India's Rwandan Media Is Injecting Psychic Poison and Violence into Our Body Politic
By
Avijit Pathak
Aug 26,
2020
For quite
some time, I have stopped watching television news — particularly, the
prime-time panel discussions. Barring exceptions, these ‘debates’ are noisy and
toxic. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that such discussions amid
ethically and intellectually impoverished ‘star’ anchors, and aggressive
spokespersons — but not necessarily thoughtful and analytical — of diverse
political parties cause widespread psychic violence. Seldom does one witness
what is needed for a meaningful debate or conversation — say, the clarity of
thought, the art of listening, or the ability to retain civility.
Inertia: Anything that demands some sort of serious reflection and
critical thinking is causing boredom.
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Instead,
the exchange of toxic words, personal abuses, and routinised blame game (if the
Congress speaks of the Rafale controversy, the BJP would invariably talk about
the Bofors scandal; or, for that matter, if the Congress refers to the Gujarat
riots, the BJP would not forget to remind the audience of the 1984 riots in Delhi)
take us nowhere. Our understanding of secularism, nationalism or development is
by no means enriched. We only consume superficiality and violence. We too
become sick — culturally and psychologically.
Only real
education can activate the emancipatory power of ‘non-cooperation’ with what is
brutal and exploitative.
At times,
this psychic poison or violence might be life-threatening, and can affect even
the ‘spokespersons’ who are otherwise the perpetuators of this culture. For
instance, recently, the cardiac attack and the demise of Rajiv Tyagi,
spokesperson of the Congress, after a noisy ‘conversation’ with BJP
spokesperson Sambit Patra (not known for calmness, or compassionate listening)
on a popular channel has generated a debate on the kind of television-induced
insanity we are nurturing. One cannot establish any causal relationship between
the television ‘debate’ and the death of Tyagi. Yet, the fact is that it is a
reminder; it indicates the intensity of the media-induced culture of violence,
and the psychic wound it causes. As concerned citizens, we must reflect on this
malady, and strive for decency in the public domain of communication.
We know
that many of these news channels are not really interested in disseminating
what is needed for the growth of a vibrant and democratic public sphere. The
instrumental interests implicit in the neoliberal logic of profit, the benefits
of being closer to the ruling regime — and that too at a time when dissent is
almost criminalised, and the social psychology of mass hypnosis that stimulant
spectacles generate: these are diverse reasons for the growth of this toxic
culture. See its consequences. Truth is sacrificed; serious journalism suffers;
sensationalism is promoted; news is reduced to boxing; and a debate looks like
a war filled with the binaries: Hindu vs Muslim, ‘Deshbhakt’ vs
‘anti-national’, or Hindutva vs left-liberal ‘pseudo secularism’. Yes, it
sells. It satisfies our brute instincts. It does not demand any critical
reflection from us. It is like watching yet another soap opera, a reality show,
or a Bollywood thriller. It is the trivialisation of mass consciousness.
Herein lies
the real concern. After all, the ‘ordinary’ people like us — clerks and section
officers, engineers and corporate executives, students and housewives, teachers
and cobblers, or gardeners and restaurant owners — allow these anchors to
flourish. We keep these channels alive; and we give the impression that we are
really dying for listening to what these political boxers (what more can we
expect when politics rests solely on the stimulation of gross emotions centred
on caste, religion and ethnicity, and the discourse of power seeks to transform
falsehood into truth?) every evening.
In a way,
we too are the carriers of this culture. Possibly, in the age of instantaneity
filled with mass culture, alienated existence, seductions of consumerism and
all-pervading media simulations, we have become empty and hollow. Anything that
demands some sort of serious reflection and critical thinking causes boredom.
Under these circumstances, glossy soap operas replace the beauty of folk or
classical literature; and a deep conversation between a political theorist and
a committed journalist reporting from the field doesn’t get sufficient
viewership. Instead, news, we tend to believe, has to be ‘entertaining’— the
way the fight between Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan in Sholay excites us. As
passive consumers, we allow ourselves to be intoxicated with sensationalism,
vulgar talk shows, and political wrestling. Is it, therefore, surprising that
the ever-exploding viral messages disseminated through Twitter or Facebook or
WhatsApp have become the most important texts we love to believe in?
There seems
to be no immediate remedy. However, as a teacher with deep interest in critical
pedagogy, I believe that we have to rethink education — the way we grow up, see
the world and engage with it. I am not speaking of formal, technical education.
I am referring to education as some sort of politico-ethical consciousness. I
am imagining the creative role of concerned citizens and organic public
intellectuals as educators.
The
education that seeks to liberate us from the chains of domination would make us
realise that politics is not a 24x7 dramaturgical performance; nor is it about
promoting one’s narcissistic self. Instead, politics ought to be experienced as
a vocation that aims at creating a just society. With this liberating
education, we would demand civility, sanity and intellectual honesty in the
public sphere. And then, we would be able to distinguish truth from falsehood,
outer glitz from inner substance, and honest dialogue from toxic rhetoric. Only
then would it be possible for us to activate the emancipatory power of
‘non-cooperation’ with what is brutal, exploitative and violent. And then, it
would not be difficult for us to switch off all these toxic television
channels, and say ‘no’ to those ‘star’ anchors who take us for granted.
Original
Headline: Media & psychic violence
Source: The Tribune India