Short films with social messages seem to be in vogue in Qatar these days. Centred mostly around the holy month of Ramadan, local issues are highlighted within a universal framework.

As with the film What Happens to our Children Before Iftar, which speaks about the dangers of rash driving, the film It’s 50°C argues for a greater awareness of human rights, especially needed in a country which plays host to a vast number of expatriates of all incomes and ethnic backgrounds.

The target audience for such films is invariably the youth, and with the vast developments in technology, usually such ventures can be experienced through a variety of platforms such as the computer or smartphone, in addition to the traditional television.

The movie, which makes a case for recognising the effort that labourers put into their work in the height of summer, recalls some of the values that Ramadan enjoins on observant Muslims during the holy month.

Public service broadcasting has always had a mustiness attached to it, because it is not as attractive as commercial media. But staying focused on an awareness campaign also allows the filmmaker the freedom to state the problem, and its potential resolution, through his or her script.

Up until the mid-1990s, when Qatar had just one state broadcaster, viewers were often shown an Arabic programme called Salamatak – which used to dispense advice on issues such as healthy eating habits and wise use of water and electricity. In its easy-to-understand format, the message was rarely missed.

In contrast, today it is possible to view any number of channels beamed in by satellite TV these days. During Ramadan, there is usually a glut of cookery programmes, sponsored by large food companies.

In a region where childhood obesity is a major health problem, most of these cookery shows seem to have no compunction in promoting extremely rich ingredients for the simplest of dishes.

With their pleasing visuals, such shows usually escape the monitoring agencies. There’s no study yet of the subliminal impact of all the conflicting information regarding food habits floating around on TV.

Sometimes you need a famous face to tell you the things you already know.

Yesterday, Indian actor Aamir Khan’s extremely popular reality series Satyamev Jayate came to an end after a 13-week run. Khan, who is also a successful film actor, managed to highlight many social problems without doing what most entertainers tend to do in India: becoming a politician.

However though Khan’s programme focused on festering problems such as child abuse, casteism and medical malpractice and even managed to get some sort of official action in place, quite a few have been suspicious of his ‘Oprah Winfrey’ avatar.

There’s no doubt the visual medium has often been misused for propaganda. But it also has a powerful role in educating people, and as such, should be used more often by Qatar’s nascent generation of filmmakers.