June 15, 2006

Try as I may, it is really difficult to keep children away from TV. There are few alternatives to entertainment as addictive and as instantly attention-grabbing as the idiot box. And despite thousands of studies that monitor the effects on children of watching TV, barring those who have packed and put their box in the storeroom, I can’t name even three people who think they have successfully controlled their children’s viewing habits. Because, when life becomes demanding, TV comes in handy as the ultimate babysitter.

A quick flip through the 80-odd channels that our cable operator offers, has made me shudder. There are shocking instances of near nudity scenes, bad language and extreme violence –– all being beamed into our living rooms in broad daylight.

Whatever the time of day –– whether it is 3pm when the children are back from school, lunch is over, and they are idling in front of the TV or 8pm when the entire family might be gathered around the screen -–– cable channels seem to be recklessly stretching the bounds of propriety and enjoying a ridiculous level of liberty in the type of content that they show.

But the smart breed that they are, the cable wallahs rather smugly let us vote for our choice of film, at a time appointed by us, so that if they are accused they can turn around and tell us ‘you asked for it’. And because some depraved soul with too much time and even more money picked the film for you, here is what happens. There is a struggle for the remote and the winner, usually my child, begins to surf the channels. If I am in control and come across an objectionable scene, I move on quickly, hoping everyone missed what I saw. But if it is my six-year-old, she wants to know what’s going on. ‘Why is this woman dressed like that?’ ‘Why are they beating him up?’ ‘Are they going to kill him?' Questions no child should be asking.

‘Switch off your TV.’ ‘Change the channel.’ ‘Look away.’ I can hear the cable operator framing his retort. Given his network of customers, he can afford to lose one small fry like me. But before he loses my custom I have a few queries. Who, for instance, is the family that doesn’t have a problem with watching unabashed nudity and simulated sex with their children? And which of these families find a stand-up comic sprouting a torrent of bad language in front of their children funny?

The cable operators are probably rolling their eyes and asking me why, indeed, do I have the cable service? (As if SLV –– sex, language and violence –– goes whatever the time of day, because hey, its cable yaar and not PTV, right?) I subscribe to a cable service for the same reason that I assume most people do. To be able to relax and watch something I enjoy in my spare time; to monitor the news; to stay informed; and not to stumble upon bad language, sex, nudity and violence.

Not only are the cable wallahs flouting copyright laws –– a subject that deserves many vehement articles ––– but every time something objectionable is aired before 9pm (or indeed aired at all), they are also offending the sensibilities of the majority of their customers.

For instance, when the most requested film starts, there is no rating system, especially for the increasingly risque Bollywood films, to inform us of its contents. This is pre-recorded programming with content which the cable provider can control if he wants. Unfortunately the whole emphasis is on democracy that supposedly defines the system, without taking any of the responsibility for the consequences.

The ‘censor’ policy seems to be: ‘If you can save yourself the embarrassment, do so, but if you accidentally view something that offends you, too bad.’ What has such a warped sense of democracy to do with offending your customers? And why haven’t our cable providers heard of a watershed? Or is it too passe an issue to divert them from mindless moneymaking?

No parents, no matter how closely they monitor their children’s viewing habits, can be around all the time. Besides, there is something inherently unhealthy about putting your children under the gaze at all hours. That is precisely why in civilised countries, TV channels enforce a watershed. If you are looking for, or avoiding the SLVs, 9 o’clock, –– when most children should be in bed ––– seems to be the general cut off point. If they are up past that hour, parents stand responsible. But for onscreen explicitness before 9pm, it’s time we take our cable providers to task.

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