Negativity and bad portrayal of women [DT Note p. 6] - Page 7

Originally posted by: AshRun

haha thanks, and you're not alone, dearie 😊 I mean I watch for the reason you mentioned and yupp, we sure are a minority in the forum. I mean every show should have a purpose and after mentioning the purpose repeatedly in consecutive interviews taken by the same website, writers should not contradict themselves. Yes, it's difficult when you can TOTALLY relate to Zoya...Are you American too?? 😊 Aw, I'm sorry it has disapointed you and frustrated others you know. Frankly, I don't have anything to tell you which will give you hope. I don't like it that much either, but I am hanging on to see more scenes between Asad-Zoya. You said this is your first show right?? TRUST ME, one thing Gul is good at is creating excellent scenes for the leads, enjoy them while they last because thens he ruins it or the actors decide to leave 😆

Originally posted by: AshRun

Thank you, you're response is refreshing!! Coming to your post, EXACTLYY!! They should've never created the hype about " Oh its a muslim show and we have set out to eradicate geenralizations about a particular religion." If they told me to look at this as another love story then I wouldn't care about these things, but the whole issue is that not only did they create the hype, but they also said that Gul herself is Muslim so I thought she'd be genuinely interested in creating understanding b/w Muslims and the other religions in India. OMGG, I agree on that too, and I swear I was going to add in my previous response to U that I never see the characters praying, but I thought you would think that I want to see a religious show lol!! It's just that I never see them having religious ceremonies like there are in other shows on TV. Whenever there is a problem, no one calls upon God to help them. They can't show the God in some form but they can show people performing Salaah or talking about doing it right?? Muslims are required to pray 5 times a day, but in 61 episodes I only saw Asad and Zoya pray once. And yes, no one is telling Mamu that forcing a girl for Nikaah is haram. No one is telling Razia that what she is doing is wrong from an Islamic perspective.

What bothers me the most is that, Zoya always does something for a good reason, but her justifications include nothing about Islam. If the show was to remove stereotypes then she needs tov voice these things as the protagonist. I mean who ELSE is going to do that if not the leads?? They just keep saying that something is wrong based on their moral values, but never on the basis of religion. Comparatively in Himdu shows, we see the lead girls talking to their God and indications that their God is listening to them via flowers falling or the sound of bells in temples.

Originally posted by: Aalia_A

Thank you and yes looking forward to putting theoretical skills to practical use =)

In comparison, NZ is quite unprejudiced against Islam and I even recommended QH to a couple of my gora mates... They watched the Mahasangam and then I had to launch on a detailed historical narrative with them so they understood what was happening to poor Zoya and why. Phew! My experience is that other cultures in NZ are more curious about Islam and within my mates, we try to encourage that curiosity. But I've told them not to watch QH again till I say so... Otherwise I'll have to present a case for normal Muslim people again. And here I am supposed to be staying clear of lawyering till I start work! 😆

I hope you do continue raising these vastly important issues. You do it in a constructive manner and it leads to some insightful decisions. This was a bold, much-needed move on your part =)

And yeah Shorty Street, do look it up. Kinda like Gray's but with less intensity, more stupidity hehe. It has been going on for Twenty One years now, and a handful of characters have been with the show since its inception. The Prod House/Channel and the fans have an EPIC love-hate relationship that is hilarious to witness! Recently they had a national poll on whom to pair up a young beautiful female character with and the PH had the guts to hook her up with the guy who came LAST in the poll. The fans were absolutely livid 😆 but then they moved on and forgave because they love Shorty so much. The USP of the show is that it is so urban NZ. That is why I always go back to it.

Originally posted by: AshRun

Two facts :

Fact #1- Right now, this is the ONLY drama on Indian TV with Muslim characters in it.

My opinion based on this fact : If something is 1 in a million or in this case 1 in 40-50 shows that air on Indian TV, then it is going to be looked at as something unqiue...something that stands out. What stands out IN that the show has Muslim characters so when you have only ONE show out of so many with a particular kind of cast then it is bound to be treated differently by some viewers. You cannot prevent that when the makers themselves are saying why it is different. When people get to see only one Muslim family and that too full of people with negative energy separating families, defaming their daughters, burying alive people, making people get into a nikaah by keeping them at gunpoint then it confirms some narrow-minded peoples' beliefs about how violent a particular religious group is. If you watch the news and live in the USA like me then you know what I'm talkin about! Now don't tell me that only the West has these views about Islam and it doesn't apply to India because this show is being aired in the two popular countries with a huge Indian population- UK and USA so what they think should matter to the makers.

Fact #2- Gul said she will change peoples' stereotypical views about Islam. For those of you sayng that the show is about Culture : ISLAM IS NOT A CULTURE. Look it up on wikipedia, it is very much a type of religion. Don't tell me she was talking about culture. It is a religion. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with bringing religion into the topic. She and her co-writer said the show was not JUST about two guys falling for the same girl, she said it would ALSO change peoples perception of Muslims in a GOOD way. I don't see that heppening and NO ONE can convince me otherwise.

For people saying that these problems and situations happen in ALL shows : I repeat, this is the ONLY show with a Muslim cast so shouldn't the problems and conflicts shown be something that is not shown in other shows?? Where is the uniqueness if we see the same issues that happen in other shows???? Show audiences the problems tthat they haven't seen in your previous shows or don't see in other shows. There have been many stories about families and there have been many love stories, but this is the only current show made on a minority religion so what is wrong with expecting that it will show issues that only Muslims face?? Trust me, there a lot such issues that only a particular religious group faces. Show the bad side, I am NOT saying it is a perfect religion, but don't keep reinforcin stereotypes that you set out to change.

Right now the majority of the West and some hindus in India think Muslims are violent.

Is that being shown? YES. It has been shown 3 times in 3 months.

Right now people think that girls are oppressed in Islamic culture.

Is that being shown? YES.

Right now people in the West think that Muslim men do not treat women properly.

Has that been shown ? OHHH YESS!!

SO how are the stereotypes being proven wrong??

If you watch the news, you cannot deny that the most mis-understood and hated religion in teh world right now is Islam. It really wouldn't hurt to show the beauty of Islam by having more positive characters who are the opposite of characters in other dramas.

Lastly, If India was a predominantly Muslim country and there was ONLY one show on a hindu family then if I was in ya'lls place, I would try to understand that the hindu population would have a lot of expectations from the show. Likewise, I have them too, and I wish you would understand that instead of saying that I am defending my religion or making exceptions for it. I am NOT. I am just trying to say that stick to the prupose. I wanna see a LOT of the love story, but makers, don't forget that you wee supposed to remove stereotypes, not solidify them.

Also, people saying that the show will shut down if I keep saying these things : SERIOUSLY??? Who do you think I am?? I have the power to shut down a show?? THanks for the compliment ( sarcasm intended), but as I said I wanna see KSG-Surbhi for a long time to come. I will forward all family drama like I did today just to see KSG and SJ.

P.S.- I cried after today's episode and am proud of the AsYa track ONLY so please don't ruin my mood by making personal attacks. Funny how the DT didn' notice THOSE. Whatever!

Originally posted by: Aalia_A

why did the makers stress that it was a show that would redefine islam or atleast muslims in the eye of the viewer?

This is something the makers need to address. They pitched this show not as a love story but as a family, societal and cultural drama. Frankly, Assalam karne se aur do chaar lafz urdu ke bolne se it does not make this a show about Muslim families. Islamic families have a salika to them, a tehzeeb and no, sexism and misogyny are not interchangeable terms for that.

Edit: AshRun Read your post on the other thread. You seem to see some sense in where the story is heading towards now. I frankly can't 😆 Asad's like a broken record now with his insults towards Zoya and that forced engagement track is a big yawn. I had hopes after Mahasangam but woh Mangalpur ki mitti aur dhool mein mill gayye. I have stopped watching it. Just come here to read the written updates. My poor television set has never had so many gaalis hurled at it before I started watching QH. Thought I would give both of us a respite 😛

Originally posted by: AshRun

Ditto the first part!!

Oh which post did you read??I'm guessing it is the one I made about symbolisms that I saw??

Well, I think you are having a hard tme digesting it because you haven't seen the previous shows by 4Lions. I have seen the romance-development ( for lack of better words) track in their previous show so I can see where they're coming from.

As for the engagement track then WHAT ? they got engaged...I used the forward button on the youtube video 😆 I don;t watch the show at 9 PM on TV because I can't forward the stupid family drama!!