Sunday, December 8, 2024

Westernisation of Indian Web Series

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With the advent of globalisation and more so, with the Jio, internet post 2016, has become cheap, superfast and readily accessible on our smartphones. At present over 50%, of the Indians are active internet users. This in the backdrop of already saturated American and European markets and falling profits of Netflix around 2015, made India – a fertile ground for investment, soon a streaming war began with approximately, 30 OTT platforms trying to encash the $ 5 billion Indian streaming market.

Within no time, the combination of technology and OTT platforms paved their way in Indian homes, especially during the pandemic. As the Gen-Z is living largely on internet, web series started being made keeping them in mind. The youth started freely engaging with Netflix, Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime (to name a few) and the absence of censorship facilitated the sipping in of western content like – “The Vampire Diaries”, “Fifty Shades of Grey”, “Friends With Benefits” etc. Soon Indian directors like Anurag Kasyap and Ekta Kapoor started making westernised content like “Sacred Games” and “Gandii Baat” which took the audience by surprise with its presentation of profanity and promiscuity. Such nudity in Indian web series has been made possible due to the courtesy of western dramas. With them being open about these things, they are no longer a taboo completely by themselves. Same goes with the use of profanity. Series like “Lust stories” and “Aarya” started creating a buzz among the viewers but what are they actually promoting? Incest relationships, animalistic behaviour, instant gratification or is it trying to “Normalise”- the western relationship dynamics wherein everything is transactional in nature and dysfunctional!?

Series like “Mirzapur”, “Leila”, “Four more shots please” and “Rainbow Romance” have started creating a market of their own by encashing on the instant gratification theory of Hollywood and by peddling western ideas and values in our culture.

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This is worrisome as kids and young adults have started liking such shows and have started picking up crass language as the new fad! “Mirzapur” has also normalised the use of abusive language and toxic masculinity as being cool. Now, some wokes may argue and raise their “Freedom of expression” placards saying it’s creative liberty. If you don’t like all these things, then you don’t watch it. Why do you want to suppress the voice of those creators?  Well, it is because for the first time such vulgarity and nudity is available and accessible on a large scale to the people of India!

Secondly, youth perceives things very differently from other age groups, watching violence, abusive behaviour, dysfunctional relationships and one night engagements, sends them the message that these behaviours are treated as normal (new cool) and are accepted by society, and hence, everybody does it. It should also be realised that the accessibility of such sexual content by young people may have more harmful consequences than one might expect. The way an immature mind perceives such sensitive issues can be easily measured by the increase in the number of crimes against women by minors. Lastly, freedom of expression ends where it violates the rights of others. People have a right to raise their objections towards such content.

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It is also, rightful to raise objections against such content as it does have a negative impact on the youth of our country both psychologically as well as their career and even on our Bharatiya culture. Such web series (western or Indian) are more poisonous for young minds- as they are more effective and efficient in the “Ideological Subversion” process. Things which Macaulay’s education is unable to achieve, such web series on OTT platform can do with ease. Creating an identity crisis in the minds of our youth who are “confused” or are unable to “fit in” – neither in India nor in the west as they get constantly bombarded with western ideas (through such web series, movies etc.) that they end up spending the rest of their lives – constantly colliding with the “transactional culture” of the west and the “relationship” culture of Bharat and the Bhartiya value system from which they get disconnected. 

It is high time that we take steps to regulate OTT platforms for all that is western is not progressive and modernity is not equal to sexual promiscuity and functional alcoholism which appears to be just the case nowadays.it must be remembered that going down the hill is easier than up the hill already our youth has started committing gruesome murders and crimes – taking inspiration from series like- Dexter etc. However difficult it may be the only solution to such Ideological subversion – according to Former KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov is – going back to your – “Bhartiya roots”

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