Some of my recent posts on Sirasa and its conduct attracted mixed responses from a wide group of readers. To my fancy, this turned out to be a good topic to do some more digging, search for more facts and initiate discussions on. Especially, the email which I received on Sirasa Kumariya and which I posted consequently proved to be an invitation for readers with different attitudes to share their thoughts on. Some questioned the validity of my blog title; the ‘Independent Observer’ part. Some had suggested watching some other channel and let Sirasa do their own business and some, but a very few, was agreeing to my views of how the Sri Lankan television channels are making a negative impact on the viewers. Well, this is a small attempt to answer all those.
What is the true meaning of television? What is its purpose? Are there any guidelines on how a television channel should serve its viewers? These were some of the questions that kept me wondering whenever I think of the social destruction carried out by the television channels in Sri Lanka. I looked up “social television” in Google to see if there’s any such thing, something that emphasizes on the social responsibility of a television channel (As it turned out, there wasn’t; If someone finds an article on this, please add a link in the comments). So, does being independent mean that we should keep quiet when the society is faced with a nuisance? And as for the other channels, well is there any TV channel worth watching? Unless you have a satellite antenna and start watching CNN or ESPN I suggest you turn off the TV.
I’ll try to generalize this post and gain your attention not on Sirasa but on almost all television channels operating in Sri Lanka since all of them look the same for me now. Whatever the detrimental segment introduced by the private channels, it’s just a matter of time until the national television channels adopt it. The best example of this was when Rupavahini and ITN adopted the reality TV concept from Sirasa Super Star and it will be a matter of time until the viewers see the emergence of Rupavahini kumariya or ITN kumariya (I’m not sure if they have already started since I have given up watching local television channels completely). To be concise, the quality of programs and especially the quality content in the teledramas have completely eroded in almost all the channels. The incessant wave of lame teledramas, primarily on Sirasa and Swarnawahini, is a good example for this.
A few years back (10, 15 years) we tasted the good, yet quality stuff from television. Quality documentaries, educational programs, childrens’ programs and quality teledramas that didn’t revolve around the useless daily incidents of a female character but which gave a social message were the norm back then. Teledramas like ‘Doo Daruwo’, ‘Dandubasnamanaya’, ‘Amba Yahaluwo’, ‘Pitagamkarayo’ bring the sweet memories of an era when the television people did the best thing for the general public. Today we see nothing but wasuda, nilanjana, parami and the gang rule the picture box in the living room. There used to be great childrens’ programs like ‘Rasara’ when people like Premakeerthi de Alwis and Titus Totawatta did a commendable job in producing quality stuff for the younger generation. To my disgust, I recently came across this program by some TV channel (I can’t remember which one it was) that made a contest out of little childrens’ adult-like dances.
And then there is music. The stage is owned by either the wealthy, overnight “composers” trying a mix of rap, rmv and all the music styles you can find on the planet and who can produce music videos with very little effort or by the singers with lame Sinhalese songs with no meaning at all. The chart shows on TV channels these days rarely features the songs of the “old” Sri Lankan singers like Amaradeva, TM or Victor Rathnayaka.
It’s a shame that even the national television channels are following the same footpath of the profit seeking private TV channels. It should be their responsibility to lead by example and fill the quality gap introduced by the private TV channels.
The situation is worse in the radio channels. If you are traveling in a private bus in Sri Lanka, this (or something similar) is what you’ll probably hear for the entire journey:
RJ: kohomada patiyo ada oyata?
AA: Ane xxx akke, ude indan try karanne oyalata ganna. Line eka hamathissema busyne!!
RJ: ehema thamai baba, hamoma hadanne kohomahari Mr.BooBooth ekka katha karannane. Api ehenan ahamuko ada monawada Mr.BooBoo kiyanne kiyala
(the part with Mr.BooBoo)
RJ: Ayyo, waraduna neda? Kamak na, ayeth try karannako. Bye
RJ: hari, balamu me post card eka ewala thiyenne kawuda kiyala. “Adaraneeya sudu xxx akke, oya program eka shoak ekata karanawa. Akke, mata denawada xxxge aluth album eke xxxmala sinduwa. Me sinduwata mama ekathu karagannawa amma, thaththa, achchi, seeya, nanda, maama, alutha ipaduna punchige baba saha xxx ahana hemoma.
(the lame song will take care of the rest of your ride)
There’s no control. They just talk like parrots. How often do we hear a program like “Subharathi” that can make a positive difference in the society? Almost never.
The following is a collection of programs I find in the TV channels to be absolutely worthless. Let me know if you think the same.
Sirasa: Hina ina(pretty much the lamest program in television history), Iroshai Niroshai, Sawanata Wadanak,
Swarnawahini: Famili Doctor, Night Learners
Derana: The bidding program
What is the true meaning of television? What is its purpose? Are there any guidelines on how a television channel should serve its viewers? These were some of the questions that kept me wondering whenever I think of the social destruction carried out by the television channels in Sri Lanka. I looked up “social television” in Google to see if there’s any such thing, something that emphasizes on the social responsibility of a television channel (As it turned out, there wasn’t; If someone finds an article on this, please add a link in the comments). So, does being independent mean that we should keep quiet when the society is faced with a nuisance? And as for the other channels, well is there any TV channel worth watching? Unless you have a satellite antenna and start watching CNN or ESPN I suggest you turn off the TV.
I’ll try to generalize this post and gain your attention not on Sirasa but on almost all television channels operating in Sri Lanka since all of them look the same for me now. Whatever the detrimental segment introduced by the private channels, it’s just a matter of time until the national television channels adopt it. The best example of this was when Rupavahini and ITN adopted the reality TV concept from Sirasa Super Star and it will be a matter of time until the viewers see the emergence of Rupavahini kumariya or ITN kumariya (I’m not sure if they have already started since I have given up watching local television channels completely). To be concise, the quality of programs and especially the quality content in the teledramas have completely eroded in almost all the channels. The incessant wave of lame teledramas, primarily on Sirasa and Swarnawahini, is a good example for this.
A few years back (10, 15 years) we tasted the good, yet quality stuff from television. Quality documentaries, educational programs, childrens’ programs and quality teledramas that didn’t revolve around the useless daily incidents of a female character but which gave a social message were the norm back then. Teledramas like ‘Doo Daruwo’, ‘Dandubasnamanaya’, ‘Amba Yahaluwo’, ‘Pitagamkarayo’ bring the sweet memories of an era when the television people did the best thing for the general public. Today we see nothing but wasuda, nilanjana, parami and the gang rule the picture box in the living room. There used to be great childrens’ programs like ‘Rasara’ when people like Premakeerthi de Alwis and Titus Totawatta did a commendable job in producing quality stuff for the younger generation. To my disgust, I recently came across this program by some TV channel (I can’t remember which one it was) that made a contest out of little childrens’ adult-like dances.
And then there is music. The stage is owned by either the wealthy, overnight “composers” trying a mix of rap, rmv and all the music styles you can find on the planet and who can produce music videos with very little effort or by the singers with lame Sinhalese songs with no meaning at all. The chart shows on TV channels these days rarely features the songs of the “old” Sri Lankan singers like Amaradeva, TM or Victor Rathnayaka.
It’s a shame that even the national television channels are following the same footpath of the profit seeking private TV channels. It should be their responsibility to lead by example and fill the quality gap introduced by the private TV channels.
The situation is worse in the radio channels. If you are traveling in a private bus in Sri Lanka, this (or something similar) is what you’ll probably hear for the entire journey:
RJ: kohomada patiyo ada oyata?
AA: Ane xxx akke, ude indan try karanne oyalata ganna. Line eka hamathissema busyne!!
RJ: ehema thamai baba, hamoma hadanne kohomahari Mr.BooBooth ekka katha karannane. Api ehenan ahamuko ada monawada Mr.BooBoo kiyanne kiyala
(the part with Mr.BooBoo)
RJ: Ayyo, waraduna neda? Kamak na, ayeth try karannako. Bye
RJ: hari, balamu me post card eka ewala thiyenne kawuda kiyala. “Adaraneeya sudu xxx akke, oya program eka shoak ekata karanawa. Akke, mata denawada xxxge aluth album eke xxxmala sinduwa. Me sinduwata mama ekathu karagannawa amma, thaththa, achchi, seeya, nanda, maama, alutha ipaduna punchige baba saha xxx ahana hemoma.
(the lame song will take care of the rest of your ride)
There’s no control. They just talk like parrots. How often do we hear a program like “Subharathi” that can make a positive difference in the society? Almost never.
The following is a collection of programs I find in the TV channels to be absolutely worthless. Let me know if you think the same.
Sirasa: Hina ina(pretty much the lamest program in television history), Iroshai Niroshai, Sawanata Wadanak,
Swarnawahini: Famili Doctor, Night Learners
Derana: The bidding program
3 Comments:
Actually was going to ask you this in the original post. Do you have ratings for the program?
For example, if it is appropriate for children, only for adults etc.?
I know over here, adults programs including advertisements are not allowed to be aired on free to air tv, during the day time. All programs are given a code, so you can make a decision as to which program is appropriate. There is also a regulatory authority that you can complain to if the station breaches some of these guidelines.
The other good thing is the state funded TV is like the BBC, independent of the government. The government is not allowed to dictate what is put on the news etc. So any educational content or artistic quality that is lacking in commercial TV is quite often compensated by having this sort of content on the public TV station.
Recently there has been some debate if junk food advertisements should be banned during children's shows.
That's nice to hear. there should be some rating mechanism for the TV programs so that they don't act in a detrimental way to the society. but unfortunately, no such thing is practically existant in Sri Lanka.
Thanx L;
Hi,
I greatly enjoyed looking through your blog at "http://aweekinsrilanka.blogspot.com/2007/05/social-television.html" and found an informative one for my theme related topics.I have also some entertainment,music,dish TV,satellite TV,music related sites and blogs. So,I think it would be beneficial for both of us if we will join in a community and become link partners to each other which will help your blog/site in getting more Google values.If you are interested then please contact me at-
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Thanks
Ami
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