Thursday 6 August 2015

Camera is the culprit

Cinema has always been the most popular source of entertainment among adults, families and even for kids. In spite of being a great source of entertainment, it's not very keenly recommended by parents when it comes to watching movies for kids.


I belong to a time and generation when we as kids accompanied our parents for films as an outing but were never encouraged to get fascinated about the whole idea of glamour, fashion and madness behind that reel cinema.

As kids, I still remember we were not freely exposed to film magazines, filthy songs and any other sort of resource that would lead our interest in the glamour world, plus we had so much to do in our times...that movies and films were merely an excitement for an outing and cold drinks.

But when I think of today.... cinema has taken over other sources of entertainment in a very big way..

It's not just confined to the multiplexes or movie theaters but dozen of channels on TV telecast films all day long.
The ones which doesn't show movies, show filthy songs with embarrassing videos & dirty lyrics. If that's not enough there are advertisements adding to the repulsion with skimpy clothes and exposed body ads with some  really  stupid dialogues.                   


Somehow if we manage to skip TV, There are these Newspapers filled with full page movie ads showing skin, posing inappropriately or else filled with blood and violence. Even if you manage to ignore all the above...You can't get so unlucky to miss that condom ad placed right where your eyes can never skip it.

These thoughts never crossed my mind or bothered me all these years of my life but since I am a mother now... I can't turn a blind eye to all that is happening around and let my kid grow before time.


When I hear a 4/5 yr old singing....sari night besharmi ki night and many such absurd songs...
 I literally feel how their parents allow them to watch and listen to such songs...?
Above all it feels so indecent to hear these dirty lyrics coming from kids of such young age, thankfully they don't understand the meaning behind it yet.

Many parents think otherwise that more we keep them away or restrict them from all this more they would get attracted to it, So they let them watch anything and everything that the idiot box has to offer .... Be it Saas bahu serials, item numbers, movie trailers full of violence & bad words and other stuff without giving a second thought.

Now its up to the parents to decide what they think is good or bad for their kids... Well, In that case the safest bet is to limit their TV viewing only to kids channels.

However it changed my mind when I sat one day with him to realize... Bheem being all kids hero only loves to fight and is aggressive all the time. They are all shown saving the princess ...so now when ever I have a girl who comes to play with my son she has to be a princess in trouble and helpless ...so Bheem comes and save her.

Heights of all was.... the day I heard this advertisement and thought my son might have changed the channel but to realize later it ran on kids channel made no sense to me ( a women wearing deep neck blouse being called hot by his father in law) My kid relates hot with weather.

I really fail to understand, why are kids exposed to things or dialogues not appropriate for their age... ?
Why are serial and movie promos running on kids channels?

why are parents not given a choice of deciding whether they want their kids to show the movies or not ?

why obscene item numbers, lewd songs and clippings everywhere on TV?

Restrict it to one channel ... people will have a choice to watch or not.


The full page movie ads in newspapers should be avoided in front pages. Hoardings and movie posters should be kept clean and watchable .... not lusty and vulgar..

On one hand we are feeding our kids with dirt, filth, vulgarity, obscene stuff through songs, movies, hoardings, magazines and newspapers.. On the other hand we are complaining of kids outgrowing their age and misbehaving, teasing and finally assaulting... 

I am not saying this is the sole reason behind all the mishappening in society but is definitely a very big reason of where our society is heading and the way future generation is being misled.

The other day my 5 year old asks me ...why in all the movie posters boys always have a girlfriend ? Well I answered that for him but It won't be surprising if he comes and says next ...mamma I want a girlfriend too.

I am not against boys and girls being together .... In fact we need to instil the values of relationships in our children and how we all play important role in every ones life .. but why make it obscene and present... There are healthy ways of letting kids know that two ppl love and care about each other like their parents do.

The girl boy relationship should not be a taboo...that is seen or projected as a shameful thing.

For all those who think i am being over protective ... must understand there is always a choice of exposing your kids to every thruth in a healthy manner and at a right age....

Camera is the culprit... because it focuses at the wrong places and provides an element to pollute innocent minds. The dialogues and the lyrics should be for enjoyment but not to dilute our thoughts. Many think its just fun and they see and forget at this age .. should remember at this tender age kids learn more from what they see and hear ... And whatever they are exposed to leaves an imprint on their minds.

Worst is even in video games and cartoons... Girls are projected with divulging breasts and as a piece of object to gather attention...where is the need to make these little minds curious of women's body and think of them as some glamorous object ?

why can't girls or women be projected like a normal human being ...and how they look in real world ? 

we must always remember kids understand more than we think they would ... And it's our responsibility to feed them with values, morals, respect and equality.



4 comments:

  1. Dear Mann,
    Thanks for sharing your views through this post. I completely agree with every word of yours written here. Girls are shown as objects of desire whether these are TV commercials or video games. My daughter loves playing princess games wherein she has to dress up almost nude princess with different costumes so that she looks best. The other game requires making princess beautiful through make-up and all. All we are inculcating in children is to go for superficial things, appreciate outer beauty...in the process losing touch with human values and appreciate small things of life.
    CAMERA is the culprit but as parents we are responsible too!
    This can be changed through our guidance only and that is not over protection at all. Children will learn certain things when time will come till then let them be kids enjoying simpler things.

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  2. Hi Deepti! Thank you so much for going through my post and liking it. I really appreciate your views on this and completely agree that we as parents are highly responsible in securing our kids childhood and innocence. You are most welcome to share this post among your friends and other parents to know their views and spread the word to help bring a difference....Thank you!

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  3. Hi Ronnie,

    I'm not sure if your first name is Ronnie or Mann. Please let me know.

    The world we live in today is not a nice one to raise children. They are subjected to so much garbage in the media, schools and other kids they meet.

    My brother and sister-in-law home schooled their kids to keep them safe and also monitored what they were allowed to see on the TV and in the movies. They had a certain amount of books they were allowed to read which kept them busy.

    My heart goes out to you. I will share this article with family and friends.

    You have a wonderful day and weekend ahead.

    Linda

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  4. Hi Linda!

    Thank you so much for sharing your views on my article.
    It's true that so much exposure to our kids at an age when they are not ready for it... might have an adverse effect on their thinking and growth too.

    I can relate to your brother and sister-in law home schooling their kids, every parent want to protect their child from growing up before age and that's exactly what made them monitor their kids, when it comes to TV, movies and or even books.
    Kids mind is curious to learn and if they are exposed correctly in the right direction they can go far away with their ability to grasp and imitate.

    Thanks again Linda for stopping by and sharing the article with your friends and family. I really appreciate it and you can call me Mann:)

    Have a great day!
    Mann Ronnie

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