Originally posted by: tejaswiniwenham
i was just reading some forum comments and not to offend anyone but its really naive of people to think that media doesnt influence things. from what we wear to the kind of men or women we find attractive (looks and cools wise)-everything is determined by the media. and some people also propagate their own argument and make it seem neutral by pretending they are not influenced by what they see. the fact that we comment and discuss in IF means we are influenced enough to discuss it...its taking a very holier than thou attitude to pretend otherwise. pari i read one of your post and must say im very impressed.
Thank you tejaswini :)
I sometimes find it petty of me to argue like children on the forum, but sometimes looking at new age thinking, I am compelled to question where this thinking breeds from? Most of the women I find arguing with are also my age, so I find it even more interesting to see how we have such a divergent take on things!
However, you are very right when you say media influences everything these days. That was my point in that thread too. OFcourse, some of us can keep the reel from real, but so many vulnerable and soft-minded adolescents or young adults don't.
From the recent horror of the gang-rape incident, there was an article in TheHindu which was about "why rapes happen in India". It was a very well written article and highlights so many things that exacerbate this need in men to be superior and inflict violence on an unwilling woman. One of the highlights of this was also the media that has increasingly made women into objects of sexual fantasy. I am putting a paragraph from that article here :
The crisis is exacerbated by the fact that sections of urban lites participate in a sexual culture which is relatively liberal — a culture that young men can watch on television and in public spaces, but never hope to participate in. For some, the sexually independent woman is thus enemy to be annihilated. In his hit song C**t, the rape-valorising rap star Honey Singh voices his yearning to kick a woman after raping her, to drive out the bhoot of ego from her head. Similarly, Strang sees on the streets a wash of "blonde and auburn wigs, lipstick smeared on those deadly pincer-like insect jaws."
I won't say that media should not portray these things at all, but yes, there is a fine line between promoting a certain culture as a shifting norm versus promoting it as the "cool" thing to do. This is where youngsters don't get the distinction and in the frenzy of being cool and in with the latest shifting trends, don't make a choice. The media pushes this choice down, which is mostly influenced by hero-heroine obsession in our country and the need for modernization by aping the West. And even if today we are blessed to be able to see the world through TV, internet, most youngsters cannot distangle between reality and fantasy or choice versus norm.
Hindi TV Shows
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Anupamaa
