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.