^^
If you make statements such as these, you would have to back them up with stats and not with one-off incidents. Neither far right Hindutva ideologists nor Mullahs prone to issuing fatwas represent the demographics well. It was in response to Birdies remark that movies are too short an event to have much impact and it's the mundane real life where one looks for lasting influences. I quoted Padmavati movie as an example how the short 2 hr event exerted its impact even before its release. However, it cant be termed as a One-off incident. Similar reactions were seen with movies like Jodha akbaar, Vishwaroopam, Passion of the Christ, Innocence of Muslims, Fire, Ram leela, Netaji SC Bose, documentary on Nirbhaya case and many more. For a 2 hour entertainment with short term effects at worst,... such protests seem to be much too common.. Fact is the impact factor of the movies has been long recognized for both good as well as bad influence. Hence the demand for a fair & proportionate representation of minorities and women in the movies. Also for the same reason, a sensitive portrayal of marginalized groups in society is advocated. Not only the screen time but also the length of dialogues assigned to female actors in the movies had been under scrutiny recently . Its indication that it's a lot more than mere entertainment.
My theory is that children and low IQ people are gullible enough to fall for fiction but how long do they remain under the influence is questionable. Here I agree with Birdie that the effects could be short-term. Hopefully!
When the exposure is not a one off phenomenon but something repeated very frequently there is every possibility of the short term influences getting reinforced before it has the time to wear off. Children are more susceptible because of the greater intensity with which they watch. They watch almost unblinkingly are fully absorbed into whatever it may be on the screen. They have a natural tendency to imitate what they see. . It need not always be a deliberate act but what gets repeatedly fed into ones psyche , does leave its mark. Depending on the contents they could get motivated, depressed or agitated. Repeated positive or negative portrayal of an issue can leave a deep impact. Gone are the times when children watched just a movie or two in a month in the theatres that too of their parents choice. With the advent of TV, smartphones and internet in almost every home, the accessibility and exposure has increased manifold . In some cases it exceeds 7-8 hrs of daily unsupervised binge watching.
Also, unfortunately, real life violence far exceeds what's shown on the big screen, IMO. No film and no amount of tape can depict the true violence that takes place in a real war. For that matter, even in a case such as Nirbhaya's. There is no way, a movie or documentary would pass the censors if real life incidents such as these are captured on camera.
Very True but perhaps it would be better to present reality of crime and violence in its raw entirety than the sanitized, trivialized and often distorted glamorized version that we often get to see on the screen. Except those caught in the war torn areas, the likelihood of witnessing brutal crimes or violence is fortunately rare in real life. Those exposed to real life scenes, soldiers included, often suffer from post traumatic stress and tend to shun violence if they can help it. No such issues with the viewers of glamorized crime & violence in bollywood, The growing incidence of juvenile criminals, road rage and other impulsive outbursts leading to violence at the drop of a hat can only be the effect of portrayal of distorted reality! One of the accused in the Nirbhaya case was a juvenile and said to have been the most brutal of the lot. The age of criminals in heinous crime is dropping down to alarming level! Some shocking headlines this week - class 5 student rapes class 2 girl in Ghaziabad, 3 year old boy shoots his father with his gun, and this one that defies imagination- a 4 year old student raped by her classmate in the school premises !
What is the likelihood of these juveniles having exposure to real life crime scenes as an inspiration to exposure on the reel world?
Movies- a two hour fictional affair ...with no impact or inspiration...only a short term effect if at all? Should there be any curbs to creative liberty...or is it commercial liberty...? The audio-visual mass media being a powerful educative tool, should movie makers own more responsibility in their contribution to moulding social values?
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
Jodha Akbar
