Soapbox

* I just read “Entertained Into Social Change” (April 24), about the production of soap operas in First World countries like Germany to “spread democratic values” to Third World areas like China, Brazil, Latin America and Africa. I’m all for providing entertainment that passes on valuable empirical information about birth control or AIDS prevention, but I cringe at the idea of soap operas being used to plant hopes of fashion stardom in Latina girls if only they’ll learn to read, write and sew. The subsequent increase in local sewing machine sales suggests to me that more girls will end up in garment sweatshops than in their own boutique on Park Avenue.

Using soap operas to “subliminally encourage public donations to international relief efforts” or to “get across that the birth of a girl child is equal cause for celebration as the birth of a boy” is to engage in cultural imperialism. Who appointed the First World as the moral mentor of the Third? How can we expect poorly educated people to differentiate between entertainment and propaganda?

BARRY BATES

Huntington Beach