The effect movies have on us is indisputable.
There is much research on how it influences our views on relationships, violence, faith
and politics.
But this very admission of Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan is very powerful.
Why?
Because he is one of the top actors in Bollywood and he is speaking
from experience from within the industry.
I couldn't play the whole clip because of copyright reasons.
But the show admits that Bollywood movies portray a warped view on relationships.
And they tend to normalize things like:
Men acting like scoundrels and women liking it.
Men forcibly kissing girls and the girls liking it.
Beating them.
When a girl says 'no', it actually means 'pursue me and eventually I will say 'yes'.
And of course women being treated like objects.
Our brains are in an 'Alpha wave state' when we watch TV, which means it is more prone
to suggestion.
And the effectiveness of suggestion has been proved by studies like the Harvard 1999 one
that was done on flashing words and images during movies.
And this has been made more effective by the use of pulsing images,
the use of which can be tracked to a 2003 US patent.
Now we know the unconscious mind is more prone to suggestion and of course conditioning,
and this influences our day-to-day decisions more so than we think.
For example: what we consider to be beautiful, what we consider to be cool, and ways to deal
with certain situations and so on.
So what's the solution?
Give it all up?
Well, in short yes.
But I know that's not going to be practical for everyone, so the least we can do is try
these three things to limit the damage.
Number one: if you do watch this stuff, watch it consciously and critically, don't let your
guard down, discuss the themes as a family.
Don't just passively consume the content making your children think it's normal.
Number two: Don't rely on the television to raise your kids and compensate for your responsibility
towards them.
I know it's difficult but you do have to invest time, especially in the first 10 years of
their life.
Number three: Don't be so naïve and allow private and unrestricted access of technology
to your kids.
Like I said, the first 10 years of their life is integral and as integral in the formation
of the long-term memory, of the ideals, morals.
Alright so I hope you guys have benefited from this.
It is indeed an incredibly powerful video and coming from the stars that people idolize,
definitely share this clip and hopefully this will get a lot of people thinking about the
movies that they consume.
And be careful with your diet.
And diet is not just stuff that you consume, it's stuff that you consume through your ears
and through your eyes as well.
This is also diet, so if you are going to watch something, watch something that challenges
you academically, that doesn't teach you negative things.
All right guys let's leave it there,
until next time, Asalaamu alaikum.