||Bonding with so called 'Intellectuals'|| #CC 30 (IO) - Page 9

TV is good for you

For sheer attention-grabbing power, nothing beats TV in India. One study found that 51% of women in Kurukshetra, a district in the state of Haryana, had seen a soap opera called "Na Aana Is Des Laado" (Don't Come To This Country, Beloved Daughter). That soap revolves around female infanticide: in one episode, a father murders his baby daughter by drowning her in milk. By contrast, just 5% of women in the district had seen a film produced by the government about the equality of boys and girls, and less than 1% had heard about the subject from religious leaders.(Our great government I&B ministry and religious establishments🤢)

"TV is not just entertainment"it is a big source of education," says Purnendu Shekhar, a writer of soap operas. One of his soaps, "Balika Vadhu" (Child Bride), is about the evil of child marriage. Mr Shekhar thinks the show changed attitudes, and it certainly entertained the country. "Balika Vadhu" ran daily for eight years, ending last July, and has also been popular in Vietnam. He believes even conventional soaps, which tend to hinge on conflicts between women and their mothers-in-law and dial all emotions up to 11, get viewers used to the idea of powerful women. "Stories with strong male protagonists do not work in India," he says.(I guess only IF wasis and drooling fans of all the male leads believe otherwise😆)

Studies of India have shown that TV-watching is associated with reduced preference for sons,(😲) even after controlling for wealth and other factors. That might seem implausible. But remember that Indians often distrust politicians and public officials, says Shoma Munshi, an expert on Indian soap operas. They are at least as willing to listen to actors. That is why TV and film stars often become politicians, or are used to front public-health campaigns.(This part makes sense😆)

Sex ratios remain highly unbalanced in many countries. But there is an important difference between a giant social problem and an endless one, and gendercide now looks like an example of the former. Mr Guilmoto believes that sex ratios will continue to normalise until they return to natural levels. Asia has engaged in a demographic experiment with disastrous consequences. It will surely not repeat it.

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21714981-how-one-worlds-great-social-problems-solving-itself-war-baby-girls-winds