Originally posted by: libran90
None of the shows we see has anything progressive about them. All shows are regressive and rinse and repeat the same trope over and over again. Rarely few shows like Anupama or BV1 come by. So let's not get into such a discussion.
Shows are not worth discussing sociology and anthropology because they are meant to be shows. Writers have zero creative depth as much as we show in our discussions. This is entertainment and entertainment are no-brainers yaar. If you invest your mind or heart, these people will go out on a limb to fck it. So let it be. Just relax😉
I get it. This is what ITV is about. But I don’t know. I think my whole life, yeah I’ve seen shows that literally are meant to be no-brainers - but we should expect more from the entertainment we consume. What purpose does media have if not to challenge, provoke, and start dialogue.
I’ll be honest I never look at ITV for that. But that begs the question, why not? When I watch “regular” TV I expect more from the entertainment I’m consuming. I don’t know the whole of the ITV landscape but I hope there are options beyond these shows then that do challenge audiences, that do put something else, beyond illogical entertainment into the world. Not saying there’s nothing wrong with just really basic, check out for a minute, entertainment.
Here you have people with a platform to tell stories, and what are they doing with that platform? It is a privilege to have that - to be able to reach audiences like they do, that privilege also comes with a responsibility that audiences should hold them accountable to. Even no-brainer entertainment shouldn’t be regressive. Agar kuch acha nahin dekhana to kechard toh nah pehlao. And I’m not just talking about this scene, but just in general.
I talk about it a lot in regards to American/western media - representation matters! You have a girl like Imlie, who’s from a small village, who happens to turn on the TV and tune into this show, what is she going to see?! What is she going to relate to? You have women who are constantly being abused at home, turn on the TV, what do they see? Other women being emotional, mentally, verbally, physically abused - but they’re meant to be mahan and just take it? What does that do? What does that tell that woman who’s experiencing something similar at home?
Now I’ve seen a lot of people apologizing for Aryan’s behaviour, making excuses, finding rationalizations for it - I mean I did it as well. Why are we finding reasons to make sense of or excuse his behaviour in the name of entertainment - and “that’s just how it is”. What does that say to the young girl that’s sitting there watching TV and learning from shows like this what romance is, what love is?! American TV is also rife with romanticization of toxic behaviours. When I was still teaching I had so many conversations with my students about this. At least here there are multiple sources of entertainment and media to see examples of relationships.
I’m not saying that we should be looking to ITV or any TV to show us all the things, but the realty is that it’s a powerful medium, and it’s not going to solve the worlds problems alone, but we should expect more from it. It’s not enough to just write it off as a thing that happens.
And with that I’m officially signing out and going to bed. I’m too tired and I don’t know if I even conveyed my thoughts coherently. Absolutely nothing against you Libran, please don’t take this the wrong way, it’s just something I feel a bit strongly about.