Excursions into dystopia

I found this article to be a superficial and unbalanced analysis
of Pakistani media.

I find the quality of acting, plots of dramas gradually maturing
and improving over time. The abundance of channels have all-
owed a wider platform for talent, which otherwise would have
gone untapped. Same with Pakistani pop artists. The good ones
have found a niche and are now even lending their expertise
to our melody-starved neighbor next door. We have come a
long ways from Mohd. Ali Shehki and Alamgir to now Fuzon,
Fakhir, Josh, Strings, Atif, Jal, Jawwad, Sajjad, Sheraz, etc, etc.

Media is now a business, whether we like it or not, and until we
have some educated directors and producers who will take a
principled stance against crass commercialism, we will continue
to see Commander Safeguard flying over Musharraf`s head. :)

Pakistani TV is trying all sorts of new (borrowed) stuff from all
over the world. They have morning shows, cooking shows, news
shows wall-to-wall, interviews, kid shows, sports shows... I mean
they are working their butts off to please you. And they will only
get better with time. So kudos to them, but I see that some
people just can`t be satisfied.

Lastly, this article needs a lot of proof reading!. A jumble of dis-
jointed sentences, flights of thought and quite a few misapplied
adjectives. A first draft. Very trying read, indeed.

why not buy some BBC programmes--after all our TV is the best in the world--and dub them into Urdu and show that?

My paper in the class for Media theory and research was about the numbness effect - I argued that complacency is caused by an over consumerized society, programed into working out solutions to problems on a buying spree auto pilot. And this is particularly damaging to a democratic society since a nation`s education is what prerequisites political awareness.

I suppose we too have to follow the same course of evolution before enough media awareness groups introduce better alternatives.


Aisha Sarwari

right said nfp !!!!
everything else might be palatable except those ``frigging`` (i wish i could use a harsher word) time checks.... these are so annoying that i`ve probably stopped using some of the products that pop up with a time check every... is it 10 minutes now ?

nfp ... do u really think the spin docs of pak media are as good at turning false talent into star stuff like america????

nadeem,
i`m currently working on a research paper about `consumerism` in pakistan. i am going to try and argue that the rise of postmodern consumption (fashion, consumer credit, etc.) is being presented as the success of the government`s economic policies, while inequalities are deepening and social fissures are becoming more pronounced. is it ok if i quote you?

i personally think these ``channels`` lack a long-term perspective and want to reap as much money as they can asap, right now, at this very moment. hence the adds. ``sacrificing`` a tiny bit of the revenue so they can ``work`` on good programming and establishing a good ``reputation`` of their channel, is an idea that doesn`t seem to occur to them.

also most of them lack proper ``planning`` when broadcasting material on their channels. they dont spend ``time`` in brainstorming what shape their channel will take, what content will it have, what kind of people will work/how to hire them and so on and so forth. they just want to get their liscenses and go ``live`` completely unprepared and without any idea as to what they`re supposed to do there.

i do see ``some`` potential in ``some`` channels, but only in a show or two. thats where it begins and ends. as for the adds, yes, they make the thought of switching to a desi channel extremely repulsive. i also blame the advertisers and the marketing individuals responsible for those adds for adding to that effect by making them so incredibly boring/ridiculus (<-- spell check please) that one feels offended while watching them.

as for these four: Aamir Zaki, Fasi Zaka and Sajid and Zeeshan... they`ve always been your favorites. even though fasi`s has nearly ruined himself and the reputation of his intelligence by writing that absurd column. his articles on marketing however, are a pleasure to read. but i seriously dont know what went wrong in the column...

i have to ask u something, what about the mekaal hasan band? you appreciated them greately when they came out and all of a sudden you... dont? how come?

~I mean how can I take a channel seriously when I am told that ``Jazz Ladies First Hogayee Hit`` right after the headlines proclaiming total devastation in Karachi due to rains. I mean it would have made more sense had the lady been hit by a minibus or drowned in an open nullah! And I can only turn to a saner channel if soon after learning that Nawab Bugti had been killed, I am told by a gentleman, ``Main tey Honda laysaan.`` (``I`ll buy a Honda`` in Punjaby). ¬

Lol. So true.

Nice bird`s eye view analysis of elementry level the majority of channels are opting for and falling into as well. Only one complaint that is coming in my mind is that while settling to view any favorite (though thats becoming rare ) a sudden ad pops up and breaks the rythum.
Being an old admirer of PTV, I never viewed the advertisment between a running song or a discussion/dialogue. But in various channels now the song is interepted in the middle to view the unwanted ad. Similarly we dont need half hours ghantas to be necessarily run when we have clocks to know time. That 1/2 ghanta sponsored by an ad just breaks the rythm for the minute it takes!
Your views are good that anchors of all music channels are always happily critisizing from north to south just like many pakistani style, however they havent been able to post a simple value for upgradation of plight of channels.
But I must say that changing the scenario of music videos and humor time shows goes to the most talented youg crowd of early this century as Jawad Bashir, Amna, Faisal Qureshi, Nini, Adeel Hashmi and many like them. They were fresh air and still their ``ulta seedhas`` are a fun to watch...

``It is an irony because now that we have dozens and dozens of channels out there with pretty liberal (even though at times rather contradictory and warped), programming policies, the whole concept (or ability?) of quality seems to have flown out the window.(Nadeem Pracha)

Nadeem Sahib -- ``pretty liberal programming`` -- without the pretty liberals like you being in-charge of PTV -- will always make the `quality` bird fly out of the window.