Central Argument: TV is both an idiot box and a source of empowerment, however, it depends on the society that's watching it.
Everything has its pros and cons and so does an idiot box like TV, or some might like to call it an empowerment box. People in America are already extremely developed and therefore TV is probably just a waste of time. TV is a way to spread awareness faster regarding crucial issues however people in America rather than looking at news look at soap operas which are not extremely useful. Let’s take Gossip Girl for example, does it have anything useful, is it helping American citizens in any way? No it’s not; people are just watching people bitching about each other, and the name tells it all, it’s all about gossip, I am not saying that gossip is bad however listening to gossip about people one doesn’t even know.
It is hard to understand what the American teenagers or females get out of watching those soap operas. Thus looking at the state of America, I completely believe that TV acts like a complete idiot box. Look at the people, they are becoming obese and stupid, so therefore they must be sitting in front of the TV, hogging up snacks or looking at their ipod, or texting. Teenagers instead of talking smartly, talk stupidly, so if TV has to become a source of empowerment they should promote shows like, ‘Once there was an obese woman and now there is not.’ At least it will help them in some way.
However, I feel that the directors in India are smarter as they looked at the condition of rural areas in India and decided to spread the awareness of the conditions in rural areas. They helped build power and pride within the women and made them feel more important, for example in the soap opera, ‘Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’ or as the author translated ‘Because once a mother-in-law was a daughter- in- law’ women realized the husband’s mistreatment towards them were not acceptable. Girls were starting to be born again because men are considered higher in villages.
India’s rural areas have one big fat issue and that is overpopulation. When there is a sale, women go and crazy and buy hoards of clothes, in the same manner women go crazy and start producing babies. However, the TV has had a great impact and has been the biggest solution for overpopulation. Therefore TV is a source of power, a source of entertainment yet a source that spreads the message and helps the people.
In the end I would like to conclude by saying that TV is good if it sends out a useful message, a message that benefits the people. Shows like, ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Gossip Girls’ are useless, instead intelligent shows like, ‘Because once a mother-in-law was a daughter- in – law’ is far much better. So I believe it depends on the place and the shows shown on this screen for rural India it’s betterment for society however for America it is creating the new decline. TV is both an idiot box and a source of empowerment.
No comments:
Post a Comment