Paksitani media: A source of mass depression – by Saad Mansoor
Strolling across various Pakistani blogs, I came across a post which very aptly displays one aspect of Pakistani media that is a playing a very significant part in plaguing the Pakistani urban classes with mass depression. The entertainment industry in Pakistani leaves one depressed and saddened leaving one curious as to what in world are they aiming for.
Rafia’s Stories: I wonder why…
Rafia wanted and planned to watch a Pakistani drama and was pretty enthusiastic about it but she ended up watching ‘The King of Queens.’ Why did this happen? I wonder why…Rafia was feeling considerably ecstatic after coming home from her evening class. The thought of being consumed by dramas portraying her Pakistani culture to the fullest was proving to be overpowering for her. Upon hurried completion of her chores, Rafia ran towards her ever-so-comfy couch and turned on her TV.
She switched to a Pakistani channel and after being completed absorbed into the colors of her renowned culture being depicted by a newly started drama, she decided to carry on watching. Before even deciphering the situation being discussed in the apparently captivating drama, she grudgingly realized the quick pace at which the TV play began to demonstrate grief.
Rafia wasn’t feeling so ecstatic anymore, hence she decided to switch the channel and find something cheerful to watch. But to her dismay, even after flipping through a plethora of channels, she couldn’t find a single drama which could be deemed as lively and entertaining.
After succumbing to the exasperation such sad dramas made an attempt to acquire, Rafia began to feel gloomy. Finally, she decided to watch something funny – which happened to be an American sitcom.
Disclaimer: This post intends to provide some entertainment for the readers and isn’t trying to devalue any commendable dramas being aired these days.
Posted at Fixing Imdaad-istan
The Pakistani entertainment channels provide little entertainment. Almost all dramas including the soap operas are consistently tragic where everything is certain to head in a doomed direction. Even the much trumpeted movie Bol caused most women to cry. The dramas are over whelmed with atrocities committed by feudals against peasants, men against women, parents against children and vice versa. Economic woes are ever present and one character is continually taking off to the heavenly abode, needless to say, the leads are most likely to die in the end to cap up all the tragedies.
Compare it to Indian or any other television entertainment, they provide you with sitcoms to make you laugh, ridiculous soap operas which detach you from reality to provide you entertainment if not quality entertainment and an assortment of reality shows. As for us our reality shows stop at an Islamic version of Kaun Banega Crorepati or Who wants to be a millionaire whereby you can end up buying a flat in Makkah.
Furthermore with the increased westernization of Indian movies and global modernism in general the Pakistani families are no longer at ease to watch Indian movies sitting together. At cinemas the censor board has failed to recognize the fact that a kiss or a woman dressed in bikini makes people watching with families very uncomfortable to say the least. The local industry on the other hand is non-existent due to the abundant piracy and lack of governmental support.
All this is having a visibly negative impact on the population that relies on television for entertainment. One can not expect media channels which are private entities to change, however, the government should take notice of the situation which may well be termed alarming and ensure quality entertainment for the masses in these times of despair.
Good post Saad, however, some of the dramas coming on Pakistan’s TV channels like Hum TV are not just entertaining but absorbing as well. I have gotten hooked to some good dramas. The sitcoms are also quite good.
The biggest problem our entertainment sector is facing is from the breaking news and live entertainment on talk shows!
The Islamic Quiz show is a very subtle way of Islamizing tv. No one claps but for every right answer, three times “Subhan Allah” is said. A mufti sahab is there and he gives a dars while giving an answer correctly. For example, one person didnt correctly know the number of surahs in 30th Sipara. While giving the right answer, Mufti sahab says that not just we should know the number of surahs, we should learn the 30th sipara by heart as this is a badnazeebi of muslims that we learn only 3-4 surahs in all our lives. Though nothing wrong in what he said, but in a way he has bracketed all as one.
baat entertainment kee horahee hai and you idiots end up criticizing islam…frustrated people
@ Pak Shia:
Could you please tell where is Islam being criticised in my post, even remotely so?
Thats a good post Saad. But some dramas are good too. And about the comment of Mr. Ahmed Iqbalabadi, I would like to say that That Molvi is so much correct about knowing 3 – 4 surrahs which every muslim recites in prayers.
And islamic quizes are now rarely seen on tv channels so consider them as neymat. These programs are far better to watch then to watch indian shows airing on local pakistani channels (especially on Geo Group).
@ Rehan:
That is the reason I also posted in a disclaimer which says that it is not intended to demean many excellent shows being aired. However, religious shows are not exactly entertainment and tragedies do leave people scarred.
A mainstream Sindhi language channel KTN and its Qazi owners had played partial politics. In fact not in favour of PPP’s good decisions but it raised issue such as Sindhi Topi issue and then Sindh’s division issue partially and gave coverage and managed small mobs of anti-PPP protests in all over Sindh on the Camera lens. Ali Qazi with his co-host (like Najam Sethi with his little co-host) gave a slogan “One Sindhi One System” which was a message for the nationalists and some politicians within PPP who could not understand president Zaradari’s politics. It was a warning message especially for MQM’s leadership that PPP is not only obstacle against Sindh division but nationalists and electronic media too may play a role. But I would like to suggest Ali Qazi that he should continue to be partial and should abstain to follow Geo group and he should ask nationalists that why they are not happy with local body system in 2011 and why they did not opposed strongly this system while it was being implemented by Musharaf only to please MQM. The Sindhi print and electronic media should support democracy and democratic values and should isolate Zia and Hameed Gul breed and leaders who welcomed an Indian Kashmiri Muhajir who initiated Sindh’s division issue. PML (N) had raised Karachi issue to halt Punjab division and his party’s leadership (Rana Sanaullah) still fixed and wants to see Karachi as separate province within Sindh.
PPP is an ideology, an ideology of class politics, it does not matter that who is leading the ideology. PPP ideology has sacrificed lives of its important leaders. An ideology can not be perished by terror, by killings, by threats and unreliable leadership.
Political programming has become a national obsession. The media endlessly covers inane issues and petty gossip related to politicians. Politicians have a penchant for drama to divert attention from real issues. The media works hand in glove with politicians in this Endeavour, with monstrous consequences. In addition, the unending tirade against the military and the sitting government is nauseating. It is quite a facile conclusion that certain mouthpieces of India operating in the Pakistani media are at the forefront of this effort to demoralize and disillusion the Pakistani nation. National unity and a can-do spirit have systematically been damaged through deliberate efforts. The entire media seems to have played right into the hands of individuals with nefarious agendas. Hatred for the democratic government is a priority for the subversives in Pakistan. This hatred has reached such epic proportions that even at this crucial juncture in Pakistani history when our country is passing through critical juncture of the history.