American Tv And Its Indian Audience

What are the odds of your favorite show being American? Chances are your top 5 shows are produced by the biggest stalwarts in the American hinterland. Honestly, you ask anyone and they will rant on about 'Game of Thrones', 'Brooklyn 99', 'Modern Family', 'The office' and the one and only F.R.I.E.N.D.S, (why do they even put dots on the letters ?)

So why are we moving towards international but mostly American centered television? Or why have we moved towards it over time? The answer lies in the fact that we, having been fed two languages or more since birth are more happy to switch to alternatives when we find that most shows produced in Hindi are by millenial definition "lame".

Dont get me wrong, I love my country but when it comes to shows the game is er, pretty weak. There are brilliant Indian shows too but these are mostly web series and are relatively new and other than cult favorites such as Tarak Mehta ka ooltah chasma and C.I.D (which as you grow up gets less logical), there have been a dearth of good groundbreaking shows.

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Reality shows dont even stick to their defintion by being so heavily fabricated and drama oriented despite having wonderful talent broadcasted. The ill placed humour does not go well with the liberal values that is fed well into our system so comedy nights with Kapil ends up irking us more with the sexist undertones than making us laugh.

There is also some sort of peer pressure or the social stigma applied, very unconsciously might I add. The ones who don't watch shows that are mostly American do feel way behind their own peer group because of discussions that follow up regarding those very shows.

Even reality shows like 'RuPaul's Drag Race' and 'America's Next Top Model' are watched religiously in comparison to 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' and the like.

Moreover, Ekta Kapoor serials have set the stage for unnecessary waltzing of actresses in heavy makeup and over the top extended storylines that do not aim for any progressive ideals. Ekta Kapoor, in her defense did retort against the hypocrisy of Imdian youth criticizing Naagin which revolves around a mythical creature (basically transformers but its humans and snakes) but not blinking an eye while watching dragons in Game of Thrones, and it is a far cry but she does have a point. But again, her show pales in comparison to the fanbase that GOT has accumulated because of its credentials.

In any instance, it proves that we are quick to judge Indian shows while being biased towards foreign ones and shoving American culture down our throat.

It does remain still that Indian shows cater mostly to the Indian middle aged audience therefore the content is toned down because of a generation gap but a step towards better shows would mean better sources of entertainment, a 'Make in India' initiative in this field and through several Indian web series' the path is already in place.