Reeling Reality

"Pornography is destructive because it forms in its clientèle expectations that are simply not connected to reality, to real men and women with real bodies (not to mention real souls, hearts, and minds)" (Lauren Winner, from article: “Purity,” appearing on Family.org)

Hi Everyone,

I still remember that when I was preparing for and giving my entrance exams for the B. Tech. admissions internet was considered a luxury. People used internet only in really needy situations as it was costly going to internet cafe and do your work. The reason why I am bringing this up is because with the spread of internet, not only knowledge has spread but also things which are not good for many people. One such thing is explicit adult content that is readily available on the Internet.

With the advent of digital technology internet and hence all the content associated with it has reached in the hands of the people in the form of mobile phones. Adults, teenagers, kids everyone has access to the adult material on the internet and there is no check whatsoever. Well there is a little bit of check but considering that even 6-7th grader kids have access to mobile phones now, whatever little check parents have on their kids and teenagers is nullified. On the brighter side there are families which exert great amount of check and control which is actually good.

The rape of the 5 year old girl is currently in news. Everyone is talking about the negligence and criminal actions of the police officers, the rapist and what not but what people are failing to comprehend is what led the person to commit the crime. Neither the media is highlighting this fact and nor the people are able to read between the lines and get to one of the root causes of the issue. The main root cause is that we have adopted many things from the western culture but have failed to change our mentality accordingly. I will not say whether it is right or wrong to view adult content because its a personal opinion but I will definitely say this that viewing should only be kept to viewing and not practiced on innocent victims. The doctors took out an oil bottle from inside that girl, really heinous way of putting viewing into action. What these criminals fail to understand is that what they view in the adult movies and sites is something that is done in a controlled environment and with mutual consent.

So coming back to the Indian society where the society is not so open and everyone has access to the adult content, what are other causes which are causing these heinous crimes to happen? The second most important cause after the unrestricted availability is the inability of the people to change their mindset accordingly. The society in West is quite open and hence these things to not affect people to that degree as they do in Indian society. In the above rape case, the criminal had several porn movies on his mobile and that's what led him to commit the crime. He could not separate the reel life from real life.

Sadly there is no check from the Government on the various adult sites that are rampant on the internet. There was a news article recently which questioned the government's inability to prevent the adult content from reaching the masses. Government can make all the laws they want but what they fail to realise is that when a person commits a crime he/ she never thinks that he/ she will be caught. Every criminal thinks that they are smart enough to avoid capture. So instead of passing laws government should try to address the root causes. Its time that the politicians get off their collective arses and do something towards removal of the root cause.

Everyone please remember reel life is different from real life. And I am saying this not only for adult content but for everything we view on television or internet. Many people get injured after watching some stunt and then trying out on their own. Lets keep the reel life and real life separate - reel life in the reels and real life in the reality.

Thanks,
Genie Signing off
email: arunesh.genie@gmail.com