the role of television media in molding the pakistani society into a morally corrupt culture

8/12/2019 The Role of Television Media in Molding the Pakistani Society into a Morally Corrupt Culture.

1/6

The Role of Television Media in Molding the Pakistani

Society into a Morally Corrupt Culture.By:

Maria Salman

Sehrish Raza

Submitted to:

Bilal Zubair

10/8/2013


2/6

Research Question:

Has the Pakistani Electronic Media been mishandling information and issues affecting the

Pakistani society in negative manner, disturbing the ethos of our society?

Literature Review:

In todays world Pakistani media plays a very vital role in shaping the minds of the society

due to the growing trend of watching television among all the age groups and also due to the

ease of access to cable television. Channels do not realize how much effect they have on the

society by what they show in their various dramas. They just care about their ratings in the

end and which is why they cover topics and stories which cover very sensitive topics. There

are a lot of dramas which show violence on women by either their own family or their

husbands family and this gives birth to psychological disturbance among women and also

leads to increased violence in the society because of the ideas they get from these dramas.The media portrays the gender specific violence against women which is something that

occurs all over the world which creates a sense of insecurity among the women. (Parvez,

Roshan, Riffat, & Qasim, 2009) 1

The Media needs to be put restrains on because their coverage is becoming more and more

questionable now-a-days. Rather than covering stories and the news that need attention, they

just end up covering things which would create a sensation. They donor care what effect

these programs can have on the minds of the society and what impact all this can have on our

culture and moral values. The media only portrays the negative aspects of our society and

focuses on the negative news creating a sense of frustration and desperation in the nation.They portray all the negative aspects of our society and country which creates negative image

of our country in the world. The channels do everything according to what their sponsors

want rather than thinking about the public. The anchors of morning shows manipulate the

people in thinking what they want them to believe. They are spreading negativity in the

society. (Azam Khan, 2010)2

Pakistan is one of those countries which are suffering from Americanization. There is

confusion as to what the countrys culture is because of the increased exposure to Indian and

most importantly American culture. American Culture has a very strong impact all over the

world and we as a country have also been affected by it. A culture is basically visible in the

behavior of the people and now everyone wants to and pretends to follow the American

culture especially the young generation and this is also leading to an increasing generation

gap among the young generation and the older generation. The youth is adopting the

1Parvez, M. A., Roshan, R., Riffat, S., & Qasim, Z. (2009). PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN . Global

Media Journal,Vol 2, Issue 2.

2Azam Khan, M. (2010). Growth and Development of Electronic Media in Pakistan. Lahore: National

Management Lahore.


3/6

American culture and customs and are greatly influenced by their culture and practices and

they are letting go of their own culture, values and norms. (Ashraf Khan & Arif, 2009)3

The advertisements shown on the TV are also playing a very negative impact on the society.

They emphasize on beauty and physical appearance which messes the minds of the people.

Advertisements make people believe that appearance is all that matters and make them self

conscious about their appearance. Women are portrayed as being unintelligent and weak

while men are portrayed as being strong. These advertisements have created a stereotypical

image about women in the society constantly degrading them. (Ali & Shahwar, 2011)4

Hypothesis of the Research:

On the basis of the research done, it can very explicitly be said that yes media is affecting the

Pakistani society in a negatively, corrupting it morally. The media, without caring about the

consequences touches such sensitive topics about the society which ends up distressing the

minds of the common man. Children are now aware of things which they should not know,

men, women and children are being mentally harassed because all the brutality exposed

irresponsibly, cultivating violent minds in society. The basic human decency has disappeared

from the media, violating all sorts of societal norms and cultural and religious value. This not

only provides horrific notions to the impressionable mind but also gives a distorted image of

the true values of Pakistan to the world, confirming their worst fears about us.

Limits of the Research:

The scope of research paper is limited to the television media of Pakistan which has a far and

wide reach, basically every Pakistani including those living in Pakistan as well as abroad. In

terms of temporal scope the paper looks at the changing trends of media in the last five to

eight years. The media in Pakistan may have been revolutionized with introduction of

channels like ARY digital, Geo TV, HUM and Samaa from 2000 but the unconstructive and

detrimental effects have been felt strongly in the last few years.

Organization of Research:

"Television knows the power of the image, and critics of television are aware that the image can be a

negative force as well as a positive one.Anonymous.

The Pakistani media too knows the power it holds, but of late in the rating war the media has lost all

sense of responsibly handling information. In a world where the information can reach across the

globe within seconds, the every word and action has to be thought out, keeping the consequences in

mind. Television media, the master of manipulations of facts, holds more responsibility then most

3Ashraf Khan, M., & Arif, I. (2009). MEDIA IMPERIALISM AND ITS EFFECTS ON CULTURE OF PAKISTAN. Gloabla

Media Journal, Volume 2, Issue 1.

4Ali, S., & Shahwar, D. (2011). Men, women and T.V. Ads: The representation of men and women in

the advertisements of Pakistani electronic media. ournal of Media and Communication Studies Vol.

3(4), 151-159.


4/6

because every show reaches millions of viewers coming from different educational, intellectual,

cultural and societal backgrounds. They perceive the matter in different way and react to it differently.

This holds true in Pakistan as well, but looking at news, morning shows, religious transmissions, talk

shows, dare shows and local and international dramas currently on air on different channels, one

thought is common in the minds of most Pakistanis. This is not right, this is not Pakistan!Thisprotest againt the media has been registered with PEMRA in their Viewer's Feedback & Complaint

Management System.5

The news channels reporting news from all over the world are twisting the facts or sensationalizing

the reports for a few viewership ratings. What they dont realize is that their constant promotion of the

negativity has regressed to society to a state of constant depression. The tolerance has become low in

the masses, and they react to all news negatively.

- Complaint # 25571

.Fourth, some of news channels show the crime stories with more spice to attract the audience;this spice at time goes towards 18+ stories and at times it create frustration among the audience in

the long term. In my point of view it will create problem for the society in the long run.

Showing dead bodies of the murder victims or the blood and gore of a terrorist attack or the overtly

violent crime reenactment shows leave the minds in despair. Violence prevails because the mind of

man cannot process explicit violent images portrayed in news and to vent out those violent urges they

act upon them since our society looks down upon those who seek help to deal with aggression. We see

that now we have become immune to brutality in society because we see it in the media every day.

On the other extreme we have the morning shows that pretend that biggest issue of society is what is

the latest fashion trend, the hottest place to be or the latest drama to watch. The morning shows thatare suppose to target the women masses of the society, are planting the idea that women of our society

need to be glamorous, and should celebrate life by dancing in mixed gatherings and wearing exposing,

inappropriate but expensive clothing.

- Complaint #25937

Pakistani TV morning shows spoiling the Pakistani culture and tradition specially Maya Khan,

Shaista Wahidi, Nida Yasir, Sanam Baloch and related channels. Morning Shows are very shameful

and dancing men and women together ..what is this? Block these channels morning shows

The fact of the matter is that is not part of our society and should unacceptable to the women ofPakistan. Instead it is breeding a sense of deprivation in the minds of women since they cannot be

glamorous or beautiful like the made up, pretentious women hosting or participating in the morning

shows. And while the mature audience can discern between the reality and the set ups of these shows,

the younger, impressionable women are growing more and more discontent with lives, needing the

extravagance and to a point vulgarity in their lives as these symbolize happiness and elevation in

social status according to their morning shows.

5The complaints included in this research paper are take from the official PEMRA website:

http://115.186.57.67/complaints/
http://115.186.57.67/complaints/http://115.186.57.67/complaints/http://115.186.57.67/complaints/


5/6

Like the morning shows we have talk shows, confession shows, dare shows and religious transmission

that give a false portrayal of the behavior and norms of the Pakistani society and culture. Shows like

Maachis,Lakhon Ka Suchh,FearFactorPakistan,DesiKuriyan, andLiving on the Edgeare leading

our youth to challenge the values of society and break the boundary set by Islam. Young men and

women willing to cross every limit for 5 minutes of cheap fame and these shows provide the platform

for it, because scandals raises the rating of channels. Same could be said for shows like religious

shows like Geo Aaman Ramzan Transmission where pretentious religious hosts like Aamir Liaquat

Hussain, who have no sense of common decency, are allowed to give away babies.

- Complaint #25134

Kindly stop Amir liaqat and his program Aman Ramazan to go live on air as GEO network is

promoting anti islam stuff.Amir Liaqat has no respect whatsoever for people, country and religion.

He invites people in his programs and then make fun of them. He even handed over a baby girl to a

childless couple. Geo and Amir liaqat going beyond the limits which is not acceptable either by the

religion or by the people..

These shows make a play of religion and society, exposing us to ridicule from the rest of the world

because they dont show that fact that we as a nation too dont approve of these antics of these

channels to improve ratings, rather they just showing responses of few planted people to give the idea

that their ideas and behaviors are acceptable.

Another vital component of the television is the drama serials. In Pakistan, recently, there are

basically two kinds of dramas currently on air: one the locally made dramas that are sensationalizing

and exploiting the sensitive issues of our society like religion, extremism, human rights violation, the

third gender in our society, child marriages, running away from homes,Halala, divorce, extramarital

relations and other inappropriate topics.

- Complaint #25807

tv is promoting vulgar culture, We have been seeing many suspicious content on this network but

now what i have just seen is totaly unbearable. I can provide you video links of the content. , Please

regularize the activities of TV channels. They are just ruining our culture and values and the are

injecting indian and sexual culture in our youth. Please either regularize it or we youth will have to

be united to stand against this culture

The other kind is of the serials bought from foreign countries like Turkey and India. These dramas

dont evenportray the true values of their own cultures. They are for pure entertainment value for

them but when they are brought to Pakistan they become a tool in the moral corruption of society,

since they promote the suggestive content, showing indecent amount of skin, wearing obscene

clothes.

- Complaint #25979

Turkish dramas are promoting vulgarity and unwanted boldness, they are opposite to our culture

and values and guiding new generation towards a wrong path. Please ban them as soon as

possible...

These dramas may have entertainment value for the near future but we havent yet realized the fact

that these dramas shape the minds of the susceptible youth, who have already been exposed to content

far above their level of understanding.


6/6

Conclusion:

All these forms of entertainment might serve that very purpose for some people but the general

masses are refusing to accept them as they do not impart the same values that are an integral part of

our society.

From fashion shows, to dancing to blatant romances, every form of entertainment has been exposed to

one or another form of indecent content which has been challenging our restricted society. What the

audience sees is the limitations put on them by their society, not the reasons behind them.

We are becoming a society is living within a set of cultural norms and core values of Pakistan

but is imitating the lifestyle of west, This is giving the future generation a liberal view of

issues such as drugs, indecent clothing and immorality and immodesty. Our new generation is

more susceptible to falling prey to these social diseases if they keep getting exposed this corrupt

media since they dont see the same core value being practiced in the society that the older

generations were exposed to. What would happen if they demand the same freedom as west? Wewould become a ruined society with an insurmountable moral gap.

the role of television media in molding the pakistani society into a morally corrupt culture

Documents