Channels like MTV, VTV, ZOOM etc make you believe that it's a beautiful world out there and nobody in this world is ugly! Or at least if you are not dazzlingly beautiful you can't be on the tube.
The other day I was surfing through channels and I saw a group of "drop-dead-gorgeous" girls, scantily but stylishly dressed and doing some idiotic "task". It was the (in)famous reality show Splitsvilla. Just after it got over, another show started The Fast and the Gorgeous. I have no clue what these shows are about but they both (and a lot many shows on these channels) have one thing in common.. "drop-dead-gorgeous" girls, scantily but stylishly dressed. On an ordinary day, it was a great time pass to see gorgeous girls fighting, back-bitching, plotting, scheming etc. But it was not an ordinary day. It was one of those days when all news channels were swarmed my racial attacks in Australia. Whole country seemed united, all looked offended and all wanted (or pretended) to make a change! Quite unlike India! Comparing both the incidents, a very interesting thought came in my mind which I would like to share.
Why don't you ever see an ordinary looking, little dark or a South Indian girl (or boy) on these REALITY SHOWS?
Why do all the girls and boys who participate or, as they make us think, QUALIFY, for all these shows, are extremely attractive. Why the looks are so important?
I understand if a VJ is good looking because its showbiz and its only the looks that matter. So I can make out a Nikhil Chinnapa or a Malaika Arora being part of these shows, but why only a Palak or a Bani make headlines? I especially feel bad for the people who are a little dark in complexion. You can be brilliant, even great at all the tasks etc but still you wouldn't get a chance to be on these shows and win a fortune. And if you can't wear skimpy clothes, you have absolutely no chance! Your ability to expose may cover for your color a bit, you know!
India is probably one of the most prejudiced and racial country. I am a north Indian who has spent 4 years in probably one of the most cross cultural university of India. I have seen prejudices from close quarters. Indians have an undying fixation for fair skin! India is one of the few countries in the world where Fair and Lovely can claim to make a dark skinned girl "fair and beaming with confidence" in 7 days. In USA you would prosecuted with charges of racism for such a campaign. We all must have felt in our daily lives, at some place or the other, that the goris and firangs are treated specially. Why is such a discrimination so common? It's not the lack of education etc, which by the way is the best excuse for everything in India, because MTV is not for that class of people. Its for a target niche audience which is college going youth. They are all well educated and highly prejudiced.
Is it not a kind of racism? Is a country like this deserves to complain when there are "so called" racial attacks on its Diaspora? (before you raise a finger on my "so called racial attacks ", I must confess one thing, that I don't think these attacks are racially motivated…I believe they are recession motivated ). Why does everything has to be so beautiful and tailored? Why can't we accept simplicity and mediocre looks? You can agitate and condemn attacks Down Under but you still want to see only fair pretty girls on TV!
What a pity….
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10 comments:
Well I guess its Human nature to discriminate on color. We all fell sway to the Britsh when they first arrived in India. But that was more out of curiosity, than as a dividing factor. But I agree with you to an extent. The reason why the situation is like what it is today is not solely due to the "young and the predjudiced". The Indian men and women have subconciously accepted that "Katrina Kaif fair is to die for and to be dark complexioned is to die". The media has made us desensitized us completely to a point that sickens me.
As far as tv-shows are concerned, it's about more publicity and more viewers. So they put in whatever the general public watches. And yes, seems to me too that Indians seem to prefer fair-skinned people, men more than women in fact. And yes, this Australian issue seems to be more of a hype than there is to it. I'd read another blogger speak about it too: http://greatbong.net/2009/06/02/race-saanson-ki/
@Prateek
Dude!! I am in pune right now and it is heaven.. and all the because of the vivifying and temperate weather, amazing hang outs and girls.. Regarding Indian fascination with the fair skin I believe classification of women has changed a lot over time now even though FAIR SKINNED ones are still in demand time has given due attention to the other shades too.. I know many celebrities and ordinary but not so ordinary females who have grabbed the attention fromalmost everyone.
So this racial discrimination thing is somethng that I dont see an eye to eye with. Atleast in my personal opinion everyone can be "desirable" either on screen or life may be ( even for smallest of parts of life ) depending on not only on what color skin she has but on what kind of persona is she carrying.
About the reality shows and other bullshit on Small Screen I dont know what the fuck do they wanna show. Stupidity of College dropout teenagers or horny jealous mean and bitchy 17 something teenagers ho dont wanaa do anythin but fuck the hottest guy on screen.( eww I had to say that ).. You can see all the absurdity in my sentences as well..
Hence one thing is proved
"You talk about SHIT and SHIT is what is you TALK"
Awesome man!!
:)
what i feel regarding these attacks on Indian students in AUS...are mostly opportunistic.Going by hormonal patterns and pedigree indians are known to be demunitive and frail physically as compared to their british counterparts.So u see cases of 17-19 yr teens molesting Indian men who are 25 years old.I think all these racist thing is a smokescreen on part of Indians...to blame the aussie govt.Why cant u just say.."we are immigrants , give us protection or tecah us how to defend ourselves".There have been a rampant spurt in martial arts classes lately.Besides proper registration and verification of foreign students with the victorian police is taking place.These are welcome steps.lately srilankans have also been targeted.we need to show these kangaroos that the true thick colour of Indian blood.we should take some lessons from the movie"never back down".Govermnent rhetoric will continue perpetually...its the masses who shud first buckle up for their self defence.
good thought even greater thought process but i found oone linne a bit offensive where u describe ur tv serfing and then say
"Why don't you ever see an ordinary looking, little dark or a South Indian girl (or boy) on these REALITY SHOWS?"
does that mean u want to say that they are not "gorgeous"
u could be sent behing the bars in the us for such a comment
@nitin
i am sorry if you find my words a bit offensive...i definitely dont mean to be so...thats actually the idea behind the whole post...what i mean is that there is no place for ordinary girl or boy-next-door on the tube these days...these people are racists and probably regionists too...they made them realize that they are dark or fat or small etc by ruthlessly pointing and eliminating them in front of the whole TV audience...
i totelly disagree its show biz thats how things work here i thing its not the meda thats forcing us to think that way.they are none it could be true that these realits show are not that real may be.......ant a agree to u on something else there IS no place for an ordinary LOOKING person there its because in show biz thats what counts a person with IQ 10 can be a superstar u cant blame IITs for not taking idiot ppl coz thats their selection criteria. as far as being regionist is concern i thing its that fact that they are hindi shows so u cant have a tamil speekimg person there and if a person knows hindi he could be thate ie nihal in rodie 4 he was from karnatake so all in all they might me fake not realy real but not rasist or regionists.
India is a very beautiful and colurful country.First of all I think reality show is simply stupid time wasting and you don’t have to spend your time on thinking about such a worthless piece of tv.I was just watching the “Rakhi ka swaymber” and total 17 jobless contestant who want themselves on tv are ready to fall down to any depth.Even one 87 years old grandfather came up with his half bald son and claim to be most eligible groom to rakhi on channel E24.hey Bhagwan unki sun lo…
Now we talk about Racism. Although the term racism usually denotes race-based prejudice, violence, discrimination, or oppression, the term can also have varying and hotly contested definitions.you are right when you say..india has a undying fixation for fair colour and fair & lovely sell is highest in india.but these things can’t prove us as a racist.Here white people(gore log) or fair people do not hate or taunt on non fair peopleand if they do ..they do not mean it.India is a very vast country and people of every complexion live here even in one house in two brothers one may be fair and other may be wheatish.It doesn’t mean that fair one will get more oppurtinity or attention or love from family and out side people.People of India have been very open hearted from the very begiening.If u say we call westren people “firangi or Gora”than here even today small children name as kallu or kalicharan by their family.If u believe on myths even once kishan bhagwan said to Yashoda maiya..”Radha kyo Gori mien kyo kala”….But Racism that we are seeing outside of india is entirely different we never hate people of other state who have different complexion or race..Even this thing had never been a topic in india.Here people have differences but not due to colour or race but due to jobs,water and power.Attack on indian in australia is racism up to maxm extent and jealousy also included in that.These attacks are really condemnble and have to be stoped…jago government jago..
really good post...thts y we are called the biggest hypocrites in the world..and this fixation for fair skin is ingrained in all our minds by friends, family everyone since birth..srsly sad state of affairs
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