Where is television headed?
As we grew up in a culturally involved family, we were not encouraged to watch the black box, commonly referred to as the television. The philosophy behind that was, rather than watching others on television, people should watch us on TV. Nonetheless, when Bangladesh Television emerged from PTV in 1971, it served as the entity of our Bangladeshi existence and nationalism. It was the only channel that existed and carried the spirit and soul of the nation. As our beloved nation is getting older, we now have more than thirty television channels providing us with a variety of programs. Now the million dollar question is, are we bringing out the best in us in this plethora of channels?
To promote excellence, much of the responsibilities rest on the producers, the planners of the programs. Are we truly representing all the genres of music? Classical, Nazrul, Modern, Tagore, folk and band music? Many of the two-three hour live shows in the channels are quite weak in sound quality and the artists are not always able to hold the attention of viewers as the harmony of the tunes are missing. We also need to focus on new, emerging artists so that they blossom with time and move our music forward. At one point in time, Lata Mangeshkar was the only artist in Indian film industry, but then with time, many new promising artists have been encouraged and established.
Many of our viewers in this country are inclined to programs broadcast by our adjoining countries. Too many interruptions by advertisements rob the viewers of their interest in the broadcast. It seems that we are watching advertisements and the main programs are just fillers. The Bangladeshis living abroad especially in Europe and America are avid viewers and we have to pay for the program packages. Shows like “Gaane Ganne Shokal Shuru” in Channel i and “Tomar Gaan Shonabo” in Maasranga are massively popular is the USA because of their good quality.
The cooking shows are of interest to many and are usually well received. There are numerous dramas each week, some strong, some weak. Recently some dramas with radical themes and morality issues portray the changes in our society. It makes one wonder, if the traditional values we love and uphold are changing and the texture of our society is getting rougher! But producers must keep in mind the role of media in shaping the young minds. Using foreign tracks and songs in TV shows is making them lose much of the lustre. Interviews and talk shows and health related programs are informative and useful.
Television is not only in sets now. It is on iPads, Android phones, iPhones, and online. In this age, the programs are travelling with us wherever we go. We hope they will provide us entertainment, direction, as well as a fragrance to make our days beautiful. Let us end with a hope because positive energy attracts positivity.
Samira Abbasi is a singer and writer.
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