Wednesday, December 24, 2014

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Satyamev Jayate and "Mardangini"


It is important that issues of masculinity are talked about in India.
And one important platform (if not the only) for that is the new TV show Satyamev Jayate (new in the sense that I just found out about it).

Usually in India, the culture is so deeply ingrained in its normal routine, that it does not even realize it is steeped in patriarchy. One exemplary analogy for this is a fish that does not realize it is surrounded by water, because it has never seen a complement. I think a show like Satyamev Jayate was desperately needed to make Indians aware of this "water" that they are swimming in, if you will. I think that Indians in India do have a sense that in other countries, women are treated more equally, or are more "westernized", but unfortunately that is seen as a direct threat to Indian "tradition" and "culture". I know from personal experience, that especially older Indians, get defensive about this topic and puff out their chest in pseudo-nationalistic pride. I say pseudo because if they were really nationalistic, they would be open to constructive change on how to make their country better. But what they are doing instead is just trying to keep a old system alive for fear of change, which is not related to its citizens' benefit at all.

Arguably though, there is still a lot of change that needs to be done. It reminds me of something The Indian Male Feminist said on the controversial Youtube video "Will you Marry a Raped Girl?" Ignoring the crass title, the fact that they found some "heroes" who were willing to. Bullshit. You don't get brownie points for that, just as you don't get brownie points for not raping someone when you have the opportunity to get away with it. That is just the baseline for being a decent human being. You don't get a reward for meeting the minimum. Which makes the people of the opposite opinion even more sad, because they don't even meet that baseline. It is true that the majority of people think this way, though that is no excuse for rewarding the ones that don't. You can't stoop to such low expectations, because then India will be fucked. How messed up is it that we would be grateful for such kindness (*sarcasm intended*). The truth is, there will always be people that go above and beyond without any praise or incentives, simply because they are capable of understanding empathy, and capable of thinking that just because they are nice also doesn't mean they are doing a great "sacrifice" and it also doesn't mean that the bestowed is to be pitied or victimized.

The same thing is seen in Satyamev Jayate, where at the end of the "Mardangini" episode, they have examples of men who have changed. A few examples are of men who admitted that they used to beat their wives and then they finally realized that it was WRONG and EVIL and now they don't anymore and then the audience claps and gives them an ovation while the men look proud at their achievement. Again, bullshit.If you need to have an epiphany that beating others is wrong, there is seriously something wrong with you and ideally, you need to go back in the womb again and start life all over again. After all, women have known this all along and they don't get recognized for not hurting anyone.

But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they *do* deserve this praise, after realizing this life lesson in a profoundly patriarchal society. I guess my standard for humanity is so high that I just cannot relate or sympathize at all. I don't know. Tell me what you think? Is this an achievement or not or simply part of being a decent person?

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