Worldwide the idiom goes ‘seeing is believing.’ For screen regulating authorities in Pakistan the idiom reads ‘seeing is doing’. Reality is concealed in the name of morality. From Mahira Khan’s Verna to re-enactment dramas, they ensure we must not experience scenes of wrongdoing which are evocative. But if witnessing vices automatically translates into committing them, how has our nation escaped the clutches of dystopia for so long?
Between dusty library shelves, the theoretical divide between Plato and his disciple Aristotle sits untouched. Problems of the ancient past, hobbies of scholars, they do not intrigue the common man in Pakistan. Yet, they concern him. And he is unaware. Plato sought to banish poets from his Republic deeming them a threat to morality, corrupting the youth by inciting passions. For him, the arts being an imitation paralysed the faculty of reason. Thus his Republic would have no drama or poetry. Alternatively, Aristotle championed the imitative arts. He believed the pleasure they provided facilitated the teachings of civic morality, although not a primary function of art.
Lately the people of Pakistan have been irked by CBFC’s actions. Mainstream and social media alike were abuzz with speculations regarding Mahira Khan’s much awaited film Verna. Tackling the taboo subject of rape, it has left Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) contemplating the film’s impact on Pakistan’s audience. Verna’s premiere on November 14th in Lahore was cancelled due to non-issue of censor certificate. This suppressive approach by authorities governing cinema screens is neither novel nor confined to films. Television screens have been suffering a similar fate.
The authorities governing screens have condescendingly taken on the role of over protective parents, casting film and television audiences in the roles of vulnerable children. On May 20th 2016, during a press conference, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Absar Alam announced: “Neither news, current affairs channels, nor entertainment channels would be allowed to telecast re-enactment or drama scenes of crimes” such as rape, murder, suicide and robberies. A notification issued by the authority claimed that television viewers had repeatedly complained about re-enactment shows.
A blanket ban on an evocative depiction of criminal issues in the name of safeguarding our cultural values is unacceptable. Censorship will only conceal the vices, it won’t help us get rid of them
Incidents of young criminals learning methods of committing crimes through re-enactment shows have indeed surfaced in the past. During 2009 an FIR was registered in Sukkar against a young man for killing his brother because he wished to marry his brother’s wife. After committing the murder he asked his sister-in-law to be his beloved. Upon her refusal, livid, he attempted to kill her too. But fate had set her time of death for another day and she escaped, running straight to the police station. Upon investigation, the young man confessed his actions were inspired from a re-enactment show in which after murdering the brother the individual marries his sister-in-law and they blissfully run off together. But shows re-enacting crimes have been running for decades. From ‘Making a Murderer’ to ‘Killing Season’ crime re-enactment shows are shown worldwide. Thus, one is left to wonder why the causality suddenly became visible to the PEMRA.
In their republic, PEMRA and CBFC will have no evocative re-enactment of vices. And many people across Pakistan agree with their stance. In light of the Verna ban several tweets surfaced echoing PFCB/PEMRA like sentiments. Numerous individuals in our Islamic Republic of Pakistan feared witnessing ‘boldly’ depicted vices, such as rape in films like Verna, would defame our nation and jeopardise our cultural values. Similar responses were also seen upon PEMRA’s re-enactment ban. Countless individuals applauded PEMRA’s move. They were convinced watching vices on screen was tainting the audience’s minds. However, it is pertinent to note the young man in Sukkar was inspired not solely from witnessing the crime on television, but from the happily ever after which followed.
A blanket ban on an evocative depiction of such issues in the name of safeguarding our cultural values is unacceptable. Sweeping away the occurrence of vices under the carpet will only conceal them for a short period of time. Very soon they will come crawling out again.
The rising crime rates across the country are proof of this. Karachi was named the second most dangerous city for women across the globe by Thomson Reuters Foundation this year. On August 2, 2017, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Sial suspended seven station house officers in Karachi for failing to control street crime. According to a report termed ‘Cruel Numbers’ by NGO Sahil, 2016 saw a ten per cent increase in child abuse cases. As stated in a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, within first six months of this year alone 354 cases concerning sexual violence transpired. Despite a ban on the re-enactment of crimes such as rape, murder, suicide and robberies, all these said crimes continued to occur. What then did the re-enactment ban achieve?
Several factors play into the making of a criminal. Simply watching an evocative depiction of wrongdoing is insufficient. ‘Bold’ representations of issues plaguing our society must not be suppressed. On the contrary, we must witness vices, for the first step towards resolving an issue is acknowledging it. However, it is of utmost importance that vices are not glamorised. Before the end credits roll the rapist must be punished so severely that it makes a man contemplating rape shiver, he must be compelled to think again. Both film and television screens alike have the power to transform a potential criminal into a law abiding citizen.
The writer has a master’s in media with a distinction from the London School of Economics. She tweets @mawish_m
Published in Daily Times, November 18th 2017.