Real-time Violence on TV By Randeep Wadehra

Social scientists, child psychologists and others of their ilk often express deep apprehension regarding display of violence in our movies and television shows. Even such popular cartoon shows as Tom and Jerry etc have come under the scanner. While the adverse effects of violence-as-entertainment cannot be gainsaid, a far more worrying trend has not yet attracted due attention. Of late there have been telecasts of actual violence shot real-time and, sometimes, telecast live.

One is not alluding just to, what can only be described as, celebrity violence. No, one is not talking of the likes of Salman Khan taking on media persons or Raj Thackeray’s men bashing up North Indian cabbies and throwing bottles, stones and such other brickbats at Amitabh Bachchan’s house. Most of these incidents hide much more than they reveal because these subserve the political and personal agendas of people in high places. It will be difficult to assess the impact of violence in which Bollywood icons get involved as instigators, perpetrators or victims. But let us also have a look at the televised violence involving common folks.

Violence on television has become so ubiquitous that there are specific shows (Vardaat, Crime Reporter, Crime File etc) on several channels dedicated to violence wherein personal and domestic cruelty, sadism and fury are brought into public domain with relentless regularity. Burning, acid-throwing, sexploitation, domestic violence and other such acts targeting women and children have become fodder for sensation-mongers on the small screen. What is remarkable is the timely presence of TV crew when spouses are ‘thrashing out’ their disputes. There was this show, wherein, a housewife was repeatedly assaulting her husband in her kitchen. Those who know about TV coverage will vouchsafe that it takes quite a bit of time putting things together for the crew to take telegenic shots. How could they have been ready for ‘capturing’ this domestic violence without prior notice? This question repeatedly crops up while watching, say, a woman being beaten up in Delhi by her neighbours even as the police remain disinterested witnesses, and several other similar episodes.

Then there is mob violence that has been threatening to usher in anarchy for quite some time now; take these instances that sent chill down the nation’s spine without even touching its conscience: fed up with police inaction women in Nagpur lynch goons not just in the city-streets but right inside court premises; people in Bihar, on different occasions, mercilessly beat up suspected thieves in the presence of policemen, and on one occasion a policeman joined the mob by tying the hapless victim behind his motorcycle and dragging him through the streets. If that is not bad enough legislature violence too has lately been regaling the couch potato. Slippers, shoes, mikes and such other ‘democratic’ missiles have been launched as vehicles of expression by our legislators in different state assemblies. Of course, our elected representatives have a sense of humour too – like floating inflated condoms inside the House! Wonder what next.

All this is shown on television. What’s the message to the future citizens of India? That it’s all right to take law into your hands? That violence is a legitimate expression of protest and political dissent? That the decorum of our legislatures is mere fiction and hence violable?

True, media has to highlight reality. But who will take up the task of mitigating, if not actually removing, such reality’s impactful ugliness? Think it over.