Great article on the impact and effect of fiction and other arts — a view of aesthetics and social change: “How We Deal with Disease” by Iman Kurdi —
“We learnt much more from seeing Mark Fowler on our screens every week than from reading hundreds of leaflets or seeing a public information film. Partly this is because when we are entertained, we are stimulated and this makes us more open to respond to what we are shown. Good fiction leads us to respond both emotionally and intellectually; there is a sense of intimacy. Particularly in long-running fiction like a soap opera, we feel involved, we don’t feel informed: We understand.
“Fiction is undoubtedly powerful in conveying a message to its audience.”
A Practical Policy 