I'm not entirely convinced of the EAST model, because there is a danger that inspiration through popular culture can give rise to unintended and adverse consequences.
For those who don't know the names James Randi, Johnny Carson or Uri Gellar, I'll give a brief story about charlatanism and using popular media in attempting to expose the same.
Uri Gellar is a charlatan, a glorified conjurer, who, for many years, has claimed the power to bend metal with his mind, mostly spoons. James Randi, before he died was for years a rationalist, exposer of fraud and former magician who understood what game Gellar was playing to fool people. Johnny Carson was the host of the Tonight Show for decades and decided, in the mid 70s, to have Gellar on the show in order to try and expose Gellar as a fraud. Carson, being a former magician himself, asked Randi for advice on how to prepare for the segment and Randi advised Carson to prepare a set of spoons for Gellar to demonstrate his power, and whats more, he advised Carson to keep them from Gellar and his people until it was time for the interview. As expected, Gellar failed to perform his abilities when challenged, but rather than skulk off back into obscurity, he played the victim on air and wound up becoming more popular despite his on-air failure, fooling several generations of people with his lies, his claims of supernatural ability.
This simple anecdote demonstrates how a charlatan survived being exposed because the audience weren't wise enough to see him for the fraud that he was. And it's not for lack of honest effort on the part of Carson and Randi. Randi exposed a man with similar claims, James Hydrick, on a similar show hosted by another popular figure, Bob Barker, ten years later and that particular charlatan didn't succeed in the end. He went to prison for other crimes, but he was exposed none the less.
The Tonight Show segment fits all the criteria for the EAST model of behavioral modification through popular media. It was easy because television was a prime vector for the dissemination of important information. It was attractive because Carson had earned a reputation as a trusted, leading entertainment figure who could make your career, so much so that virtually every comedian who came on his show and was invited to the couch after performing was said to be worthy of a further career. It was social because because scores of people were used to tuning in to late night television. It was timely because Gellar was on the rise as an entertainment figure. Yet Gellar succeeded in fooling the masses and continuing his scam for years despite clearly being exposed as a fraud for all to see.
People have to be smart enough to get the picture first before art can transform the world. If they are not, artistic endeavor is wasted in this regard because the masses are generally naive enough to be convinced that buying the same lipstick as your favorite celebrity makes you relevant as well. People have to be willing to be educated on the nature of reality before art can change society, otherwise art is just a pretty thing to hang on the wall, or stash in the corner, and then maybe sell for a little profit years later.
