By Aditya Jain
They often say that human beings are a product of their environment. There also arises an interesting question out of this seemingly wise statement: don’t human beings shape their own environment? This lends us a vicious circle of loops. What this also gives us is the possibility that we can influence and mould and add perspectives to our lives. One of the ways we have achieved that is through illuminated screens. Television shows and movies can show, bend and anticipate the reality that we might not have the wider vision to look at. Barring all the abstract jargon, visual media has the power to show us who we are. In this article, I look at a personal perspective in a nation where movies cater to the farthest reaches of existence.
Good Vs Bad Movies
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I got into an argument with a friend once. I suggested that a majority of so-called superstars were doling out horrible movies, their blind loyalty pandering to their seemingly endless popularity. I also added that I prefer movies that make me think, or those which reflect the human condition, or in the least, have an ounce of sensibility in them. He asked me to imagine a corporate employee, worn out by the inhuman working conditions, looking to unwind as Saturday hits the shores. “You really think he’s looking to think and reflect? He wants to leave his brain at home and laugh and let go, just for a while. He’s not looking for sense. He’s looking for the exact opposite.” Surprisingly enough, his argument had solid roots. What is a bad movie, after all? In my opinion, there is no answer to this question. Anything that doesn’t appeal to you in a personal sense is a bad movie, but again, just for you.
Content Creation
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There could be umpteen reasons for this, but there has to be a common ingrained drive that makes us want to portray our stories, our imagination, on a canvas. For ages, we have been giving visual outlets to our lives. From cave paintings to huge interactive screens, we have come a long way. One of the simplest reasons could be that our creative centres have this innate need to create art. That’s what visual media is, in one way or another. It is art. It is different things to different people. Some make it, some consume it. The makers pour in their life’s worth of energy to see their vision blooming on screen. Actors also find a cathartic space on screen. Theirs is also an art, a very difficult one to channel at that.
The Colours We Explore
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From the deep, dark recesses of the human mind in movies like Raman Raghav 2.0 to a sensitive story of delicate love between a man and a woman who bond over food and words in The Lunchbox, our filmmakers explore everything between the earth and sky. They also tackled social evils in movies like Deepa Mehta’s Water and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Pink. Movies also help sentisize audiences to myriad concepts such as gender identity and sexuality. We still have a long way to go, but I think we will get there. With the boom in online streaming media, creators have found a popular and freer space in which to express themselves. Sacred Games and Lust Stories on Netflix are recent popular Indian products of this rage. That said, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video also have an endless supply of great Indian content, with much wider range.
The screen is teeming with lights and rainbows and we have been exposed to a golden era in the progression of digital media. The next time you go and watch something, think about the implications. Think about the subtle dent it leaves on your mind and humanity. Think about the years that will pass and think about how these threads will be woven so intricately into our consciousness. The reel story is inspired from us, by us and for us. It is us.
