•Monday, February 02, 2009
I was watching the reality show " Dancing Queen " the other day and was apalled at the statements / arguments being made by the contestents. What has happened to people these days? It's such a sad state of events when people have no control on their tongues on a show being watched by people of all ages. I was under the impression, that these shows were supposed to encourage talent, sportsmen spirit, while making the networks a ton of money through ignorant people who love spending their money smsing their votes. But the language being used and the tongue showing is a far cry from the maintained poise expected from any personality on television. Even if this is all a show for TRP ratings, I'm well aware that small children watch these programs. What example are they setting for these promises of tomorrow ??
And then yesterday, I saw the Star Screen awards. I was flabberghasted by the so called jokes being cracked by Mr.Sajid Khan and Mrs. Farah Khan. I've in a previous post mentioned my views on the importance of a good sense of humor. There is Nothing at all funny about men wearing girls clothes or begging for alms on tv or acting gay. I'm all for freedom of speech and choice of sexual orientation but some respect needs to be given to both these liberties given by society. Why is it that acceptance is shown by making fun of something ? It was totally distasteful by my standards and I'm sure others feel the same way that Ashutosh Gowartikar felt. Though, once again, his defiance and dissappointment could have been potrayed in a much better way. I found parts of his statement very compelling that people work very hard to achieve these awards and making a mockery of the industry and people recieving the awards during the proceedings and not letting them express their gratitude freely is an insult in more ways than one. I for one have never liked Sajid Khan's sense of humor, but to be frank this trend was started by SRK and Saif Ali Khan. Their jokes were still funny for the fact that some of the fun they made were dispelling rumors or flamboyantly joking about flops. But at times even they were tasteless and I wonder why No one stopped them at That point. Someone Might comment that the jokes are given by the Network hosting the show. But I'm VERY sure that No star can be compelled to Do something on Television that they aren't comfortable with.
On the other part there was Akshay Kumar rejecting his trophy. I'm only aware of what rumors I read in the papers but as a viewer I only considered it very sad for a Star of his stature doing that. Dedicating your award to another is one thing and leaving it behind , giving it to someone who Everyone knows Doesnt accept awards ( Aamir ) is demeaning in ways. I don't think it was a Selfless act. I don't know what it was or his reasons behind it, but I do know that it seemed unncessary.
All in all, I wonder what it is that the children of tomorrow are being taught via the one mode that's the Biggest source of entertainment. What happened to the values that were potrayed in the times before like self restraint, poise, glamor, elegance, laughing at yourself, being better than what you are, etc ? Sure, exhibit life at it is but don't forget to remind people of how LIFE should be. Now it's embarraising that award winning artists don't even have enough grace to stop chewing the gum in their mouths before coming on stage, which is Right up there with eating with your mouth open.
And then yesterday, I saw the Star Screen awards. I was flabberghasted by the so called jokes being cracked by Mr.Sajid Khan and Mrs. Farah Khan. I've in a previous post mentioned my views on the importance of a good sense of humor. There is Nothing at all funny about men wearing girls clothes or begging for alms on tv or acting gay. I'm all for freedom of speech and choice of sexual orientation but some respect needs to be given to both these liberties given by society. Why is it that acceptance is shown by making fun of something ? It was totally distasteful by my standards and I'm sure others feel the same way that Ashutosh Gowartikar felt. Though, once again, his defiance and dissappointment could have been potrayed in a much better way. I found parts of his statement very compelling that people work very hard to achieve these awards and making a mockery of the industry and people recieving the awards during the proceedings and not letting them express their gratitude freely is an insult in more ways than one. I for one have never liked Sajid Khan's sense of humor, but to be frank this trend was started by SRK and Saif Ali Khan. Their jokes were still funny for the fact that some of the fun they made were dispelling rumors or flamboyantly joking about flops. But at times even they were tasteless and I wonder why No one stopped them at That point. Someone Might comment that the jokes are given by the Network hosting the show. But I'm VERY sure that No star can be compelled to Do something on Television that they aren't comfortable with.
On the other part there was Akshay Kumar rejecting his trophy. I'm only aware of what rumors I read in the papers but as a viewer I only considered it very sad for a Star of his stature doing that. Dedicating your award to another is one thing and leaving it behind , giving it to someone who Everyone knows Doesnt accept awards ( Aamir ) is demeaning in ways. I don't think it was a Selfless act. I don't know what it was or his reasons behind it, but I do know that it seemed unncessary.
All in all, I wonder what it is that the children of tomorrow are being taught via the one mode that's the Biggest source of entertainment. What happened to the values that were potrayed in the times before like self restraint, poise, glamor, elegance, laughing at yourself, being better than what you are, etc ? Sure, exhibit life at it is but don't forget to remind people of how LIFE should be. Now it's embarraising that award winning artists don't even have enough grace to stop chewing the gum in their mouths before coming on stage, which is Right up there with eating with your mouth open.
|
2 Spin Offs:
I agree with ya 100%. Let me tell ya something Adisha...alot of public figures of today are absolute brats with no manners! No wonder the younger generation of today dun carry much values.
Keshi.
Nice one Adisha!
Just because people know that everyone is naked under their clothes, doesn't mean they should stop wearing clothes in public.
Doing things just because you can is the trend of decade and has caused utter loss of mutual respect not only among people but communities, religions and countries.
In old times people used to condemn things like disrespect, bad behavior, illicit relationships, stealing, gambling, now those things come on our television on prime time making millions and millions.
Did anyone condemn the act in the show or was it left to the viewer’s interpretation / discretion? Be an ass and become rich and famous?!!
Just because you are strong enough to not let yourself affect by what you watch, doesn’t mean everyone is that strong. Doesn't it strike that there are few vulnerable sections of the society who might be affected? Just because they don’t show sex doesn’t make it legal for all ages.
I cannot solely blame the producers of the shows; isn’t it the people who are demanding things like these as well? Although no show will survive criticism by the whole society because good still strives within all of us, but we are so easily succumbed to the dark side that we don’t even realize it until someone puts a mirror of consciousness in front of us.
Digressing from the topic of bad shows on prime time, but on similar grounds, I usually blame bad things to the rising population of human species.
More the population, more the cut throat competition, lesser the respect for other competitors and lesser the quality of community.
The first 2 parts of above statement has been the very first rule of the game since the start of life on earth. But what happened to the humility of the winners? What happened to ‘giving back to the society’ part for the winners? That’s what used to separate us from the rest of life on earth.
Humans improved the quality of life for quite a few human beings, lowered the price of luxury and increased the quality of everyday commodity, but somehow in process people have gotten used to the ever degrading quality of human community, rich and poor alike.
If the software called “Human Behavior 21st Century Edition” was developed in some sort of out -of-the-world software company; that company either fired their quality assurance department or they were not happy because of unpaid bonuses this decade or they just thought it would be nice if we reversed the definition of 'quality' and deliberately introduce bugs and see the user respond.
I don't say good things aren't happening today or good people have vanished from the face of earth, nor everyone in the so called good old times was good and everything was justified and pure, but the ratio keeps getting out of balance every decade.
Time is not far when words like 'respect', 'courtesy' or 'courteous' will be removed from dictionary or might become a joke for the newer generation, like 'idealism' and 'gentleman' have become today.
People really need to go back to the basics and learn the real meaning of words like humor, admonishment, and appreciation. The word 'altruism' should be kept aside until they obtain social maturity :)
Learn what makes a community a community.
Learn the difference between individuality and selfishness.
Learn the difference between disrespect and expressing yourself.
Learn the difference between community and a bunch of show offs.
Learn to appreciate and encourage ethics at job.
Learn to accept responsibility
Learn when to leave someone alone and when to be together.
Let alone to learn to gather the strength to correct the course of things. Not everyone’s cup of tea.
It is a shared effort, everyone is in it equally. Parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, politicians, artists, actors, media and reporters, doctors, engineers, janitors and professionals of all sorts. There has to be a common and shared understanding of ethics.
It is a chicken and egg problem. No one learns those things without first building a good community, and a good community cannot be formed without those things. And yet there adverse times when good communities have formed, and I guess those are the only times when it happens. Later communities forget.
The human civilization has a very short lived collective memory of what it is like to get hurt until people are reminded of pain time and time again, history repeats itself and then nature (or God) has to finally correct the course and brings back things to normality by presenting adversity to humans, only to get out of control again over period of time under different circumstances.
If people admire small things in life only when the times are bad, then it sure looks like a brink.
Even the atheist knows it deep down inside the concept of regeneration, the concept of the phoenix but just don’t refer by that name.
“Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their ignorance. From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives." - Bhagavad Gita
"Whenever there is decay of righteousness O! Bharatha
And a rise of unrighteousness then I manifest Myself!" - Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV-7)
Individually humans beings would have never made it to the top of food chain, it is the community of dedicated and determined individuals which makes humans as powerful (but only as a group), and degrading the community will degrade individual humans bringing us back to the stone age.
You may find this as an exaggerated response to your article, Adisha, but if you see the bigger picture of what’s happening around, this exaggeration transforms to mere interpolation of current affairs and you start seeing the indicators of rising degradation of human communities driven by, and fueled by anger, greed, arrogance, insolence, indifference.
See what's happening in Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of the world and you will be scared of the future.
If you read ancient scriptures and you will know this is not the first time world has come to this and what has gone by is not the last time things will be normal. We have faced bad times before and have successfully come out although with a lot of sacrifices.
I keep consoling myself, if this feels like a bad time in history there were worse times and the worse has gone by and so will this. If this feels like a good time in history, there have been better times and they too have gone by. Someone close to me has said, ‘ab yah bhi beet jaayega’ (and this will also pass).