You might have heard that a teenager was affected with a paralytic attack after the judges reprimanded her in a so-called reality show. Its a very unfortunate incident and it highlights how the media is putting pressure on kids and youngsters to sell their primetime.
The tv channels are so bad these days that the reality show participants are rebuked when the participants don’t perform and go so low to create controversies like making judges cry or participants breakdown. Controversy always sells - as much as sex and skin. Another good example would be the high profile Big Brother show, which was going down in rating and then Shilpa Shetty - the alien participant among the English earned racial disrespect and then millions.
Its so blaring and hard to ignore in Indian media these days. How about the Aarushi murder mystery case that still hogs the news channels. It has taken more than 40 percent of the prime time, a study says. One channel has gone to such an extent that they recreated an apartment with the same setting as Dr. Talwar’s home to solve the puzzle. Does it mean that the channel stood upright morally and was socially responsible? I am skeptical.
I wonder when it will all come to an end! Its a chicken and egg problem - the media would claim that its because people watch that they show all this and people kvetch its forced on them. Either way, I guess the best channel now is the World Movies. More about it in next post.
