Lepore (“It’s Spreading”)
Film and television have been regarded as powerful tools that spread health information as well as enlighten the society on the importance of public health. The creative abilities of producers of this health programs engage the public enabling the conveyance of the health information to the public. As HIV/AIDs started spreading in the world in the late 1990s and early 2000s the story of the disease was captured in the American soap opera, “The bold and the Beautiful” presenting one of the character to have acquired HIV.
On revelation that the patient had indeed been diagnosed with HIV there were reactions and increased awareness on the pandemic. Relayed in episodes, the programme presented the development of HIV from the day the character acquired the disease, his diagnosis, revelation to his fiancé and later the reaction from the rest of the cast.
Though the aim of the program was to increase awareness as well as entertain the views since it was a soap opera. Public outreach measures that the film served to address served their purpose as in one of the episodes of the film McStuffins by Disney Junior, the audience after being made aware of the various issues through a lady doctor and mother to an African-American girl increased the number of views as its popularity among the African American female doctors who had children watch the program.
In a similar show, Numbers an episode relaying an exercise of organ donation, one of the characters amazed the enter cast by changing his mind and agreeing to donate his organ for the sake of the message he received with regard to the message the film intended to portray. As if that is not enough, majority of the audience were more willing to donate their organs after watching the scenes from the film. The viewers of the episode are seen as convinced and changed their view on organ donation viewing it as a more important act while at the same time more willing to convince others to participate in organ donation.
The impact of the advertisement against AIDs is greatly portrayed in the film the bold and the beautiful. Due to the fact that the film was programmed at the initial stages of the spread the disease led to more research on the menace of the disease, it also resulted to increased awareness and enhanced protective measures of handling the disease.