Image by 10634669 from Pixabay
I am fascinated by TV series and movies. Web series and OTT platforms are stunning. I watched many web series. I have no courage to watch them all due to the excessive use of slang language and too much use of violence as nonfictional and afraid.
Most say we don't watch TV serials, useless melo drama again again how can we watch? I don't understand how they can pay attention to these web series full of interest, which influences their personality negatively, as surveyed in various reports.
Slang language:
In this language, phrases are means to be informally registered. Common in verbal conversations within a specific group. In 1756, slang was supposed to be very low vocab and related to disreputable people. In the early 19th century, it was no longer to relate with dishonorable people. The slang word first came to be used for the criminal class of London in 1800. In slang literature, it is a term for a change in status. Media accepted slang language. Academics and legal refused to be convinced.
In Bollywood:
We can't forget the Famous dialogue of the movie Sholey delivered by actor Dharmendra on screen kutte, kamine main tera khoon pee jaaunga. Only dialog with sophistication? No, it's the simplest version of some abusive words. But that movie is an iconic movie that became a demanding script for a dialog writer to write such disrespectful dialog in a dignified manner because it delivers the quality of a heroic figure in front of an audience. That's why we still enjoy listening to it and even mimicking it. One of the film critics, Shoma A. Chatterji, surveyed that Bollywood has unusual characterization in terms of villains and for showing their different upbringing, education, localities, and many kinds of stuff for which they introduce a different style of vocab, slang, vulgarised words concocted with bambaiya language.
I still remember Jacky Shroff used Tapori language in many super duper hit movies that influenced us a lot but in an entertaining way. The street thugs of Mumbai appear and are called Tapori. Who are illiterate and whose Hindi is incorrect with the impression of the Bambaiya language. But do you know what's its actual meaning? Tapori is a Marathi word that means to be blossomed, move towards progress and growth. In many movies, we saw Govinda, Amir Khan actors, and many more do roles of Tapori style and using that language. The level of comedy is so high that it hasn't influenced our personalities and mental health.
The fighting sequence was typical and fascinating for many decades. Our Angry Young Man is no doubt Amitabh Bachchan. Our most famous action hero is Akshay Kumar. Those violent scenes of Bollywood still balance that charm.
In Tollywood:
I can't visualize Tollywood's earlier impact. Nowadays, south movies come on TV through Hindi dubbing. It's now convenient to watch them. Language is crisp and fascinating. But every film shows extreme violence. The first half feels so peaceful, but the second half feels so painful. The problems that originate in one movie are sometimes too dense for me to understand. It's hard for me to watch a film in one complete sitting. My mind wants a break.
In Hollywood:
Hollywood in which our youth sinking without thinking. Most of us watched dubbed movies. But have you noticed these dubbed Hollywood movies only show science-fiction and action in total violence? No matter from fictional characters? Since childhood, whenever I watched Hollywood movies, they showed violent scenes, and I wondered why heroes were in too much pain or the non-fictitious kind of blood in fighting scenes they show as compared to Bollywood. Even Chinese and Japanese cinemas have a few films we could understand by dubbing. Nearly all movies focus on kung fu, Tai-con-do, samurais, martial arts, and sword fights based on fighting techniques. The violence that they show is pessimistic.
Most youth watch English movies without being dubbed all alone in one sitting. Do they understand what they are listening to? As pronunciations are different, we call them accents. Or are they just reading subtitles? 25% of vocab in subtitles beyond our vocab knowledge. It doesn't mean our English is improving or we will explore. As in most of Hollywood, those vocals connected with their slang language. WTF, F**K, and many more unknowingly or without understanding in a strange impression of westernization, teens are losing themselves.
In web series/OTT platforms:
What to serve, what to show they all are free as no censor board can interrupt them. The amazing sensational stories they show are mind-blowing. But how they convey is almost shocking and a big question mark on talented youth. How are they grasping those negative vibes in one sitting by appreciating them a lot?
Those cheap words and downmarket vocab are even worse than the Tapori language. What is the need to use slang language and represent our society? What happens to our dialogue writers? Any slum character uses that kind of language, I can understand, but why are officers, engineers, politicians, and police officers using such cheap slang words? And our youth clapping of it? Has seriously youngster reached that level shown by our web - series?
Too much violence is now omnipresent in web series of every OTT platform. What are we still afraid to read in our newspaper crime reports? Our youth is watching it on several web series with popcorn and enjoying that bloody violence for what? Teens and adolescents don't watch TV, which is still an idiot box. They have several OTT platforms on their smartphones. Web series in terms of cheap language, I am sure Big Boss Melo drama is much lighter and healthier than that.
Impact on mental health:
Blood, gore, gratuitous killings, torture, mass murders, rapes, child molestation, castration, bomb blast, shoot out, and many things similar to that web series makers show through OTT platforms. By using vulgar/ slang words, most of us don't want to hear and can't understand what they want to convey. What we can't think we have to watch is the intense violence ruthlessly. What kind of impact is it going to have on the young minds? If I think we don't watch it.TRP reports prove the audience is watching it.
Several studies on the effect of web series on our mental health are based. Many told me that they watch one web series nonstop at a time. I was shocked. 8 to 10 episodes duration of one hour each in a web series can one watch nonstop? It is so complicated to understand and heavy on my mind I can't watch 1 episode in one sitting either.
Several other studies suggest that nonstop-watching of web series containing slang and violent elements is co-related with body dissatisfaction, decreased academic performance, symptoms of depression, and low self-esteem. The target audience is affected by attitude issues and behavioral changes and faces several problems in their loneliness. It results in mental health problems like depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and insomnia. Digital technologies impact mood-swapping /mood swings and feelings of restlessness. Watching too many web series at a time results also provokes feelings of guilt, dependability, and losing control of oneself, some of the features of negative emotions that get highlighted.
Prevention:
One should not watch these series nonstop. Try to be selective in what to watch ethically. The public can case filed against Ekta Kapoor, who is not a home breaker. So why not take action against web series not to use slang language and too much violence? Where is the censor board committee over the web series?
I still remember when the old movies came on screen, and by chance conversations or verbal arguments between actors, the opposite co-actor quickly said don't use these abusive words. You have no right to say it to me. The hidden message the director gave is not to say these insulting words to anyone. In older times, when actors had to say abusive words due to too much trauma and frustration through the demand of movies, have you noticed the sound of beep? It's the eternally way of showing that if movie makers want to show that culture. I can't forget about the movie Buddha Hoga Tera Baap in terms of how Big B says abusive words in a comic way, teri beep ki teri beep ki, who understood that dialog or those who did not understand at least no negative effect injected in audience mind in terms of slang culture.
Conclusion:
Our youth have very innocent and delicate minds and must not put these web series criminal and slang culture into their minds. The audience never understands how it affects them. Simple slang words are waat lag gayi, jhakaas, bindaas,vella,oye, ghanta, yaar, and pataka how normally we using it? Movies like Gangs of Wasseypur, Freddy, Foot Fairy, and web series like Pataal Lok, Sacred Games, Thar, Jamtara, Mirzapur, and many more are provoking slang culture. I can't dare to watch their trailers. If you watch them like hawk breezily, how extreme does it affect your mindset? Disrespectful vocabularies and too much unnecessary violence make us all pessimistic and unenthusiastic toward a marvelous life.
Recently, a movie released on Netflix, Operation Mayfair, again a psychopath crime movie. It indicated how an abusive word also triggers someone's mentality like that if many times a person has to listen. I was shocked to realize that the movie Operation Mayfair was an actual incident. It's a side effect of the slang word, moron means stupid?
I love investigative movies more than crime movies as they don't show how crime is happening brutally.
. . .
Reference: