A health education in Top Shape - governing and communication strategies in the edutainment series of Top Shape

• Contemporary society is often described as a “learning society”, in which citizens are educated to reflect on and evaluate their well- being and lifestyles. In school, this is done through assessments: ratings and evaluations, in working life through staff appraisals and health evaluations, and in everyday life, media is used for self-assessments. Focus in this article is on the later. Mass media has become an increasingly common tool to produce and promote knowledge about health and lifestyle. In various edutainment programs experts and coaches supports participants to improve their lives in one way or another. In this article I will focus on the series “Toppform” (Top shape) broadcasted on Swedish television in 2008. Top Shape is one of the health and lifestyle TV- series that use coordinated communication channels to interact with its viewers. Parallel with the program being broadcasted on television, it is also represented with material on the Internet. This study focuses on the material that is represented on the website of the TV-series, which also contains material used for teaching in school settings. By that, the material constitutes an interesting encounter between entertainment, school education and public health education and is therefore fruitful to study from a perspective of health communication. I adopt a critical discourse analytic approach, in which power relations and the constitution of social practices are in focus.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Health education

media

governing

edutainment

discourse

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)