The educational aspect which used to be the hallmark of PTV dramas is missing in today’s dramas
LAHORE: As an avid viewer of drama for quite some time, I have been experiencing a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the overall general content being aired on private television channels. This vast forum has been pathetically reduced to a limited canvas, which is centered on trivial issues and petty arguments. The general and oft-repeated themes and topics revolve around minor disputes, differences and conflicts in day-to-day human relationships; for example, between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, sisters-in-law, etc. The characters always seem to be obsessed with conspiring and planning to downgrade the fellow family members. The dialogues uttered by the characters depict an overwhelming sense of shallow materialism, which can often be seen by the shouting tone. Respect is only associated with social status and material things, which may have a bearing on the underprivileged lower middle class. More often than not, there are implications of preconceived notions about relations, and the usual stereotypical approach of judging fellow humans.
In a country where 60% of youth is under the age of 30 and the major viewership of such substandard television plays consists of housewives and children, what are we showing them? How are we moulding their mindset? How are we teaching them to behave in workplaces and at homes? Social media and television in particular, is a useful platform for reducing social ills and bringing about harmony in society, because of its vast viewership. Instead of programmes which encourage audiences to fight, scream, unnecessarily argue and judge relations based on someone else’s bitter experiences, we need to air more plays which promote patience, broad-mindedness, tolerance and instill the habit of listening to other people’s perspectives. Furthermore, to enlarge the canvas, and break the monotony developed by such plays focused on household politics and issues, more plays should be shown which focus on mental and psychological health in order to help the individuals and the families to understand that every person is unique in his or her thoughts and perspectives. At times, stereotyping can narrow one’s perspective and thus spoil relationships. TV dramas have always been a very important source of entertainment and education, but by and large, the educational aspect which used to be the hallmark of PTV dramas is missing in today’s dramas.
Zara Mahmood
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2019.
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