Media Event

Today as I sit around trying to get the project off my head, in a 'switch-off' moment, I come across a healthy, fruitful debate on our sweet old television. This one tries to mud sling another tv channel by trying to debate whether a certain actor being 'caught-in-his-act' was justifiable or not. Yes the key word in that sentence and in most of the ensuing debate is 'being'. It wasn't as much about the act that was committed by the actor or his pleas to being innocent or I don't know, anything else (??!!!??). I mean quite clearly the loudest and most underlined comment was the 'who has the right to catch someone like this' and 'we-are-the-best media channel for you'. So come watch us. It was strange how this channel assumed the media-police position. I mean if they talk of being morally out-there and responsibly sensitive, the least (and I would say first) thought to have crossed their minds should have been the subject of discussion and their obvious relation to it!

In another perspective, the channel 'conducting' the debate was becoming a (self-imposed) object, simply because it was in a certain way generalizing, a. personal morals/ethics, b. audience sensibilities, c. right of the media to violate personal domain. I personally dint even read the debate going anywhere close to whether sensibilities were to be given some allowance or whether the audience is being forced to view what is 'unethical' to social norms or that the certain actor should be given a just trial. All of the above seem inconsequential considering that one news channel is trying so hard to debate over the ethics of another.

Look normally speaking, it was just another debate on NDTV - Big Fight. But if I am allowed to view this further, it made me take sides on whether Shakti Kapoor stood on any ethical gorunds at all while he encountered the situation, OR whether the position on blame is that of the viewer who doesn't know how to make choices of tolerable media viewing, OR that regardless of what the viewer wants to see or not, code of conduct is an independent reality and should be treated so regardless of surrounding medium/media. For some reason it seemed obviously inconsequential what poor little Shakti was going through, because he already was the object. And what would you do with an object but to walk around it, view it from all its sides and then comment. So well he was the object that was the subject this evening. The rest of the panel had one Mrs. Akhila, who insisted some regulation be made to feed the viewer with 'responsible' content, and Mr. Mahesh Bhatt, who vehemently said the viewer is not a point-blank-stupid fresh canvas, that all infidelity lies on the side of the presenter. So he said the sensibility is a debate within, and somewhere went on to categorize the cliched Indian prude and (blah blah) blah... ofcourse he was working in full defensive, almost cleaning himself off all allegations of contributed adultery in the (prude) mindset. But well regardless, what seemed strange is that to a simple straight forward viewer (as were the viewers of India Tv on that sunday, when Bollywood's under skirt activities went live), the only point that comes across straight is the unethical projection of someone's private life without his consent. Because simply, none of the other 3 debates drew any conclusion, and so if one wants to conclude the debate in their minds (or take a view point), they stick to the simplest bare minimum - that is, commenting on the position of the channel in question or the actor.

I wouldn't want to cut NDTV so slack, as I have seen some sensible, responsible or lets just say clear agendas in most of their stories. And they have been bold enough to hold on to a position. So it would probably be rather reduced to think that they would use this piece as a justification for thier own position. But it would have been only apt had the channel by-passed this weekend story, for any other. Just edited this controversy off. Because an absence of that sort would have spoken volumes over the meek presence that its debate did.