The Problem With Vijay TV
Once upon a time, Vijay TV was the ONLY Tamil channel I used to watch. I thought their content was good, hosts of shows spoke proper Tamil as opposed to the Tanglish that was prevalent across other channels, Neeya Naana was an amazing reinvention of the pattimandrams I was obsessed with as a kid. These days, I don’t know what happened to Vijay TV. Now, I know it seems like I’m singling out Vijay TV when the following “issues” are common across other channels too. I just picked this channel because like I said, it’s the only one I’m familiar with and also because it seems like it sold itself over time for ratings and TRP.
Here’s how every show works - every show has one male host and one female host. If you’re thinking that’s equality, no, it’s not. It’s just the perfect setup for rampant misogynistic behaviour. The running gag across ALL the shows is where the male host insults, mocks and downplays the female host. On her size, her appearance, her intelligence. I don’t know who came up with the idea that this would be a fantastic time filler while participants get ready to perform, or a great way to entertain people. The female host talks too much so she will never get married, or she is going to talk the ears of her future husband, and he is going to suffer. Everyone will be talking about apples which will bring up the question of whether she can cook. More often than not the answer is no, and this again leads to how her future husband is bound to suffer. If she says she can cook, this is followed up with a mocking question of whether the people who ate the food are still alive. No this is not one or two instances, this is the entirety of the show. And all the other shows that run on Vijay TV. If the female host is not getting put down, the man she would one day marry is pitied. Often times these women play along too. I’m not sure why this is supposed to be funny, or why this is considered entertaining.
One of Vijay TV’s all-time popular show is Kalakkapovathu Yaaru – a show where people can show their talents. Often times, this is where stand-up is performed. Every. Female. Comedian. Who comes on the show is consistently interrupted at every single line and mocked for what she’s saying (by most of the judges, but there’s one of them who does it consistently). Male comedians consistently talk about how the girl they “loved” (read stalked) wronged them, they lament about how their education was disrupted by their “love” and how women continuously ruin their lives (from childhood to marriage). Often times the punch line is the fact that the guy is married – he’s suffering because he’s married, people (often fellow men) pity him because of how bad his life must be since he’s married, he can’t escape his wife’s nag and torture, his happiness is gone. Every time the “comedian” finishes such a sentence, the audience and the judges break out in applause, laughter, and cheer. And if they don’t, the participants themselves go “Hey! Applaud this” (it’s a direct translation of what they say) AND CUE THE AUDIENCE TO CLAP FOR WHAT THEY JUST SAID. Real class. And not only do they insult women, they insult everyone associated with the women, such as the women's fathers. They call him things like "பழைய புளிசாதம்". Why? Remember that judge who I said does the putting down consistently? – he once rationalised his behaviour saying this is all in good fun because at the end of the day, and this is a direct translation of what he said, when we (men) go home and we want food or coffee, we have to ask our younger sisters (he specified younger sisters) and our mum for this. Because that’s all women are for. Charming. One female comedian actually flipped the track and mocked men once – you should have seen how they tore her apart and she never made it past the qualifying rounds. “She had to work on her delivery”. To be fair, the show did produce a really good female comedian – Aranthangi Nisha, and I was SO happy to see a really good female comedian after SO LONG. Now all they do is invite her to every other show and ridicule her skin colour “Oh you look like a black beetle among these flowers” HAHAHA DO YOU GET IT? IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE SHE HAS A DEEPER SKIN TONE. Females themselves make passing comments such as “You look great in this saree colour!” to her because women with deeper skin tones rarely wear certain colours. It won’t "suit" them. They are being positive and supportive. Again, to be fair, Aranthangi Nisha does do a lot of self-deprecating comedy. But the thing is, while judges add on to her comments, male comedians who do self-deprecating comedy are often left alone.
Another TV show, I believe it's called Ready, Steady, Po is said to be a show "for women". Where women are invited as participants on a fun game show, which is hosted by - wait for it - two men. From the way everyone acts, I'm not entirely too sure if the audience they are going for are women. Again, the hosts insult the women who come on the show with variations of what I have said so far, everyone acts in a lewd and lascivious manner with the hosts often making inappropriate eye contacts and gestures. I don't know what the point of the show is. My irritation is just aggravated every time I see an advertisement for the show with it's byline "for women". What crap is this?
This post came to be when my irritation with the channel hit its peak level – this kid on a singing show, who came as a contestant, continuously mocks and insults an ADULT FEMALE ANCHOR. And nobody is stopping him! The audience and judges laugh and applaud! Now, is this the kid’s fault? Not particularly, no. He’s still too young to understand the ramifications of what he’s saying. The responsibility lies among the adults. Not only did he insult a woman, but he’s also insulting someone who is much older than him, and much more accomplished than him. Simply on their appearance. Such people are usually referred to as “trolls” – and they often lurk on Twitter and Instagram. Not as contestants in a competition. And if nobody speaks up, he’s going to keep doing it. And soon it’s not going to be just the female anchor and he’s not going to learn the value of respect. Furthermore, there are a BUNCH OF KIDS WATCHING THIS BEHAVIOUR. On the show itself as fellow contestants, and from home as aspiring contestants or as a casual viewer. Every kid is watching this as “comedy” and it’s going to start ingraining in them that such behaviour is okay. That if they decide to take part in the competition next time, it’s okay to act like this. I don’t have to tell you how impressionable young kids can be. Have you seen Jake and Logan Pauls’ “fans”?
While all this is horrifying, what concerns me, even more, is the fact that not a single person has said “this feels a bit much” or “hey, this is not okay” so far. Including established actors, actresses, musicians who come on these shows as guests. They either partake or laugh politely and/or uncomfortably. And don’t even get me started on the overwrought tv serials with too much makeup where women are always plotting against each other. No, that’s all they seem to do. I’m sorry but who ARE these women? Where do they exist? They make the aunties who annoy me seem like saints in comparison!
These insults and mockery of an entire gender are continuously perpetuated as comedy and often times, these are perpetuated as the ONLY way to do comedy on Vijay TV. Nothing else. And while everyone keeps rationalising these actions and comments as comedy, as something said in passing and just in good fun, with the women who were often the subject themselves defending their counterparts saying “Oh I can take it” or “Oh I know this is in good fun, (guy’s name) is SUCH A GOOD MAN otherwise”, I just want to know how this is supposed to be tolerable. Can you imagine what it feels like to turn a television on, and consistently hear from the commercials, the TV show you were watching, the trailer for a movie they show during commercials, and the movie you watch after the show that you are not good enough simply because you are a woman day in, day out? Your intelligence is never considered, you have no worth and you are "consoled" with “Oh it’s just a joke. I need food from you at the end of the day anyway. Please don’t take this seriously and not feed me later on.” I know it would be entirely too easy to say “Oh we say such things because that’s what people are saying in public/ want to hear/ find as comedy” etc. But as a huge channel with a viewership in millions, you have a social responsibility. Especially when the next generation is watching such things. Putting a “smoking and drinking is injurious to health” is not the only thing you have to do. You can actually choose not to insult women 24/7. That is “injurious” to our community’s health. Breeding misogynistic behaviour is what perpetuates acid attacks, rapes, and murders against women. Look, usually, I try to go for a well-articulated post but this time, my irritation crossed over excessively in this post and I couldn’t hold myself back. Honestly, enough is enough. When is this behaviour going to be acknowledged as abuse? How so? Systematically telling someone you are not good enough, IS ABUSE. Continuously droning on that women are evil and heartbreakers, women are opportunistic and will only go after successful men and not adhere to your love (again, read stalking), and then following up and pestering her, trying to keep women “in line” by telling them phrases like “நீ கிழிச்ச”, “செத்துடுவான்” after EVERY SINGLE WORD SHE SAYS IS ABUSE. And since it seems like Vijay TV is doing all this for the TRP and to be successful, this disgusts me to no extent. Which is why I’m disavowing from the channel. I’ve had enough.
*cover image courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/STARVIJAYIntl/?brand_redir=211311612281410
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