To European Union with a telenovel

Dorota Piontek

Referendum on the access of Poland to the European Union was such an event that its result had then and still has far-reaching consequences for Polish society in all spheres of its functioning. Advocates of a positive conclusion of the referendum, besides free of charge air time (similarly to the opponents) had at their disposal an extremely powerful tool - support of media elites, which independently from politicians, more or less discreetly, encouraged to saying "yes". The importance of telenovels in the area at issue does not consist in immediate, hasty propagating of a certain political option, party or coalition. They do not persuade to voting for any of electoral rolls.

However, they may, due to strong identification of viewers with a system of values presented therein, play an important role in political socialization. They may also be an important tool in running a campaign in support of current political and social issues.

KEYWORDS

telenovel, referendum, European Union, public opinion