TV presents too much violent imagery

TV presents too much violent imagery

Simon Marcus Gower, Executive Principal, High/Scope Indonesia,
Jakarta

A small child sits huddled in the corner of a largely empty
room. With her knees tucked up to her chin, her body is shaking
as she shivers and sobs. She seems to be in a state of shock and
fear as she nervously glances toward the locked door that
imprisons her.

Two people are arguing but their argument has gone beyond any
notions of civility. They are, by now, literally screaming and
shouting at each other. The furious man approaches the woman and
takes her by the arm. Screaming, she resists and as she tries to
pull away from him, he lashes out with a violent slap. She
collapses to the floor in tears. Angrily he strides away. Two
more people are arguing. This time it is two teenage girls.

They are face-to-face, sneering at each other as they spit out
their words of abuse. One lunges for the other and gets two fists
full of hair and the other responds likewise. They twist to and
fro as they pull and scream at each other. Friends intervene, but
the angry looks and glares continue unabated.

One would be forgiven for thinking that the above three scenes
are excerpts from a particularly nightmare-filled night of sleep
but no, these are scenes from Indonesian television programs. In
the hugely popular sinetron, or soap opera, shows, scenes like
this are commonplace.

It seems as though abusive and violent behavior is being
served up as entertainment. Of course, there is nothing really
new in using conflict and violence as dramatic entertainment.
After all, one only needs to look to one of world history's
greatest dramatists to see a consistent use of conflict for
dramatic effect.

In Shakespeare's plays, battling factions and disagreeing
characters are often used to heighten the dramatic tension, but
on present-day Indonesian television, it seems relatively few
dramatic series can portray much other than pain, suffering and
misery in family life.

If these dramas truly reflected the reality of Indonesian
life, they would not so consistently portray rich and affluent
people. The majority of these dramas seem to involve people
living in huge mansion-like houses with endless marble floors,
stairs and columns and extravagant furnishings. The kings and
queens of these dramas are rarely seen driving anything other
than the likes of Jaguars and other top-of-the-range cars.

These are circumstances that relatively few Indonesians enjoy.

But aside from all the affluence and excess that these
programs depict, there is the problem that they are creating
images in the minds of viewers that are highly negative and even
damaging. Television is one of the most powerful tools of
communication known to humans, but it is remarkable how
consistently it has been used for damaging and inane imagery and
portrayals.

Television is a powerful medium; it is remarkable how it can
capture attention. It has an addictive quality that almost
suggests that no matter what images appear, people will almost be
mesmerized by them. And it is this mesmeric and addictive quality
that is simultaneously powerful and dangerous.

Images on a screen are compelling; no matter how the conscious
mind may resist, the unconscious mind is drawn to look.
Psychologists have agreed, based on research findings, that
televised imagery has an addictive and distorting affect on the
viewer, that it distorts viewers' sense of social reality.
Without any interaction with the imagery being pumped into their
brains, viewers are left passive and thoughtless to consume the
imagery without critical thought.

Television can be superficial and artificial, as the viewer
neither interacts nor integrates reality with the world being
viewed.

There is a real duty incumbent upon broadcasters. They must
exercise judgment on what kind of imagery is acceptable and
beneficial to inform and guide their viewing public. In
Indonesia, there may be a possible need for greater caution on
the part of television broadcasters, so that the images they
broadcast do not do more damage than good.

Broadcasters should be more circumspect in approving story-
lines that are endlessly negative and/or violent and be more
committed to airing informative programs rather than mindless
game shows.

But it also means that they should be more cautious in how
they show the real world.

The manner in which terrible events such as terrorist bombings
are handled illustrates this point. In comparison with
international broadcasters, Indonesian television lacks
conscientious and respectful censorship in its coverage of the
awful aftermath of such attacks.

Indonesian television stations show horrible pictures of
charred and dismembered bodies being removed from sites of
terrorist attacks, while international channels avoid showing
such horrific images. This lack of self-censorship means that
such horrible images are commonplace at all hours of the day.

Thus, a child watching television early in the morning can be
witness to all kinds of deeply disturbing, powerful images that
have a lasting effect. Unfortunately, children are increasingly
desensitized by the violent and disturbing imagery that are
easily accessible on television, and are now less disturbed by
appalling sights -- because while they have become used to seeing
them, they have not integrated them into any real understanding
of consequences and results.

Television broadcasters should thus exercise greater caution
in censoring their output and we should all be disturbed by and
not accept the proliferation of violent, destructive imagery that
exacerbates the problems of violence and conflict in society.

The opinions expressed above are personal.