Social Identities on Social Media

In the recently held Indian elections, bitter electoral battles were not just fought between Congress and BJP, but between people who supported these parties, across different social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook.

Indian society has always been a society where social identities like, one's caste/ religion/ region have always been important factors for an individual. The social identities we have are usually something that we already become a member of, by virtue of our being born into these social groups. Our opinion is neither sought, nor taken seriously in these social memberships (caste/ religion still serious matters!).

Social identities also provide the context for the experiences that one has in his life. For example, if I am a Muslim from Delhi, I should be living in Old Delhi’s Jama Masjid area/ Okhla/ Nizamuddin, I should love non- veg dishes like qorma, biryani, nahari, I should dress in a particular way, vote according to Shahi Imam’s dictates, have a big family of siblings, and a large brood of my own! (phew!)  

Social media has changed many things in a traditional society like India. Earlier, we were just numbers of a social group, our individual lives/ experiences/ views were not important. Social media has made extended families to bond over Facebook, Whats App, Skype, everything from marriage, love to break ups are now shared on social media. It shows as an individual, my life, my experiences are important, my views (often unsolicited) are important, the world should be made aware of – if I am in love, if I have lost something/ someone, if I support a particular ideology, suddenly the routine things of sleeping/ waking up/ eating- what cuisine/ where, are all being shared by everyone on multiple mediums, everyday. The barrage of information (often useless, but sometimes very helpful), that we have just at the touch of a button is astounding!

Social media took time to make its followers in a society like India, where education levels are not very high, and it needs one to be literate, computer/ smart phone savvy, but the peer pressure of joining the bandwagon,  as the youngsters in villages and small towns of India are discovering the shiny new world of Facebook, etc. India is changing drastically, something that BJP/ AAP used to their advantage, and Congress lost, as they did not realize how impatient, how aware this social media adept new India is!   

New social identities are now being created on the basis of the political ideologies that one follows- left/ right/ liberal/ conservative. People are still fighting on Facebook, Twitter, post-elections, gaining new socio- political identities in the process. The political divide was never so sharp in Indian society, we were mostly passive voters, who voted mostly, under parental pressure, based on the caste/ regional/ religious background of the candidate! It still is the case in most of India, but we are more aware of the choices that we have and we are making. The new 24*7 media channels have played a big role in creating these identities for us. Now, we do not just want to be relevant by stating our opinions on different issues, but, we want to be Liked/ Retweeted/ Favorited/ Shared by our followers!  The NEW symbol of social prestige, and more important than people in our lives, more than family/siblings, etc. are the number of Followers/ Friends one has on these mediums, and it does not matter which country/ region/ caste/ class they belong to!! Identities, either social or personal, have the only purpose of satisfying our need for a ‘positive self image’ (Turner, 1981), and as new socio-political identities are created on social media, we can only wait and watch, if these identities weaken or strengthen traditional identities of caste/ region/ religion.   

  

Portrayal of Minorities in Films- Bollywood/ Hollywood

  I recently watched a film where the hero (Hindu) dies while saving lives of a Muslim family during riots. I have always been puzzled and have noticed over the years the similarity in the portrayal of minority' characters in Hollywood and Bollywood. Due to my lack of exposure to world cinema (and most of regional cinema in India), and extreme exposure to both Hindi and English movies (thanks to my father since childhood, and now my husband post- marriage, who have both been fanatic film fans) I can only compare these two industries. Industries because they are in serious business, as they produce/ manufacture/ distribute, and provide employment to millions of people.
 Now coming back to the topic of portrayal of minorities in stereotypical ways, as supporting friends, or characters mostly to provide comic relief (Bollywood has had Mehmood, Johhny Walker, Kadar Khan, Johnny Lever, etc. and Hollywood has had Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg etc.) or as important figures (like politicians or police officers). There was a period when Blacks and Muslims got portrayed as criminals or as Dons, and then heroes started romancing minority heroines which added to the tension in the storyline. A very interesting fact is that minorities in both industries have found employed in great numbers for both on-screen roles (heroes, heroines, character artists) and off screen jobs (writing, music, production houses, etc.) especially so for Muslims, in Bollywood.

 I had a Professor specializing in media studies, who had his own take on the film- 'Amar, Akbar, Anthony', a blockbuster hit of 1977, in which three brothers get separated at birth and are adopted by families of three different communities and are brought up by them. The way these three characters were portrayed, eldest brother Amar, the Hindu one, the most responsible brother, a police officer, who brings the family together again. The other two brothers (minorities)- Akbar and Anthony are mostly non-serious characters who create more troubles than solve them. According to my teacher, it was how Indian society perceives its minorities, where majority has to take more serious roles and decisions and be more responsible for the country.  
 There was also a brief period where all negative roles were being written for Muslims, and to be politically correct, and to balance a Muslim terrorist, an honest, patriotic Muslim police officer was thrown in the film's plot as well (Sarfarosh, etc). Similar films can be found in Hollywood as well showing Blacks as bad and good characters.
 It was the Hollywood which started showing a Black character as the President (Morgan Freeman in many movies) before Barack Obama actually became the President of the United States'. In India, Manmohan Singh, (from the minority  Sikh community)  became the Prime Minister while Indian films could never imagine a Sikh as PM, but only portrayed them as non- serious, adorable characters.
 Movies mirror society and its beliefs and prejudices, and its quite a paradox to say, if they are inspired by reality or they inspire people in real life.
  

Bias of private FM channels to RD Burman music

 Radio has seen the revolution in the post-privatization era. In present times, radio has come back with a bang. Its cool again to listen to radio as its no more an obscure object kept in the corner of the room, fighting with television, computers for your attention.
 The private FM channels mostly play similar song lists and it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, except for Big FM which now plays only old Hindi film music all the time. Govt FM channels like FM Gold (plays old Hindi film songs), FM Rainbow (mostly plays mix of old and new Hindi songs) with their jarred old world style of presentations still have a huge following in non- Metro areas. Metro cities prefer Hinglish language or English mixed with local language with light conversation by the radio host or as popularly called RJs.

Recently, my brother and I were in the car playing music on the radio, and it was him who noticed and commented that radio private FM music channels have a liking for RD Burman music, as one after the other RD song played on the radio. Our late father had great taste in music and poetry. As kids we were exposed to all kinds of music (mainly Urdu/ Hindi) ghazals, qawwalis, Bollywood music with all the stories and gossip on famous personalities related to music like music directors, singers, etc. even though we hardly understood most of it at that time. But, stories gathered in our heads which helped us to distinguish OP Nayyar from Shankar Jaikishen, Khayyam from Madan Mohan, Laxmikant Pyarelal from well, you get the point. Even writing styles  of lyricists like Shailendra, Anand Bakshi, Sahir and old singers were easy for both of us to guess.

 Probably, people playing music and especially old Hindi film music on these channels may not know about the teams of Anand Bakhshi- Laxmi/ Pyare, Sahir/ SD Burman, Shailendra/Shankar Jaikishen/ Raj Kapoor team, they just know about Gulzar- RD Burman who are great of course. But, others are not that bad either. Unless they have their birth/ death anniversary that is when they are remembered and played. I appeal for some variety on the popular radio FM music channels, there are gems of songs which are gathering dust. The new generation needs exposure to some soulful music and beautiful meaningful lyrics,  just dhin chak dhin chak gets loud and boring!