Being ill, I spent the past two days at home...and whiled away the time catching up with the idiot box. Usually I would rather read, but have been told to take things easy, and really rest...something that has eluded me for quite a while. But the medication has helped to make the body relax, and I vacillate between a fuzzy brain-fogged state, and that of a "why-on-earth-am-I-doing-nothing" panic moments.
But back to TV, and the programmes being shown.
When I was growing up, there were plenty of action drama with often incredulous and implausible plots. (hmmm...actually the Bollywood movies are still like that). The convoluted stories ended up as soap operas and yet, they keep their audiences glued; waiting to be satiated of their fascination for the all the negative human values that can ever be described. It seems that the portrayal of all the 7 unforgivable deadly sins were captivating...people oohed and aahed...but somehow knew that what happened on television, remained on TV. The compelling story lines had seemed so 'unreal'...real people do not really behave that way...really?!
Enter the age of 'Reality TV".
I am not talking about the Amazing Race, or Survivor, or the Bachelor. When Survivor was first shown almost 20 years ago, people were 'surprised' at how dishonesty, cruelty, antipathy and selfishness reign in human nature. It caused quite a stir because it seemed to go against the idea of how much humanity prevails in society.
We have come a long way.
Today, no one bats an eyelid when families allow their private lives to be telecast live on national television. TV has become a convenient platform where individuals come freely to air their deepest, darkest secrets, and air other people's dirty linen in public. They fight and do condescending things - all in the name of money; or for a few minutes of fame....and sadly, the 'uglier' the character one has, the more compelling it becomes.
What has become of society? Does TV mirror society, or has society mirrored TV? Nothing becomes sacred anymore...it has left morality in shreds. It is teaching the younger generation that it is so easy to be so self-absorbed...and that to get on in life today, it is ok to scheme, lie, and do every unscrupulous thing. Integrity is a relic of the past...the new values in life are driven by greed, egoism and self-indulgence.
I could have easily switched off the TV if I did not like what I was watching.
But I did not....It's not about voyeurism...It's about thinking what I have seen, and thinking now...how best, I can do my little bit...to still hang on to our values and morality which keeps us sane.
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