Mulgi shikel, sarvanna shikvel (Educate the girl child, and she will educate all)
I'm a girl, born in a country where men are simply not taught to respect girls. When we leave our homes, we are leched at. When we take the train or bus we are groped. When we raise our voices in protest, they send cops to protect us. Our supposed caretakers, the cops then rape us. And then more of them are sent to protect us. Its like one big irony of fate.
Where do we go with our complaints, then?
Whom do we trust to fight on our behalf?
Wait, what is that you said?
The media?
So you mean we should knock on doors of the media to try an bring about a positive attitudanal change towards women?
Interesting.
If you actually believe that, then you are incredibly naive, not to mention completely ignorant about Indian Media.
Let me for arguments sake , cite an example:
The name of the daily soap is Saat Phere, on Zee TV 9.30 p.m, Mon - Fri. Here the protagonist is a woman named Saloni, who is dark-skinned, and hence the butt of everyone's jokes and insults. Her parents want to marry her off to some rich, old man and are paying a hefty dowry for it. He misbehaves with her, and she retaliates by slapping him. Later she has to fall at his feet to apologise, and to make sure the wedding is still on. And what's more, her parents plead with her to do it.
When I saw the promos, I made thought that this programme would probably make a statement, and show the dark-skinned girl stand up for herself. Such a scene, however, is yet to come. They're probably waiting for the girl to break down completely.
Maybe, the girl will get a make-over someday, and be beautiful and successful, since they seem to be synonymous - if most Fair and Lovely ads are to be believed. Like Jassi, the queen ugly duckling herself. Or maybe the serial will fall into the usual saas-bahu trap and become, if possible, more regressive.
In a country where media shows shit like this on primetime, its not exactly a surprise that women are mistreated, is it? Our media is irresponsible and incredible - it has become a slave to TRPs, and a slave to money. Shows like Rihaaee which actually make a difference are taken off air, and replaced with another one of those damn soap operas, which show a woman to either be nosy and interfering, or an all-knowing, all forgiving saint, who'll do anything for her husband/lover.
It is time now, for the women of the country to show how disgusted they're with the way they are represented by the media. It is time , that a new generation of female media executives takes over, and transforms the present sorry state of Indian television. It is time to say Enough.
We will not stand for it anymore.
posted by Anuya at 10:53 AM
12 Comments:
HA! In a country where women actually AGREE to roles like that themselves, i don't know WHAT attitudinal change you're hoping for ;)
and that most of the people watching these shows are:
a) women
b) retired people
im assuming old retired people arent all that much to blame for this problem (which definitely exists, mind you) but then that leaves the women.
in our society, (just like most other societies, surprisingly!)women somehow tend to create this incredible dilemma for themselves where a large part of the social 'problem' just comes from other women.
the 'saas' has always lobbed flaming pokers at the 'bahu' and i can NOT understand why.
its the whole 'crabs-in-the-basket' deal. where every woman just pulls the other down, even if it means living in a box forever. it seems like its the imperative that at least ONE female family member has to be a complete bitch or a manipulative fox that HAS to screw things up.
im not saying men are always innocent but a lot of this probem would be easier to deal with (and half-solved) if the WOMEN in society tried to cooperate.
~King
when it happens,let us know.
the media just gives people what they want.
if they want archaic crap,they get it.
ffs,if women agree to roles like that,its never going to happen.
and about cops,well there is no one you can trust.
get over it.
the media is just a tool.it isnt around for developmental or social change.
its around to formulate an opinion,
and
if that's the opinion that will garner more TRPs ,more $,more revenue.
then so be it.
besides its not a crime to cater to mainstream sensibilities considering that they form a majority of their target audience.
social norms dictate the presence of a child in a family.the lack of which is met with suspicion,further fuelled by the "log kya kahege " complex".
so,for the want and subsquent spawnage of a child,its more often than not,mandatory for the woman to stay at home.its a part of our so called "culture".
in india,culture is as deep rooted as the corn on my right foot.
yeah,very deep rooted.
as a nation,we're anal retentive.
we like sticking to the old ,tried and tested routes.for god's sake,its only NOW that people are accepting the existence of courses like BMM ,and that too with dislike,over a medical or engineering course.
so until we find a social or cultural change,good luck expecting change.
ffs,the male child is given demi god status in most household.it sucks ass to see that women are treated like 2nd rate citizens.
it isn't in india alone.look around,its everywhere,from the middle east to UK.
"the media just gives people what they want." - h3lios
that pretty much sums it up, its a business, not an organisation for social welfare and responsibility ffs! make the product sell, thats all they want to do, and it works! look at fair and lovely....its selling like crazy, kudos to the ads...
i've done a lot of research work on this after firsthand experience of the taste of our society and trust me you're probably better off being individualistic and a deviant than try to change what the society thinks.
^nuff said Aeris.
Media is a frelling heap of PR now.
Which isn't such a bad thing if you know what to do.
As for influencing society,it doesn't do anything.
It is society that influences the media.Atleast in this nation.
my my...if we're gonna be so cynical how can we ever hope for a better life?
not cynical nova.... just realistic and rational.
the media is a business... just like any other. and the same way you cant really expect the coal or iron industry to change the fabric of society, the same way media wont do the trick either.... not by itself.
it has to be USED... a tool must be wielded to get the grain... it wont reap your crops by its own power.
the iron & steel industry is USED to make weapons to protect our country... it doesnt do it of its own accord.
and the only people who can wield this tool/weapon,.... are the people themselves. the very men/women who watch, work in, and pay for these serials, movies and news stations.
~King
My, my. Spawned a discussion, haven't i?
Om3n - your judgements abt the women in our society r exactly the effect of media that i'm talking abt. Contrary 2 popular belief, women aren't what they are shown 2 be on television.In most Indian families, the saas-bahu equation is rather good. If not good, it is atleast amicable - they dont go around plotting against each other, all the time. Families aren't stereotypes - there is no evil devrani and saint bahu. That is NOT how it is. That is how it is shown to be.
And as for your statement that women themselves are the cause of their problems - i take offense. Women are NOT responsible for being raped, they are not responsible for being discriminated against, they are not responsible for being physically weaker then men. They are, however responsible for not raising their voices and fighting for thier rights.
And as for your last comment - that is exactly what my post is trying to say - that we the media persons must USE the media as a tool to bring about the change. Read teh post properly, Stupid.
h3lios - A dog is not fed chocolate, coz it makes him sick. Every dog owner knows that.However,a dog might still eat a chocolate,like it and want more. So does that mean we should give it to him? The dog doesn't know what's good for him and what's not - but we do.
We are the future media people - you might argue, that we do not have the right 2 decide whats good for the masses and whats not. However, you cant deny that we DO have the power. Using or abusing it is in our hands. We can use it to influence people's attitudes, which is something thats already being done. However, instead of following the set pattern, we can break the mould and come up with something that actually has a positive influence. It is not that hard to show a serial where the women are strong-minded and wilful, who do not take any bullshit. And as for TRPs, we will not know if it works if we have never tried it, will we?
^ Rihaaee, like you said, was taken off...it was an attempt, wasnt it...the K serials and the like will always get more TRPs than others...but thats not necessarily because the people can relate to them....think about it..you just posted a few weeks ago about how you'd rather go and watch a "bunty aur babli" which is not exactly real but entertaining, rather than watch "requiem for a dream" which is like reality in your face. people would rather watch fantasy stuff than reality stuff...
as for stuff like fair and lovely, thats pretty much fantasy too....no cream can make you fair in 4 weeks, esp the kind of "before and after" comparison they show on tv...
oh sure,we know whats good for them...
the term good is relative.
ffs think about it,would YOU choose the "OMFG holier than thou" option when there's a PROMOTION waiting for you to do what THEY want?
Its all nice to be idealistic and objective and paint a pretty picture that we know best.
Sometimes,infact 99.99% of the time...
knowing the best does not put food on the table.
You might have the most morally proper show around,but thats of no avail if no1's going to watch it,ditto with ads and articles.
And before you say content can be modified to suit your agenda...
upto what extent can you do so?in the case of soaps,CONFLICT is needed,and where better place to get it than saas Vs bahu or tulsi vs the world?
If people want idealistic ,goody two shoes stuff they can read the gita.
As for entertainment purposes,they turn to tv.As for women as strong willed...well watch that gawd forsaken b1atch on that stupid K series show,whatshername,yeah ,Smriti Irani...shes done everything from being the sacrificial lamb to industrial tycoon.
Yeah we have our fair share of strong willed feminine asshats.lol
i didnt say they were responsible for being raped... or the bit about the irresponsible policemen...
thats not even "society" to blame... cuz it happens all around the world. there will always be messed up people.
as for the cops.. youve sen indian cops.. paunches like hemispheres, bribes, incompetence, arrogance... it sucks ass. but even that cant be blamed on society or prevented by the media.. the govt needs to be harsher on the cops if theyre found screwing around... nothing to do with tv and the rosy media
im talking about the whole 'debasing women' thing... as far as i have seen and heard... indian women are seen as 'head of family' FAR more than ANY other country.... (and by that im not referring to 'breadwinners'... just important descision makers in the family).
also.. the saas-bahu thing isnt a myth... and no, its not always the saas whos the bitch...
as i had said earlier.. "at least ONE female family member has to be a complete bitch or a manipulative fox that HAS to screw things up"
a lot of the friction in a family just arises from simple gossip and stupid issues. and men.. especially modern men... generally dont go around gossiping.
and dont take offense to that because its true... gossip within a family does simply terrible things... creates factions, people are forced to take sides, even children are discouraged from interacting with the other side.
and im talking from both personal and external (that of friends etc..) experience.
its something the media itself can just NOT solve. and again... its not something localised to India... it happens in America, in Europe... everywhere.
hell, i wouldnt be surprised if it happened in goddamn antarctica.
oh and just for the record... men who gossip jsut deserve to be beaten.... beaten with BIG HEAVY sticks.... :P
~King Om3n
and i agree with both rish and neha on what they said
~king
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