Entertainment Meets Awareness! This Mumbai-Based Startup Uses Media To Encourage Social Change

India holds two things dear when it comes to entertainment, movies and cricket. The content shapes a society like ours we consume daily, be it movies, TV shows, or the like. The glitz and glamour on the screen transport us to a world where everything is possible.

In recent decades, the media's engaging nature has increased. Our content is bridging the gap between its characters and their audience by incorporating realistic topics for storytelling. It fulfils its primary aim of being the mirror of society, reflecting its nitty-gritty.

Therefore, civil entertainment has become the norm. Using pop culture references, today's media content helps make the world a better place by raising awareness about topics that facilitate social change. A Mumbai-based media company is doing just that. Named 'Civic Studios', it uses humour to influence young Indian minds and strengthen our democracy in the best way possible.

Engaging, Inspiring And Entertaining

Our society is highly impressionable. Several movies and stories have an immense influence on the audience, both positive and negative. For Civic Studios, it became the perfect platform to work on. Speaking to The Logical Indian, the team did a study called 'Crime and Punishment In Indian Entertainment', which proved that movies like 'Jolly LLB 2' and shows like 'Criminal Justice' restored the public's faith in the country's judicial system.

"Media entertainment such as movies, plays, web series, has been key in influencing how people think and act. A good story can attract latent issues, create awareness of rights and duties, and model exemplary actions to help 'fix the system'. Through our media production activities, we aim to build bridges between citizens, government and public institutions, and in turn, help strengthen the democracy we live in," said the Civic Studios team.

Research To Execution - Seamless Process

The Civic Studios' content creation process is thorough and effective from research to execution. The team explains, "Our content creation is a multi-staged process involving Research, Message Design, Concept and Scripting, Production and Distribution, Audience Testing and, finally, Campaign and Advocacy."

For each topic, the company researches topics based on current affairs or issues that deserve to be told. Along with that, a target audience is conceptualised that will benefit from the information provided. "We introduce our audiences to new concepts and find a light-hearted way to simplify daunting conversations, such as the importance of data privacy," Civic Studios told The Logical Indian.

The company launched its YouTube channel, Pocket Change, a year ago. It shares comedy sketches, family dramedies, police comedies, news shows, etc., that make such topics more accessible. "Through our channel, we specifically target Indian youth in the age group of 18-35 across tier 1 and tier 2 cities," the team says. Their recent video touched upon voter awareness ahead of the ongoing assembly elections. "Since January 2021, we are using innovative shoot formats to create content for the ongoing state elections to inform audiences about accessing information regarding the candidates, hold them accountable for their promises and become informed and empowered voters," they add.

'Stories That Change The World'

Civic Studios does not hesitate to answer uncomfortable questions that linger in our society with their content. During COVID-19, they adapted to the 'new normal' and used it to their advantage to create videos that addressed topics such as vaccine hesitancy. Their recent content also touched upon sensitive issues such as domestic violence that rose during the pandemic.

Civic Studios explains, "We carried out extensive research on domestic violence in the pandemic and created an informative video around how victims of domestic violence could reach out for help and find support in the lockdown."

The current world has witnessed a change in how we consume our content. Many creators are inventive storytelling techniques to touch upon topics like intercaste relationships, LGBTQIA+ stories, women-led content and many more. While the effort is admirable, there is still a long way to go to provide practical solutions to existing problems.

Therefore, Civic Studios use media to tell stories that will change the world. "there is a lot of content highlighting problems, but there is not enough focus on solutions and practical actions we can take as citizens. This is a gap that we aspire to fill. it's important for these stories to be treated with sensitivity and to go beyond the general tokenistic representation on screen."

To conclude, the media company is proving successful in their endeavour. In light of this, Civic Studios want to continue bringing untold narratives to the fore and telling exciting stories that strike a chord.

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