Ban violence before smoking in Bollywood 08 January, 2012
This article highlights the dangers of portraying violence in movies, especially male-to-male violence. The reference is taken from a news item that talked about resistance from Bollywood to ban smoking in movies.
AS I was sipping tea on a Wednesday morning, I chanced upon a news item that had appeared in the Times of India that caught my attention enough to go through it. The title of the article was, “Smoking Ban: B'wood argues for creative freedom”.
While it is a good move on part of the Government to display its concern for citizens, what we need to realize here is that more than smoking it’s the violence shown in movies that hurts the society, especially men.
Invariably, it is shown in movies that the hero fights the villain to “protect” the heroine or the society or country or even world at times. Ironically this male-to-male violence is a source of entertainment for the society and is the biggest encouraging factor for abuse of men as well.
It sets out a notion in the society that it is a societal norm to abuse men and, men fighting with each other, is not at all a social problem. On the contrary, male-to-male competition is encouraged as a way of life and this indirect promotion of misandry and male disposability is a sub-conscious contributor to the stress levels in the lives of men and ultimately to their abuse.
Movies have a lot of impact on the social psyche. While, it is a good thought to discourage people from smoking but the far-reaching implications of the male-to-male violence portrayed in movies need more thought than just banning smoking.
Also, the violent projection of men in movies creates a false impression about men in society which not only jeopardizes their social placement but also contributes to invalidating their problems. Such portrayal of men also raises the bar of expectation from them and this puts them in a very precarious position wherein they, more often than not ignore their own problems and live in denial which can be disastrous for any society.
About The Author
Virag R Dhulia, a software professional, has been a prominent men's rights activist. He has been engaged in creating awareness about the abuse of men and their families through anti-male and gender biased laws like Section 498A, Domestic Violence Act etc. He has been instrumental in networking with fellow men's rights activist both across India and abroad and has played key roles in organizing events to create awareness about abuse of men by the society.
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