Soap operas - our daily diet
Being a marginalized male in a female dominated in front of TV household, I have been forced to watch the endless series of Soap Operas on the three popular Indian Channels evening after evening and far into the night (sports, news, NatGeo, Discovery, others only during commercial breaks). Sleep eventually comes as a merciful escape into the world of reality. My observations (since this is the time of Observers, foreign and local!):
1.Female characters, good, bad and ugly dominate the families on view. A few are very clever, but most, especially the heroines, incredibly stupid.
2.All of them have an endless supply of gorgeous, branded clothes, are loaded with jewellery and cosmetics, so much so, that they even sleep wearing them.
3.They all live in servant-less palatial mansions, with innumerable rooms where everyone from family, guests to vagrants etc can be accommodated. They exist on a diet of grass and leaves and the highest point is a meal of aloo paratha.
4.Male characters, are even more stupid than the most stupid females, and are moulded to do their bidding and intrigues, while they are overseeing multi-thousand crore rupee industrial empires.
5.The alpha females lie, cheat, withhold pertinent facts and go back on promises while weaving webs of intrigues to bring their adversaries, usually the hero/ heroine, into endless problems.
6.Males, even though multi-billionaires, are totally powerless in matters of family policy, strategies and activities and must kow-tow to the dictates of the alpha females.
7.Possession of cash, jewellery, land, property and internal power are the criteria for the alpha females' intrigues that are cruel, ruthless and inhumane in most cases.
8.Alpha females have an army of sons, nephews and zombie henchmen to do her bidding, whom she keeps protecting even when the truth is laid bare.
9.The females are not above taking dubious, questionable or even criminal characters as bed-fellows to assist them in their nefarious schemes.
10.When all else fails and they are hemmed in on all sides, the stupid heroines are not above cajoling and even threatening their favourite deity, pir, baba etc for help and are usually obliged by an impressive show of bells ringing, bolts of lightning & thunder and sudden gusts of winds.
All in all, these soap operas are an insult to one's intelligence but then Good Heavens, it has just occurred to me,--- has something similar not been the history of politics in Bangladesh for the last couple of decades?
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments