The prevalent notion about Feminism in the Indian
society, especially among teenagers and middle-aged people, the two groups most
vulnerable to the contents they are exposed to on television and internet,
needs a positive transformation. Feminism is commonly misinterpreted by them as
‘Misandry’ or men hating agenda. The only time these people care about male
oppression are when feminists protest against oppression of women. Some people also
believe that the rise of feminism is resulting in the oppression of men. Of
course, there are people who are not influenced by the negative portrayals of
gender in media but most of them tend to inculcate within themselves what they
see in television and internet, throughout the day. They practice these
behaviours in real life which creates a gap and withholds the desired progress
of the modern society, often trying to dominate the recessive groups by
controlling their actions and decisions. This phenomenon can be understood
better by the collective application of the Magic Bullet Theory and the
Propaganda Theory.
- MAGIC BULLET THEORY: The ‘Magic Bullet Theory’, also known as the 'The Hypodermic Needle Model', is a model of communication suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. The model originated from American political scientist Harold Laswell’s 1927 book “Propaganda Technique in the World War” and was originally rooted in 1930's behaviourism. The Magic Bullet Theory distinctly states that the message or information that the media disseminates is a ‘symbolic bullet’ which is fired from the ‘media gun’ into the viewer’s head. Similarly, the Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the media injects its carefully crafted messages straight into the passive audience which immediately affects them. Movies and daily soaps ingrain ideas in the viewer’s mind, like a magic bullet, which becomes an inseparable part of his subconscious and behaviour. The bullet, once inside the body, starts regulating their thoughts and actions.
- PROPAGANDA THEORY: Propaganda means information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a cause or a point of view. The Propaganda Theory states that the way in which news is structured, in this case through different forms of media, creates an inherent conflict of interest that acts as propaganda for undemocratic forces. Hershey H. Friedman, professor of Marketing at the department of Economics, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, USA, in his book “Propaganda Theory as applied to Advertising” stated that there are many similarities between advertising and propaganda. While advertising is definitely not propaganda, it may benefit from the application of the Theory of Propaganda. Advertising is consequently a part of sociological propaganda.
COLLECTIVE APPLICATION OF THE THEORIES
The mass media has become so powerful that it can
shoot or inject any message straight into unprotected audience. Any kind
of visual or audio-visual media have a direct, immediate and powerful effect on
the audiences because it is a pre-planned infusion of message into their mind
that attempts to alter their thinking. If any of these medias portray that a
woman is getting dominated or abused by a man, in any given way, it tends to
affect the viewer’s mind, specially the children and adolescents. As an effect
of such portrayals, the children might grow up learning that it is a norm. Boys
might grow up thinking that they are superior to girls. The Magic Bullet Theory
can be aptly related to the power that media possess in mobilizing and changing
the physiological and psychological way of thinking and living among the people
exposed to it. In movies and daily soaps, the audience watch how different
characters, especially women, are treated based on their appearance,
qualifications, etc. For instance, the mainstream Bollywood movies always
portray women with fair complexion or a slim figure getting better
opportunities in life- in jobs, marriage, relationships, etc. because they are
considered beautiful according to the pre-conceived notions of the
society. On the other hand, women with darker complexion or those who are fat
are constantly body shamed. Even the actresses that are cast in the role of the
heroine are always fair in complexion while the actresses with darker
complexion get side roles. In the 2019 film Bala, a fair Bhumi Pednekar was
cast to play the role of Latika, a dark-skinned character. For a movie aimed at
normalizing body positivity, instead of just casting a different actress who
actually had the required complexion, Bhumi Pednekar was painted brown to match
the character.
While the audience are watching these movies, and it’s
time for an ad-break, there are always two or more advertisements of fairness/slimming
products, which disseminates the same message of discrimination, creating an
immediate impact on the mind of the audience, which forces them to purchase
beauty products. Advertisers attempt to work like propagandists with
pre-existing attitudes to induce people to act. It encourages the viewer’s desire
for consumer goods, services and ideas using suggestive images. This not only
creates a gap between men and women but also creates a path of discrimination among women, following which one woman feels superior to another woman on the
basis of physical appearance.
Academic education and social status of an individual
does not help a person with a deviant mind to act properly. The audience
exposed to these media are very vulnerable, educated or uneducated, rich or
poor, all alike. Therefore, these people find ways to fulfil their desires that
are ingrained in them by false ideas from media and often ends up bullying, shaming
and harassing women real life. Some women face domestic violence after marriage
due to their physical appearances and some has to pay dowry to the groom for
accepting her as she is. On June 2020, there has been an incident of a school
in West Bengal teaching primary children that “black is ugly”, promoting racism.
However, after this was exposed, the teachers were arrested and banned from
teaching. The children studying these grow up contributing to the already
existing problems of our society. However, a change in this portrayal of gender
roles in media is in progress up to the minute. This being a gradual process, the
gap is still very much exposed and it needs to be addressed to add up to the change.
One of the many reasons for why it’s high time to realize that Feminism is needed
is the prevalence of patriarchy and misogyny in our entertainment contents that
crudely manifests the society’s toxic behaviour towards women, further harming
their growth and freedom.