Reel Culture V/S Real Culture

Reel Culture V/S Real Culture

Think twice before you go for a movie. Which would you prefer- a Bollywood or a Hollywood one? With the content remaining the same both offer you loads of crap in the name of wholesome entertainment. In the dream factory of Bollywood, aspirations are being fulfilled, even as more are born every second. In a nation of a billion fantasies there is always a new star in the making. The new age actors are ready to go to any extent for the character to be safe in their hands.

Indian movies are no longer ambassadors of Indian culture. With directors trying hard to draw a line between the aesthetic and the vulgar, Indian movies seem to be deteriorating in quality day by day. Gone are the days when film makers made movies for the satisfaction of their creativity. Today’s film makers make movies for fame and wealth. If any of you, the wannabe actors read this article let me illustrate what you should do to be a part of the crowd. Criterion no: 1 is that you should be a director’s actor, the director will tune your system clock and you have to perform. If you try to register your protest it will be considered as an act of interference on your part as there is a thin line between passion and interference. Indian movies are neither at Cannes nor at the prestigious Oscars. They are exclusively the ‘MADE IN INDIA’ brand meant for titillating Indian audiences. Why would the jury prefer Indian movies for Hollywood ones? The movies featured at Cannes and Oscars are typical of different cultures. The actors seemed to have lost the appetite to explore the unexplored realms of cinema. The Indian entertainment industry has lost its credibility, sensibility and sensitivity.

With banal talk shows and phone-in programmes the situation in the TV-industry is no different. The attractive youth who picks up the phone never forgets to ‘welcome’ you and ‘Thank you’ for calling. Cinemas rather than becoming a medium of social change are trying to promote a new culture among the youth. Premarital sex, live-in relationships or divorce were taboo for the middle class a decade ago, but today’s youth gracefully approves all that.

News channels carry tales of sleazy actions caught on camera. Spy cameras are omnipresent and omniscient causing havoc not only to people at work places but also to politicians, housewives and executives who get caught red-handed. From a multicultural society India seems to have transformed itself into a monoculture one which is in sync with the western world. The work of Indians should be a celebration of Indianans. The private domain has become public spectacle with formatted reality shows, 24 hours news, eternally remixed videos and endless film promos. The line between real and reel is no longer distinct. With the urge to emerge on the international scenes Indians seem to have divorced Indian culture.

Article by: Neethi Jayakrishnan,St. Teresa’s College