The recent crimes committed in Mumbai hold many lessons, amongst them being the importance of information-sharing between intelligence agencies and between governments, and the fact that the urbane Dr Jekyl turns, more often than not, into an out-of-control Mr Hyde. But the events can also be seen to have constituted a dire warning to media organisations regarding their role, duties and above all, their responsibilities.

Over the past week, the world’s press has published a fairly large amount of material discussing whether Pakistan and India were/are at the brink of war, and dissecting how far this hype or perception was created by the media. And yes, it is certainly true that much of the war-mongering and posturing, and the resultant fear, was fomented by the media of the two countries – one of them made aggressive by perceived righteousness and the other defensively belligerent. Nevertheless, while the headlines told us that the bombs were just waiting to be dropped, in the text of the story one read of the more rational and restrained responses offered by politicians and governmental representatives of both countries.

Although it cannot be denied that irresponsible statements and knee-jerk reactions were delivered by state and non-state actors on both sides of the border, this still does not detract from the apparent restraint displayed – so far – by the greater officialdom of both India and Pakistan. And just over a week later, the press of both countries has come under fire for not only the manner in which the events in Mumbai were reported as they unfolded, but the manner in which conclusions were offered.

As the battle raged on the streets of Mumbai, television audiences around the world watched the live coverage with, no doubt, varying levels of horror and disgust. The style and tone of the reporting illustrated, yet again, how the division between fact and fiction can blur and merge. As with the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and earlier, during the first Gulf War, one had to look at the channel’s identifier logo to be sure that what one was watching was hard news and not the product of some Hollywood special effects.

It is a fact that art imitates life. But in today’s world, dominated as it is by news and entertainment media that compete for audiences, it is also undeniable that life can imitate art. Indeed, before the events of 9/11 took place, a film depicting a fictionalised account of New York coming under a similar aerial attack was under consideration. Needless to say, the plug was pulled on that production after the horror of that day, which we have now seen to have had such far-reaching consequences around the world.

Think of an average person out in the west, one of the millions left out from the umbrella of university education and in the habit of reading mainly the local news. He sits in his armchair after a hard day laying bricks or dispensing cash or serving at a restaurant: he turns on the television and chances upon a news channel in between the slew of films and fictionalised accounts. He sees that the far away city of Mumbai – which is as alien to him so as to be mythical – is under siege.

He may be aghast and horrified, but there will be some little part of his brain that expects Bruce Willis to shortly make an

entrance.

As the other side of the coin, consider a young man fresh from a madrassah education here in Pakistan, who’s been raised on a steady diet of fire and brimstone strictures, beatings, abuse and brainwashing that are, by most researchers’ accounts, the regular fare in such ‘institutions of learning’. He has been taught to believe that any one who is not Muslim and who does not have a beard – including all ‘westerners’ – are the work of the devil and must be eliminated. When he turns on the television and surfs through the movie channels, he is not so naïve as to consider them ‘real’, but he can be forgiven for walking away with the impression that they represent reality as it is in the heathen lands.

In pointing out this blurring of the boundaries between fact and fiction, my intention is not to imply that something ought to be done about it – or even, indeed, anything can be done about it at all. This is the way the media industry has developed in this world of ours and now that it is so, it is hard to imagine any other way it could possibly have developed. The important thing, however, is for audiences to recognise and dwell upon how the virtually constant bombardment of various forms of the media affects our minds and shapes our perceptions. As has repeatedly been pointed out in the context of the war-mongering in the Indian and Pakistani media that occurred in the wake of the Mumbai tragedy, the news has the power to influence opinions. This holds true for the entertainment media as well. This is what is meant by the argument that irresponsible news reporting can brutalise a society and de-sensitise it to violence, in the same way a steady diet of action and war films can.

— hmumtaz@dawn.com