Societal Themes and Media

Societal Themes and Media

Several different themes, narratives and ideas of the society are taken up by the media and presented to the masses in many different ways. In some cases, the purpose behind this adaptation is pure entertainment, meanwhile in the other cases; the media tries to put forth a message for the population[footnoteRef:1]. Media has the potential to positively as well as negatively affect the thought process of the people pertaining to any story, theme or narrative[footnoteRef:2]. In this paper, the theme or concept of having a fair skin, as a key to all kinds of success, in the Indian subcontinent and South Asia shall be discussed in its relationship with the media. [1: Barthes and Lavers 1972] [2: Eco 1982]

The preference of fair skin in the subcontinent- An Overview

Color has always created issues in the society. When we talk about the West, we can see the trials and tribulations that the African-Americans went through, and are still going through in some parts of the world, because of their dark skin color. White skin color has always been considered to be a sign of superiority in the West. As we move towards the east, and particularly South Asia, the preference of white skin is seen yet again.

For as long as media has existed, be it the print, electronic or the social media, the theme of fair skin has always been projected in the societies of the sub-continent. Girls are judged on the basis of their skin color, and needless to say the one who is fairest skinned is considered to be the epitome of beauty, no matter how good or bad of a person she is from the inside. It is expected that this girl will have the most friends when she goes to school, she will get a good job on the basis of her looks, and she will also end up getting married to a prince charming. On the other hand, if a girl is born with a darker skin tone, she is thought to be doomed for this life at least. This concept crept into the society without many people realizing that it will form such strong footings in the minds of the people. The idea of a fair skin as the key to every kind of success has become so common that people no more consider it to be something bizarre. However, this is extremely wrong on every basis of human equality rights. No one, on the basis of the skin at least, should be preferred for a better job or a better position. Moreover, women want to bring fair skinned wives for their husbands, because fair skinned girls are considered to be beautiful by them. Even most of the males of the subcontinent society believe that the girl who is fair skinned is beautiful, and therefore they want a fair wife[footnoteRef:3]. [3: Stuart 2011]

Media has a crucial role to play when it comes to playing games with the minds and psyche of the people. One of the main reasons why fair skin is considered to be such big of a deal in societies of this part of the world is that this is how it has been shown in the media. Every other advertisement that is telecasted on a channel of the subcontinent is about a fairness cream. Millions of formulas have been introduced, and every large and small cosmetic company has gone out to produce fairness creams, while some also offer money back guarantee. It is not that the cosmetic companies should produce or advertise such products, but the way they are being advertised is what is causing the problem. These ads are quite cliche according to the content that is shown. It is mostly depicted that there is a dark skinned girl, who is a loner, no one likes her because of her skin color, and she does not get a good job, and is unable to find a match for herself. Then one day, one of her friends suggests one of these 'beauty creams' to her, after which she started winning at life because now has a fair skin. This only makes the girls feel, especially the teenage young girls that they will not be successful in life unless they use one of these creams, or unless they become fair for that matter.

Another aspect of this projection is also seen in the television shows and movies that are aired in the subcontinent. It is shown that girls who are fair skinned and skinny get better matches, and are generally able to do pretty well with almost everything. Through such shows, the message that gets across the masses is that fair skinned is something that is extremely essential for leading a successful life.

The issue of light skin among girls has always been there in the subcontinent, and it will be safe to say that it has ruined many lives in one or the other, however this issue has also started surfacing among the young males of the region, and that too because of media depiction. The cosmetic companies are also now producing products for men; yes fairness products for men. The idea of men being light skinned and more handsome is now creeping into the society. The same tricks are played with the minds of the males, as that of the females. Through the ads, and other television shows, it is shown how fair skinned men are likely to get better look wives than their dark skinned counterparts. Since the concept is new, it has yet not become as prevalent in the society as that of girls being fair skinned. However, it can be said that in the future, this will also become one of the big issues of the society.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how media has played its role in making the theme of fair skinned girls, and boys for that matter, as superior humans. We shall discuss how this concept has the potential to affect the psychology of the people of this region, and why it is about time to bring about some solid change in the thinking of the young generation.

The Power of Media

Media has great powers. The power of media can never be underestimated. Media has the power to control the minds of the people. This is one of the main reasons why it is extremely important for us to make sure that what is being shown through the media will not lead to the development of adverse emotions of any sort among the population. Media is the one channel through which the masses can be affected. Be it the social media, print or electronic media, people will always be affected to what is being shown in the television shows, movies, and advertisements. The standards that are set by the media is what becomes the standards of the people.

To explain the power of media to control the behaviors and attitudes of the people, we shall consider the example of smoking in this part of the paper. Needless to say, smoking was considered to be the American culture that was widely accepted at one point in time. Through movies and television, it was also glamorized. This glamorization led to many people taking up smoking. However, when the medical conditions associated with smoking start to worry the health professionals and the local population, mass media campaigns have been run over the past 30 years in order to educate the people about the hazards of smoking and in order to motivate them to give up this habit. This mass media campaign lasted for about more than 30 years, unless it produced substantial results. As of now, millions of Americans have given up smoking, their attitude towards cigarettes and tobacco has changed, and they realize that they can end up having severe medical conditions if they continue smoking. Smoking has also been made illegal in most public places of the country, thanks to the media campaign[footnoteRef:4]. [4: Hanna and Rohm et al. 2011, 265 -- 273]

Another example that can be considered here is the use of safety seatbelts while driving on the highway. This is another example of the power of media to affect the behaviors and attitudes of the people. Since Vince and Larry, the American public was introduced to the Crash Test Dummies in the year 1985. After that, the use of safety belts has increase from being 14% to 79%, and it is estimated that it resulted in about 85,000 lives being saved.

From Smokey Bear ("Only you can prevent forest fires") and pollution awareness ("Keep American Beautiful"), to drunk drinking and crime prevention, there are thousands of examples that demonstrate the power of media to influence the culture of a particular region or the society. Therefore, the culture of fair skinned girls being better than their dark skinned counterparts needs to be changed. Just like how this theme has become so prevalent because of its projection through the media, there is a need for the media to take a u-turn and change this culture. This is extremely important because this issue is sort of slow poisoning the society in a very sugar coated way. No human being is entitled to be better than the other one on the basis of the skin color. The true values of human lives need to be restored in the society, rather than the superficial things such as skin color.

Media and Negative Effects on Young Girls

Girls have always been more conscious about their appearance, the way they look, their figure, and particularly when it comes to young adults and teenage girls. As compared to their male counterparts, the constant objective of their life is to look good, and look good always. They are not to be blamed, since they are the epitome of attraction and beauty. However, what is important here is that what is 'good' for them, which implies that who sets the standard of what is 'good' and what is bad for them, pertaining to their looks[footnoteRef:5]. [5: Patzer 2008]

Another aspect that needs to be considered is that how far a girl can go to make sure that she looks good in the eyes of the other people. In this part of the paper, we shall try to assess the negative effect of advertising (beauty creams and skin whitening creams in particular) on the perception of body image of the young girls of the subcontinent, and the world in general.

The question that needs to be asked here is that what the main issue is. Most of the people of the world, who are have access to media including the internet, television, print ads on a daily basis, and therefore most of the people are familiar with what sort of ads are being shown on the television. The services we get and the products we use in our routine are advertised on different media platforms so that attention of the potential clients can be won. Models are employed by these advertising companies in order to promote their services and products in a glamorized way.

Most of the models in these ads are young girls with fair and white skin, and therefore are considered to be beautiful women. An image of beauty is symbolized in this way. It will not be wrong to say that this kind of strategy, on the part of the advertiser is quite successful as well as effective when it comes to attracting customers.

Now, we shall how this strategy really works in real time setting. Yet again, if one tries to see the advertising trend, most of the actresses and models, if not all shown in the media are fair, smooth skinned and slim. Majority of the models that are hired for advertisements, are females. The issue here is that the depiction of these models is relatively quite erroneous and different when a comparison is made with the average figure, skin and body of the young women and girls in the real society. For example, underwear and bikini models are underweight, and the models that are hired for beauty products are portrayed to have flawless, fair and smooth skin that is definitely unattainable. Needless to say, the objective behind this is to give the viewers and the audience a kind of inspiration that they can also reach the level of beauty of these models, if they make a decision of purchasing the beauty products that is being advertised. Unfortunately though, instead of being a source of inspiration, young girls start believing that they have to look like models, even if they like it or not. They are made to believe that people will not think that they are beautiful unless they have the same skin color as that of the models being shown in the ads. When these young girls are unable to attain the look and figure of the models that are often shown through as being the epitome of beauty, they start feeling depressed and pressurized. Apart from that, they also start feeling disappointed and displeased pertaining to their looks and skin color. When this happens to the teenage young girls, they start losing their confidence and self-esteem. Because they start believing that they are not beautiful or good looking, they think that people will not like to talk to them. As a result of this belief they start avoiding people, and start avoiding them. Moreover, there have been thousands of cases that have been reported in which teens get medical illnesses and health related issues because they starve themselves to look like one of those models shown on the television. Finally, media advertising have the responsibility of bringing forth the kind of image that is perceived by the young girls in a negative way. However, the media also has the power to change the culture that is prevalent, as it has also been discussed above. It is the need of time that the media comes up with a more wholesome and innovative approach that will affect the perception of girls in a positive way.

The critics of the fairness creams, Fair and Lovely is top of the line, believe that four in 10 women in India, and also now many men believe that they are too dark to be attractive. These people have a stock of these beauty creams with them, and make use of them just like they yse any other moisturizers. Massive campaigns are held as to advertise these so called beauty creams, which guarantee the success of these girls in every walk of life. Apart from the impact of these beauty creams on the psychology of the young girls, and their devastating effects on their self-esteem, there are also many other reasons to combat against such beauty products. The composition and ingredients of these beauty and skin whitening creams are far from being natural. They are made with chemicals as dangerous as mercury, which has the potential to seep into the placenta during pregnancy, and can also damage the kidneys. Women who are fond of using these skin whitening creams do not make use of any other kind of sun-block. Therefore, their skin is exposed to the sun that increases their risk of getting many different skin diseases.

How Indian Society has turned racist

For over more than a hundred years, the Indians have now become institutionally racist towards the fellow citizens of the country. Apartheid based on skin color, which is referred to as Varan Vivastha in the region, was first brought about in India when the dark skinned Indians first interacted with the one that were fair skinned. These fair skinned people basically belonged to south Europe and they migrated to India through the Hindukush Mountains, just around a few thousands ago. It will be safe to say that it is not just a myth what the extremist Hindu organizations are portraying facts as though they are a part o the western conspiracy. The fact of the matter is that the Indian citizens are afraid to accept the truth that the culture and religion that prevails in the country, which is thought to be the unifying factor, is in fact just a collection of the traditions of the ones that have invaded and the invaders. The legacy is and was suitable to The Brahmin, who is the ruling elite. It has been so many years that the people of India have become a part of the scandalous continuation of the cruel treatment of the fellow Indians, and the ones that are dark skinned are made to feel inferior just because the melanin in their skin is working according to their genetic makeup. Their body has been adjusted to such high levels of melanin so that their skin and the underlying organs could be protected against the infrared rays of the bright hot Sun that prevails in the tropical climate of the region. The songs of the Indian movies, as well as the television shows and ads have always praised girls of their beauty just because they possess a fair complexion. The issue that arises here is that what wrong a dark skinned person did to anyone to be labeled as being 'not beautiful'. And what favor has been done by a fair skinned girl that she gets to have all the praises in the world. The fact that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being dark needs to be realized. The myth that only fair is beautiful needs to be busted, and media has a crucial role to play in this regard.

Almost 99.9% people of the Indian subcontinent have brown or dark skin, brown color is more prevalent in the upper half of the region because fair skinned foreigners ended up getting married to dark skinned Indian people. The concept and theme of black being inferior, and white being superior has now crept into the bones of the citizens of South Asia. This is the reason why still at this point in time; the media is promoting the culture of glorification of the fair skin. This concept forms the most part of the folklore since the migration of the Arians.

With every passing day and minute, the obsession of the media with fair skin seems to be increasing. Every day a new company launches its beauty products and come on the media with ads that claim that their product works like a magic wand. These ads also make claims that with the use of the particular whitening cream, the girls will become milky white. What makes things more saddening and disturbing is the fact that fancied celebrities including John Abraham and SRK have become a part of this game that plays with the minds of the young teenagers. The companies only care about their profit earnings and their popularity, while no one pays a heed to the impact of such ads on the minds of the people.

Can Media Bring about a Change in this Culture?

The war of ads over discrimination indicates the uniquely modern form of racism that is seen unfolding in the Indian subcontinent. While racism is found to have deep roots in the history of India, these roots are also intertwined with colonialism and caste. As of the India of today's world, the expression of racism is quite evident in corporate advertising and consumer behavior. The Indian actress, Nandita Das is currently actively working for the campaign 'Dark Is Beautiful'. When she was asked about this issue in India, she put forth the argument that the history of racism in India is not the focus of discussion, since the bias against dark skin has acquitted different shapes and forms in the modern world today. She claimed that she does not believe in going back into history every now and then. Das further went on to say that the Indians are not just a product of their culture and traditions, they also form a part of the globalized world. In the world of today, the fact that such concepts and themes of discrimination continue to prevail the region is a product of consumerism. The market is aiming at cashing the hidden aspirations of the people[footnoteRef:6]. [6: Segran 2013]