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| Saturday, 2 October 2004 |
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Media cleansing by Prasad Abu Bakr
Since 1993 there have been an innumerable number of television channels and radio stations that have mushroomed and joined the horse race for supremacy. The many blunders they have made in the process is worth a second look as The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation is currently in the event of re-vamping its programmes with the welfare of the general viewer in mind. Television and radio are both viewed and listened to mostly in public or at home amidst one's family members unlike reading a newspaper or a magazine, which can be done by yourself without others participating in it. In a country such as ours these mass communication apparatuses, specially television, cannot be brought to meet the viewing needs of each family member. So it is only natural that the influences these television or radio stations have on society can affect all of us at large.
Taking television in to scrutiny, before 1993 we had the pleasure of watching ITN (Independent Television Network) which was also the pioneer telecasting station to be set up in the country which was followed by the Rupavahini. They were both national channels and very modest in what they telecast to their viewers but the programmes had in them a vast amount of human interest, news and feature value which can be reviewed without further clarification even to this day. Between 1993 and 1994 a couple of channels too joined the network but after 1994 numerous other channels came in to be along with a range of radio stations too. Licences were formulated and issued but whether bidders were given a strict code of conduct to abide by still remains unknown to us, the public. At that time the famous soap opera 'Dynasty' certainly lifted a few eyebrows not only for its grand American business family rivalry but also for its revealing intimate scenes. Later of course there was 'Baywatch', a serial that showed more 'bare than bay', 'Bold And The Beautiful' and recently 'Sex And The City'. The process and build-up of showing such soaps that were sensationalised in the west has led the shocks to seize and be less effective with time.
Unlike television, radio which is being used necessarily as a mode of entertainment through music has been responsible at developing a new trend of 'mingling' our mother tongue with the language of the queen, creating a new dialect as 'Singlish' which is catching on with the younger generation creating an adverse effect upon their use of the English language as a singular entity. Some channels are using an English word in between every other 3 Sinhalese words that they speak while they are on air. There is also this new trend of them speaking in Hindi (the Indian language) during certain programmes where Indian music is played and these are rather regular programmes during which times some local musical programmes or chat shows can be presented to the listeners. Even many of the catchy music themes of some Sinhala radio channels have been taken (or stolen?) from popular English hits with the lyrics planted in Sinhala. Isn't this an infringement of the copywrite law or Intellectual Property Act? It is amazing how well these melodies are reproduced. There are hardly any interviews or information of any news value being included in these running air times which are mostly used to play 'Pop' music and that alone morning, noon and night. The whole attitude these private radio channels are projecting is a total disgrace to the Sinhala language at large and also wrongfully projects our cultural values making one to wonder whether there is an attempt to 'Indianize' the entire listenership that is tuned in to these stations. Even television has switched on to this method of tarnishing our identity by telecasting teledramas produced and professed by Indian writers, directors and even produced by South Indian production houses. As a result the events that the stories lead up to suffers an identity crisis, because viewers are watching the heroin emoting clad in a Kandyan sari with a background score that sounds burrowed from a South Indian film. But surveys have revealed that these programmes are popular amongst home viewers, specially the female family folk. In this case it is only fair to ask the question: is 'giving them what they want' the only agenda of television channels? Amidst all these hiccups however it must be mentioned of the few good programmes that are also being telecast in recent times. Bringing back of the great Japanese tale 'Oshin' and the narrative Indian serial 'Malgudi Days' was an exceptional act by Rupavahini but it would have been better if these programmes were shown at evening rather than at 7.00 am as it was done. 'Malgudi Days' specially is an eye-opener to our tele drama directors as to what kind of stories that should be made in to teledramas with our youngsters in mind. Lunchtime TV, Depanama Rookada, (in which humans act as puppets is an excellent show) and Liyathamabara on Sirasa TV. Sundara Senasurada, Maha Singhalaye Wansha Kathawa, Hapan Pedura (a well presented children's programme), and a few others on Swarnawahini and a few more on other channels are worth applauding. It is sad that this judgment cannot be extended with regard to the present programmes that are broadcast over the many private radio stations in the country. In view of a decision spearheaded by Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to create a new media culture in the country in which the Rupavhini Corporation is playing a primary role at projecting itself as an example, Daily News asked its Director General, Nishantha Ranatunge on what brought about this idea of change? 'Its mostly to set some records on the right track' he said stating that a certain decorum has to prevail in the sphere of television. Advertising has to be more streamlined, he said, without having to burden the viewer of having to forcefully watch advertisements helplessly. The quality of the type of teledramas that will be selected for public viewing will be given priority without haphazardly showing 'anything and everything' for commercial gain, he concluded. The Rupavahini Corporation declaring its solidarity with this new thinking, brought to the fore its ideas amidst a gala presentation of a musical extravaganza recently. Based on a gigantic stage projecting the Colombo Museum as its backdrop the glamorous event was viewed by millions throughout the country which also brought to them the message of how discipline, integrity and good morals are geared to go hand in hand with entertainment, commercial aptitude and other aspects of telecasting. All with the viewer in mind. The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation was established in 1982 and in 1986 studio and transmission facilities were expanded. Today, it has the widest reach in Sri Lanka covering 95 percent of the country. This capacity has been further increased through eight booster stations (Pidurutalagala, Nuwara Eliya, Namunukula, Badulla, Hantana, Primrose, Suriya Kanda, Deniyaya, Mudunkada and Jaffna). National Television which also has NICAM technology is planning to move in to digital technology in the near future. The new Kirimetiyana Kanda station in Matale which was opened recently and the five relay stations that are planned to open in view of enhancing the services to the Kalutara area will subsequently cover a viewership of one million. Director General Nishantha Ranatunga further stated that they plan to open a third channel to telecast full time educational and sports programmes that will interest the youth. It will be limited only to telecast programmes in the Tamil and English languages, he further added. Television however has fallen short of being the ultimate dream machine in this century. This is not only true of Sri Lanka but of the world at large. Its failure to impress in other areas in addition to functioning as a small screen at home is being proven as more people have started to patronize the cinemas again in recent times and there is a widespread interest among people to patronise live performances. Even though viewers anticipated television to deliver cinema to their homes and make an impact upon them of their presence at live entertainment events, after almost a decade of its existence it has proven its incapable of doing so. Today it will serve well if television stands more as an information agent covering world events in addition to serving as an entertainment hub restricted to the functional abilities of what is expected of a small screen. Its attempt to stand in place of a cinema or an international concert hall has failed somewhat over the years. It has also failed to impress sport lovers to bring in the thrills and spills of actually watching their favourite sport being played at its original venue, (if not how come there are millions of fans patronising sport events today?) Television it must be said never was a part of that great American dream and it will never be a part of anybody's dream in the near future. We in Asia found it to be a substitute to many things as not everybody could afford constant visits to the movies or other events in the past, but things are changing fast. Viewers who want a better deal are turning back to visit cinemas to watch their favourite movies and experience its effects that even the recently invented 'home theatre' technology has failed to bring home. If Sri Lankan television networks do not come into grasping the realities of the limitations that television has and serve largely as an information service of international matters in addition to entertaining within its limited spheres it will really and truly end up as the 'idiot box' that it was once nicknamed as.
'Our World' art exhibition
"It must be scary to be put into a home without your parents and family. I feel that it I show care and concern for them they may realise that the world is not against them but that there are children like us who want to help them." - Harindrini Corea, 11 years "Little things give me pleasure and making another happy is one of them." - Adilah Ismail, 15 years "Many of the girls are victims of circumstances and have ended up in this home because of their poverty. We have so much and hope that through the sale of my paintings I can help them." - Nishika Samaratunge, 12 years "Sometimes we need to think of those who are not as lucky as us and do something to help them." - Nikita Samaratunge, 11 years "It is an opportunity to help the less fortunate." - Mallika Yapa, 14 years "I want to help the children in the Remand Home and that is why I am painting." - Akana Jayewardena, 10 years "I was saddened to see the children at the Remand Home seated on the floor to do their lessons. They need desks, chairs and many other things and seeing this made me want to paint for them." - Shaneen Dewendre, 13 years This group of seven children ages ranging from 10-15 years have combined their talents and are exhibiting and selling their paintings on October 3 and 4, 2004 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. For some of the children in the group like sisters Nishika and Nikita Samaratunge who attend Stafford International School and Harindrini Corea who attends Colombo International School and Shaneen Dewendre who attends Ladies College, this is their third art exhibition for charity. Many of the children have been painting with the Lathifa Ismail Art School since they were five years old. The title of this exhibition is apt as these young girls reveal their thoughts and expressions of the world around them, through a joyous celebration of colour. They want to share their joy with the inmates of the Girl's Rammuthugala where delinquent children are housed. Children serving time in remand homes are sometimes even abandoned by their own families who do not even visit them. Most of these children spend a considerable part of their impressionable years in this home. It is a known fact that children need a conducive environment to grow into healthy adults. They will either bloom or wither depending on their childhood influences. Although the Remand Home run by a committed warden Mrs. Samaratunge tries hard to create such an environment, her efforts are limited due to the lack of funds. More often than not delinquents are viewed as untouchables of society. There is also tendency to forget that they too are children deprived of a happy childhood due to circumstances that they have no control over, as well as poverty. Our children and society has a joint responsibility to ensure that such individuals are rehabilitated and can look forward to a better future. With the focus on children as the world celebrates Universal Children's Day these young talented artists have embarked on a magnanimous venture to show care and concern and lend a hand to lesser fortunate children. This exhibition is a unique situation of children helping children.
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Produced by Lake House |
In aid of the Girl's Remand Home Rammuthugala at the Lionel Wendt
Gallery on October 3-4 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
