Catch 22 1/2

Re:#17
samb, again, point taken but not entirly accepted. And since it is a matter of interpretations, this is how I see it. If one looks at all those serials and long-plays scribbled by the likes of Ashfaq Ahmed (Aik Haqueeqat, Soh Afsanay, Totah Kahani) and Amjad Islam Amjad (Waris, Samandar), it is clear that the kind of Islamic fatalism that was being propagated was suggesting the looking towards divine reward and justice in the afterlife. Such plays offered only patience and the quiet tolerance of injustices in the material world. In other words the emergence of a rampant culture of corruption and mafia violence during the Zia dictatorship were not to be questioned (especially not through the more secular outlets), but rather to be quietly lived out with prayers (salaat), “simple living” (sadigi) and a stoic hope of a better, fruiter hereafter!
The propagation of the so-called “traditional values” too had little or nothing to do with traditions held by the more urbanized Pakistanis. Conveniently, and as seen in Amjad Islam Amjad’s most popular serials, all talk about “traditional values” were actually mostly about traditions and values associated with staunch feudal classes.
This two-pronged strategy (Islamic Fatalism, ``traditional values``) was undertaken to at one hand keep in check Zia`s Islam from turning into something a lot more radical (and thus against the status quo that was supporting the political and economic interests of the Zia regime), and on the other hand control the urban classes which due to the fast changing economic scenario were reaching a point in which the middle-classes usually start demanding things like democracy, freedom of speech, etc. And it was this change that eventually set in and actually helped the country sustain the ten years of ``democracy`` that followed Zia`s death.

Rgds,
NfP

NFP:

while I can somewhat understand where you`re coming from in that Zia did encourage that sort of a model for Pakistani men - stubborn, close-minded, hawkish etc. but Amjid Islam Amjid`s Chauhdry Hashmat was much more than that. some of his regressive personality attributes could`ve been popular at the time and perhaps even encouraged. but Amjid Islam Amjid did not glorify the feudal system and its adherents which is why there were constant references to the upcoming plan to build a dam over the village and the impending relocation. which eventually culminated into the self-destruction and death of the zameendar family and symbolically that of the feudal system for that village. if there are people who actually got inspired by Hashmat as a person, they must be pretty sick and twisted to begin with - not the drama`s creators fault.

I`m a little surprised at how different our interpretations of the play are. and yup, I am a drama geek.

Great insights, NFP. You rarely dissapoint when it comes to fusing politics with popular culture.

To all Chowkies:

Haiy tau yeh rasm-e-zamanah, lekan phir bhi
Ho mubarak tumhain yeh saal nya, meray rafiq

Happy New Year

Mohammad Gill

I must commend you on your interdisciplinary approach to your argument. Successfully identifying the political and historical causes and measuring their effects through popular culture. It is very rare that I get to see a sociologically sound argument. :)

Happy New Year !

Peace…

Strange that you say that films Society Girl contributed to symbolism used by reactionaries against Bhutto because Society Girl is considered a classic by our so-called liberal Paki film fans, especially those open-minded Karafilm people.

and enter nfp the sober teacher of political history and its effects on various aspects of society...

nice read ...

i personally am of a beleif that every trend on large scale is inspired politically (direct or otherwise)... do u agree nfp?

the mis-usage of religion has a long and painful history in subcontinent ( and the world over) .. glad to see that there r guyz like u who can let the young ones know of it...
as for the part where u suggest staring at liberally/westernly clad women is basically inspired by those loaded movies.. well thanxing for letting me know .. i never knew tat the few (old time) movies i saw could have such an impact on my thinking... however thanx to u, i can consider myself on the road to enlightenment ( or utter darkness, as a bearded friend of mine would confidently say ;) )..
u the man, nfp!

Amitabh`s angry man films may have gone outta fashion in 80s but NFP you are right saying that today heros are total opposites, but actors like Nana Patekar and Sanjay Dutt still follow rules set by Amitabh inb 70s.
This was a great read.

LOLZZZ!!!!!! u missed the word count at the end.
Saaley kachre pe comments kar rahe hain.

Wait for the new year`s eve and see the clash of ``Shabab`` and ``Sharab`` or the Orthodoxy vs Modernism.

[[Television plays pushed forward the image of apolitical (but highly patriotic) heroes and heroines, who drifted between being hip liberals and conservative faithfuls in a matter of a single scene! ]]

This true with most commercial indian cinema in last ten yrs but films like company, satiya and vastav try to break this trend, a trend you say was promoted by new capitalist forces.

samb:
If you seriously believe that Waris did not glorify feudal lords then I would certainly like to know the reasons. I respect your view but do not accept it. Either you were too young back in 1980 or are mistaking my point. I was not commenting on the direction, production and acting of the play but the way it handled the issue of feudalism. Because Chaudery Hashmat was every bit the kind of a man most Pakistani men aspired to become in those days; or the kind of men General Zia would have liked Pakistani men to be: Stubbornly regressive, apolitical, amoral and proud of it! Not the ``pensy liberals`` and ``foolish cummunists`` who were giving our mard-e-momin such a pain in the arse.

rgds,
NfP

HN:
Great to hear from you again, Harish. Thank you for liking the piece.
I wasn`t commenting on the birth of existentialism but the moment when it started to be adopted by the various artistic and political expressions of modern popular culture.

Rgds,
NfP

PS: And stop scaring MBA students with your subversive literary suggestions!

ambitious thesis but in the end when u suggest that bjp was voted in by middleclasses who for market economics ignore hindu fundamentalism, what about now when congress is in power? And it true that many indian films now dont have socialist themes but i disagree when u say movies showing gangs are also entertainment for sake of it and nothing political because these gangs are reality and close linked with politics, but all in all very thoughtful article.

This was thorough. And those are very interesting points you make about Amitabh`s angry young man flicks set around Indra Gandhi`s diluted version of Socialism and how those so-called social films like Sangeeta`s Soceity Girl actually gave anti-Bhutto conservatives the symbols to attack his government.

it is Sahira Kazmi, not Saira. and Waris did everything BUT glorify feudal lords. I don`t think too many feudals would want to be depicted as Chauhdry Hashmat, Mehboob Alam`s legendary character.

this is sloppy work really. you write about these guys and consistently get factual details wrong. I read the piece you wrote on Pakistani TV directors and enjoyed it a lot. but you got names wrong there as well. and they`re simple mistakes that a quick google search could`ve fixed. I don`t mean to nitpick (which I know I`m guilty of right now) but as a loyal and long-time fan of Pakistani dramas, I feel it necessary to point out these inaccuracies.

I loved the leap of ambition you took with this one. I am not exactly conversant with popular culture. But have attempted to check in. I remember a good book, called A generation in Motion by David Pichaske, about pop music and its connection with the flower children.

The brush with beat literature clarified the instinct that propelled ``a generation destroyed by madness.``

And then, existentialism, born after WW I in France, unlike what you say here, and how that was pitchforked into the detente of the post-seventies...in our neck of the woods, and generally late sixties for the white world. That profound Nietzchian negativism...distilled through Sartre and Camus exchange philosophical exchanges on suicide. Myth of Sisiphus is still required reading, methinks, to every MBA classroom worth its name. Short. Profound. And to the point, as they prefer.

It might also make some in each class connect to that Dadaist call by Tzara...art against art. concept after Art for art`s sake...

I agree with you that there are very few movements now. Purity in instinct too is at premium. But, every new pure kid on the block has his/her history only to her last caretaker.

All in all, this was a seriously qualitative telescoping. More, from wherever it came.

Just to actually be relevant....that thing about Amitabh Bacchan. He was created by Salim-Javed, filmed by Prakash mehra....but Manmohan Desai made the maximum money out of that finished good called the angry young man. And, MD was what shall we call...a caricaturist who syndicated the AYM cartoon, and made it a national folk story...at one stroke...

Thanks for a seriously stimulating read...


HN