Scorn Republic: Filth and stereotypes

The state of a nation's morals can be gauged by what is displayed on local television. The ratings game determines popular topics and serves as a guide to showcase to popular content for other developers to emulate.It’s not shocking then, that majority of Pakistani channels are news channels with sporadic talk shows thrown in to the mix, a few belligerent and overly dramatic politicians going at each other every night on prime time, and the few others are equally dramatic TV soaps, over romanticised and a definite cesspool of filth. This is no way to live.

The proudly proclaimed Islamic Republic of Pakistan has about four topics for storytelling: Bad in-laws or mean daughter-in-law, married man having an affair, married man getting married again, and in a new twist of events and to keep equality in check, women who engage in seductive and shady behaviour to either have affairs or land a rich, handsome man, who shockingly also is always married (because Pakistan mein single rich handsome boys ka bohraan hay).

Lately, there has been content censorship and also lots of chatter about banning even virtual IP’s because they help people access pornography and other objectionable materials. Apparently this is a way to thwart the sudden increase of violent crimes of a sexual nature, including but not limited to rape. I don’t understand this logic at all. If the forces that be, really want people to stop being so sexually charged that they commit such gruesome acts, then why would they want those people to be further deprived of what is a humanistic urge? Quite a few researched studies ascertain that countries with legalised sex-workers etc, have nearly non-existent rape statistics because why engage in something illegal and criminal when you can just pay for it? I understand that model can never work here, but depriving a whole array of people looking to innocently surf the web to fantasise, doesn’t seem like a solution to a growing problem.

While our focus is on the good, the bad and the ugly rear their horrific heads in TV dramas where fathers-in-law find it perfectly acceptable to try their hand at their daughters-in-law, or a sister feels that her brother-in-law is fair game. Then we get worked up over pink sleeping robes on Ayeza Khan and blue bathrobes on Emaad Irfani. PEMRA springs into action, and the courts overrule their actions, every single time. The hypocrisy is mind-boggling.

While trash TV collects high ratings worldwide, there are also brilliant long running shows like The Big Bang Theory that bring positive messages and subtly help the different, geeky types find their lobsters for life, find acceptance and find friendship and a meaning in life beyond work.

The one thing I happened to do during Covid-19 is watch Pakistani TV serials, after exhausting pretty much all of Netflix, and I can tell you, there is no greater stereotyping done here than anywhere. Also, why is it that every time a man strays, lies and cheats on his wife, he always gets a second chance, but if a wife dares to do the same, she ends up with a ruined life, with no second chance?

In Ghar Titli Ka Par, a man kicks his pregnant wife out of the house, proceeds to have an affair with her best friend and gets her to move in to his house, but still ends up saying a very poorly disguised sorry; for his wife to return and for him to continue his happily married life, with a new child in tow? But in Meray Paas Tum Ho, Mehwish’s apologies never get accepted. In Khasaara, Sila dies alone and poor, weighed down by the guilt that she ruined her family. Where is the guilt for the squandering, philandering men? Or do they have none?

What we watch on TV subtly changes us, opens our minds to different horizons, changes acceptances slowly. And here we have it, thousands of years of patriarchy, being forced down our throats, one TV serial at a time. Makafaat-e-Amal (Karma) is only reserved for women, and men go scot-free. And then we wonder why women in real life are treated that way. If you’re going to showcase filth, at least make it more palatable for half the population (the women) and ease up on the subtly enforced gender biases.

We need better TV shows. Please. And none of that Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar stuff either.

 

Scorn Republic is a bi-weekly satire column commenting on trending topics and societal happenings