Talks 'All About the Heart' Approach to Making Inclusive Films". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-22.