Couch Potato - Internet vs Television

I am caught again. This time its not the telly that I was so addicted to as a teen. With time I have grown out of it. Suprisingly from one trap to another - its the internet now. Well whom can I blame but myself. So I realize that am spending an increasing amount of my time on the net. Clearly there are similarities and differences between the two. But the bottomline is neither is "really" exciting.

Like dope this gives me a high. I look at the screen endlessly , surfing from one end to the other and yet getting nowhere. Television was fantasy and I viewed it to escape it all , internet is worse - its fantasy involving me. So am a part of it all and yet apart from it all. Escapism turning virtual, sometimes funny , sometimes scary and occasionally real. Like dope it also gives me a hangover and leaves me with a craving ,wanting for more.I am turning into a net-o-holic.

Interactivity , involvement and blah blah...The jargon that talks of new media and its merits is taking it all to a newer level. It is the creation of a virtual world. So as I wake up I put the radio on, On till I get to office. Then am looking at the PC all day long; get back home radio still on and finally fall asleep looking at the TV screen or surfing the net. And yes there is also a dash of reading that I do alongside all this.Real world , real friends , real people - do they exist, I wonder sometimes.Media is becoming the way of communicating even with people living under the same roof. After all my blog does give a better insight into me then my talks. I dont know how many of you feel the same . Somehow this bridging the distance is also creating greater distances.

Multifaceted multitasking youth doing multiple things - did I hear a whisper about power of concentration - I guess that's passe.

TV or internet doesn't matter much. But the bottomline sadly is am still a couch potato somewhere craving for the real.

Mediated Vs Ordinary

Have you ever looked inside a crystal ball and seen a world within a world? There is a world within world everywhere today or so it seems.There are boundaries being drawn , distinctins being made and exclusivity being gained as we move towards a more "equitable" world .But are we really, is the question.

I have recently read Dr Nick Couldry's "Media Rituals". The book focuses on the role of media as it becomes the epicentre of society and also talks about clear distinctiveness between people , places and things in the mediated world vs non mediated/ordinary world.

Recently, I was watching two movies and it struck me hard. It struck me hard that what Nick was talking about is pretty evident in real. Just a case in point - two movies one from Bollywood and other one from Hollywood using media as an essential element in the storyline.

Rang de Basanti : Cut to climax. What do the rebels do to be heard? They go to the radio station and get on the mic - reach out to millions of people and the end almost positively implies the beginning of a revolution. The beginning of the revolution is mediated. If we delve a little deeper there are other things too that clearly bring about how important and pivotal media is in this movie.

# Su - the female protagonist is a documentary film maker.
# The Bhagat Singh episode also clearly indicates how media ( newspapers ) almost a century ago, would help revolutionaries create the bang if they did something big at a place of important known people.
# There is also the RJ friend who comes in handy at the end of the movie.
# Television is the source of information (Madhavan's death) and later of the social take on the whole episode ( discussions on ndtv so on and forth )

Thats the media perspective on RDB.



Notting Hill: This movie is based on the premise of the difference between the mediated world and non mediated world. The entire movie revolves around it and media is the source of conflict in the movie. Well never before did I see the movie in that light. But some sequences that are hilarious and also bring out the difference starkly include:
# Hugh Grants sisters bday dinner
# The Horses and Hounds episode
# Climax - the proposal at the press conference.



Two of my favorite movies clearly talking of the difference in media and ordinary world and yet doing it so naturally that it may not strike many people.

The objective of saying all this is to understand that media's preojection of world is being taken as real , that media is increasingly becoming the center for determining the importance of any/every thing around us. But who is to ensure that media's projection of the world is real or not? The only way of ensuring the same is to make sure that media gets democratised.

Think about it!
Salaam Namaste

Suspended "Reality"

The Great Indian Melodrama both on TV and Cinema is a way of life for most of us. But there were some remarks by M.Night Shyamalan that made me think. Speaking of Indian Cinema and how it has influenced Shyamalan's work he talked of the theme of Suspended Reality.

Suspended Reality implies that when we agree to be entertained by the soaps and cinema there are certain presumptions that we implicitly decide to agree to. So its ok for the actors to run in the woods around trees singing , the emotional breakdown of mothers , the big entry of the hero (male protagonist) and more than perfect looking damsels in distress , the heroines (female protagonist) - its all acceptable and nothing really disturbs us. In fact the biggest grossers on box office have been really high on these elements of fiction. After all its just a movie, a story , a piece of fiction. Its not suppose to be real. We all as viewers enter this realm of suspended reality. Soap operas are no less. The long shots and zoom in ,zoom out, just to create impact is more common in K-serials than in thrillers. The film song and dance sequences are also finding time in the popular 30- minute slot of soap operas.So there is a clear line of demarcation between real and unreal in cinema and TV soaps.

But what with the reality shows.Is there a similar line that can be drawn between real and unreal in these shows as well. The "Idols" of the world aren't real but they aren't unreal either. So how does one understand and interpret this realm of entertainment? How real is the reality TV scenario and how far do we suspend it from reality, if at all, is the challenge we all face?

Sex and the City

As I give this title I wonder if i am just trivializing a major issue. But I know this one will grab attention so am using it though not to talk about a sitcom but a more grave and serious issue.

Welcome to the world of new media - Internet and podcasting.
Today people are creating their own media content. Media is a big industry and content is the key in there.Picture this - a 13 year old kid turned into an internet pornstar in his teens.It all happened within his home , through his PC and webcam. Beware, I say again its a mediated world and its turning grave and if we dont pay attention now , when will we ever? This was the story that shook me somewhere.This was the story of Justin Berry featured on the Oprah Show yesterday.

Media is just a tool and like every tool its usage determines its merit. But I guess the direction it is heading in is really not inspriring. Its becoming a source of terror , fraud , intrusion , sex and am sure there is a lot more trouble in store.

So what are we heading towards?
It is completely disorienting and i feel shame.
Shame on us and I wonder how we landed up here.

Do you think the same?