What impact does serials have on our lives ?

          DUNK: THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE NARRATIVE :

The 8:00 ritualistic viewing of aired serials, with the similar plots revolving around young lovers facing many difficulties, and cheating husbands being forgiven, and hostile mothers-in-law are not the imagery of past. In our households, we have grown watching these dramas, which had a far greater impact than was conceived at the time.

I remember asking my mother why is she following these pathetic storylines? Which weren’t educating anything productive. The only visual outcome of these dramas is the reimposition of an enslaving mindset. I asked her what is she getting out of it, and in her defence, she defended the entire drama industry, but it’s only for time pass and entertainment beta. 

We haven’t realised the problem. What was being passed with clean chit as entertainment was actually inculcating ideas in the minds of so many. You see, media is a far more powerful tool than we can imagine, the moving pictures depicting stories of misery leave a mark on the psychology of so many people. You ask where we learned that love is supposed to hurt? Well switch on the television and you’ll get your answer! You ask where we have learned to forgive men and accept them back in our lives after all they do? Well, that’s what majority of us has been exposed to!

I read Sheldon quote once, in which he said, that what took my character 15 years to solve it’ll take my reader seconds because he’ll have read about it. It’s called mental memory, it’s your exposure to something so regressive that makes you surrender even when you are right. That’s what our media had done to us! 

Why am I writing this? The Fahad Mustafa comment. That his drama is a tribute to the people who have fallen a victim to the false accusations of sexual harassment. There is nothing wrong with this, he is living in a democratic state. He has a right to express his opinions. And when he has the power and position to get those ideas to thousands of people he should have been more careful. There is nothing wrong with giving the other side of the story a voice. Why the backlash you ask? Why the sudden outburst, the accusations and the boycotting? Well because we haven’t been heard enough. That’s why. It’s as simple as that.

We haven’t been heard enough. Our screams aren’t yet answered. Our stories haven’t yet told. We haven’t gotten over our trauma yet. That’s why. So when we see someone representing the one grain and we are the mountain who no one is noticing or supporting, that’s the anger than that takes over, a maddening rage of being abandoned. 

He isn’t wrong that people are falsely accused. There is no denying that. But those who aren't still get away with it without any accountability. That’s why when you air something of this sort, it gives all the wrong people a justification to cover up the sins that others have to live with. That’s where you are wrong. 

It takes a lifetime of courage to admit something as cruel as sexual assault, it takes every single molecule in your body to point to the person who had harassed you, and then when you see such a public display of defence against something you have suffered, it breaks your strength to the core. That’s where Fahad Mustafa is wrong.

If you get to a position from where you can impact the way a society thinks, you should do better than this. To all the survivors of sexual harassment, we know the corridors, the classrooms, the offices, the corners, for the reasons we shouldn’t. You aren’t alone. You aren’t responsible. Whenever you are ready, speak up!! I’ll listen and I’ll BELIVE 💛