KARACHI: “Whatever we have been doing in the name of culture for the past 70 years was terribly wrong. A fancy dress show in the name of cultural day will never make people understand the deep rooted cultural values of our country”, this was stated by Noor-ul-Huda Shah during a session here in Arts Council. She said that we are continuously confusing the nation by some stereotype biased perception of our region’s inhabitants; during 1970’s to 1990’s a dacoit in Pakistani drama would always be covered in Ajrak.
A session on Electronic Media and its importance in the promotion of softer image of the nation held in Art’s Council of Pakistan by Electronic Media & Aesthetic Committee. This talk was arranged when media industry is going through a crises and journalists are voicing for an unseen censorship on media. Javaid Jabbar opined that blaming state for the downfall of art and culture is not the right thing to do. The state run TV and Radio gave hundreds of classical productions which subsequently made notable stars in artistic community.
“Art can never be defined by its audience. It is priceless”, Javaid said. Answering the question of Uzma Alkareem (Moderator of the session), MD Geo TV Azhar Abbas said that we do not have viewership of cultural events; the main reason why media is being complained about improper coverage of ethnic and folk shows. He said that events like Urdu Conference and Literature Festival do have spectators but the number is still low. However, Load Wedding Producer Fiza Ali disagreed to Azhar’s statement saying, “We cannot run our media by evaluating what is being viewed the most. There must be our own priorities. All segments should be given certain amount of airtime”.
Jahanzeb digital media head of Dawn TV was of the view that in online space traditional media is not important. One can use them for amplification purpose but the problem is majority of the consumers of digital media pretend themselves to be journalists; an issue which should be addressed. The conversation on plight of art and culture in Pakistan ended over a Q&A session. News Desk
