EPIX's America Divided

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EXPLORING CULTURE CHANGE THROUGH DOCUMENTARY
America Divided is a  groundbreaking documentary series that features celebrities such as Common and Norman Lear exploring stories that are meaningful to them personally. Broadcast on EPIX, the series worked with civic groups to host screenings and promoted discourse that inspired action among viewers nationwide. Our report looks at how groups organized and acted after viewings.

Read the report.

Can Films Change Behavior?

The Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project has developed an innovative new survey instrument that answers a question that has long preoccupied media researchers: Can films really change people’s behavior? Read our findings from a series of surveys on Participant Media properties that measured the impact of a film on viewers’ knowledge, beliefs and behavior.

TedxPhoenix

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CAN MOVIES REALLY CHANGE PEOPLE? In January 2011, Managing Director Johanna Blakley, PhD, joined speakers from around the world at TEDxPhoenix to explain the inner workings of a research study conducted by the Norman Lear Center and Participant Media that aimed to figure out if movies have true and lasting impact on viewers.

Watch the video.

Ask the Evaluator!

HOW DO WE KNOW...IF WHEELBARROWS WORK? In this series from Active Voice Lab! that explores real-world assessment of recent media projects, Johanna Blakley, PhD, elaborates on how media researchers figure out what kind of impact a fictional film has had on viewers’ awareness, knowledge, attitudes or behavior?

Read her blog post.
The Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project researches how entertainment and news influence our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and actions. We work with researchers, the film and TV industry, nonprofits, and news organizations, and share our research with the public. We are part of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.