Staring Down the Barrel

Movies today seem to explore explicit themes of sex and violence unabashedly,and not surprisingly,attract an audience too. But how these are advertised in the public space needs to be examined. As I turned the pages of a newspaper recently,three images of gun-sporting actors stared back at me. Rowdy Rathore with the hero grabbing the woman and the gun with equal pride,Ishaqzaade with the heroine grabbing the hero who is aiming the gun at her,and Rakhtbeej with what? A child grabbing the gun with much authority and confidence,while a scantily clad woman lies somewhat dead just in case you missed the point.

Gun holding and scruffy hooliganism have become sexy,cool and commonplace in our movies. And randomly shooting at people is seen as fun. Yes,I can decide not to take my son for these movies but when newspapers,traditionally seen as family reading,give pride of place to such ads and posters,it makes it that much harder to explain why being rowdy and using guns is not right.

This also made me reflect on the trend of media houses reporting murders,rapes and burglaries accompanied by graphic descriptions that outshadow much of the other news. An unfamiliar reader might even believe that we are a nation of bad governance punctuated by perverted and violent actions. And one shudders to think what children who read these newspapers might be thinking.

As a parent,one understands that it is not possible or advisable to raise your child totally sheltered from negative influences of the world and pretend that life is a bed of roses. But to be forced into believing that violence is a natural way of life is undesirable and wrong.

The film industry and media need to review this with more responsible intentions. Sensational headlines that insinuate excessive sex and violence are irresponsible attempts to garner readership or viewership,and influence impressionable minds. Surely,there is a lucrative market for such content. But there must be a way so as not to bring it so openly into the public sphere and to stop glorifying it. Should media too start getting ratings of A,U/A and U? Or can we introduce some regulation for how headlines and movie posters and advertisements appear in newspapers? The Indian Broadcasting Federation has made a positive attempt to address public opinion on objectionable content. Can the print media dare to follow a self regulated code of ethics?

Until then,we will have no choice but to let little minds see the guns and hope that the roses take precedence some day.