KARACHI: “Do Pakistani TV dramas do well when it comes to mental health?” The answer to this pertinent question kicked off a vibrant online discussion on Wednesday hosted by the UK Research, Resource and Publishing Center on Women and the Media through its ‘Hopscotch’ initiative which examines the content of TV drama and its effects on the spectators.
The discussion began with a thought-provoking presentation on mental health and stigma. Are Pakistani dramas further stigmatizing mental health or raising awareness?
It was pointed out that exaggerated, inaccurate and comical characters are often used in our works to represent people with psychiatric disorders. Mentally ill people are also portrayed as violent, murderous, unpredictable and to blame for their condition.
Observing the portrayal of suicide in the entertainment media, it was felt that there is an over-generalization of mental illness, while our works should be used as a tool to sensitize a mass audience, create a safe place to talk about mental health, change negative attitudes and reduce mental health stigma.
Writer Bee Gul said this could be because those involved in writing or producing plays were not equipped to understand mental illness and to be better equipped they needed to investigate by talking to the experts with first-hand knowledge of such things.
“There is a certain responsibility on their shoulders to provide the real picture and also spread awareness rather than thinking about ratings or creating sensation,” he said.
“They should think more about developing a dialogue, a narrative, but a lot of times, unfortunately, they give in for the sake of ratings,” he added.
Actor and TV director Saife Hasan said media houses that produce entertainment were doing business. The works they produce, the stories they tell are all to get commercials and earn good money. “So I doubt they can be changed. So the ones who can do something about it would be the writers. They will have to bring about change on the mental health issue,” he said while suggesting that perhaps NGOs involved in media monitoring and training could bring writers together and spread awareness of mental health portrayal. with them.
The Uks director said that instead of opening our minds, there are things that are shown in our dramas that disturb us and they should do something about it. “For the last 25 years, the UK has been training journalists by making them aware of the issues,” he said, adding that the problem still won’t go away simply by training or making playwrights aware.
“What about the directors? What do the channels want? Uks and Hopscotch’s work here is just a small drop in the ocean. But we are looking for a positive way out,” she concluded.
Posted in Alba, September 1, 2022
