HomeShop at BookSurgeJuvenile FictionSocial IssuesFriendshipOut of the Darkness of Centuries: A forty five year odyssey to discover the use of mass media for human betterment |
|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Leading family planning media expert offers vital how-to textbook Oct 27, 2009
Having known Dr. Poindexter for almost the full 40 years of my involvement in family planning, I am personally aware of how important his work has been in fostering family planning media expansion. Thus, it was a particular pleasure for me to learn that he has committed his sage advice to future generations involved in this field with his writing and publication of an important new book, "Out of the Darkness of Centuries" .
The timing of this book's availability could not be better since the Internet revolution is, as Thomas Friedman has explained, making the world flat. I would say more flat than it has been, but certainly not by any means meeting the needs of so many, especially women, trapped by the horrors so vividly described in their seminal book, "Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristoff and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn.
The main point therefore remains. Poindexter's starting place in bringing media messages of education and enlightenment to dark places where it still remains can change lives and hence whole societies. Even in countries such as Somalia where women are virtual prisoners to a male culture which genitally cuts, poorly educates and totally disregards the basic human rights of women, the sunshine of knowledge can now more often seep through the Iron Curtain of Ignorance in too many places to not keep brave strong women such such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of "Infidel" from breaking out and then helping by their examples other women do the same.
Three things can perhaps save our plundered planet. Women's emancipation, aided and abetted by the kind of programing Poindexter knows how to provide, and the growing fear of the part of the power elite that failure to do so may well be not only bad for their businesses, but so destructive as to ruin their precious and increasingly precarious hegemony. Better yet, many men already realize, as women take more and more postions of leadership in many nations, the sheer sensibility and profitability of enhancing their freedoms and skills, outside their traditional roles.
As the product description tells the reader, "Out of the Darkness of Centuries by David O. Poindexter brings an authoritative voice to the subjects of mass communications, overpopulation, empowerment of women, and entertainment-education."
I personally observed the effective work which Poindexter accomplished for example in bringing family planning messages to American TV by persuading leading producers such as Norman Lear to create family planning awareness on such powerful shows as "Maude", starring Bea Arthur. He then moved decisively to go internationally with his work. The point is not overstated to characterize him as a leading pioneer in the area of entertainment-education, uniquely qualified to guide the reader through his subject's rich history, from 1958 through to the present day.
Readers will find as I did the history lesson of "Out of the Darkness of Centuries" underscores the fact that in the competitive world of commercial broadcasting, education-entertainment can deliver an unprecedented social benefit and at the same time maintain ratings, market share, and sales.
The author has used all his professional communication skills in his efforts to guide others through the trial-and-error process whereby entertainment-education methodology was transferred for application in a number of countries worldwide. In writing for scholars and those working in international development, Dr. Poindexter has provided us with an indispensable resource for any student of mass communication. Likely, this will prove a must have text for professionals in the field, including those in academe and those whose work takes them to far places where media can make such a profound difference.
About the reviewer: A founding board member of the Guttmacher Institute, Advocates for Youth, Family Health International, Ipas, and International Services Assistance Fund, Collins has recently returned from family planning studies in Ghana, Zambia, Egypt and Ethiopia. He writes often for various publications on the issue of family planning and the need for expanding human rights for women.
|
| | |
|
|
