Why Bigg Boss Should Be Banned Now, In Pandemic Times

We have enough violence happening in homes and outside in this pandemic related lockdown. Should we have more of it as Bigg Boss, with its toxic masculinity model?

The 2020 pandemic is now causing a lot of people to stay at home and thus television watching has unfortunately increased. However daily soaps are not really the worst part of Indian television as in my opinion some of the content has gradually improved over the years.

Bigg Boss promoting toxicity

The problem are the reality shows that continue to encourage voyeurism and promote aggression. They have done little apart from agitating the youth of the country and encouraging toxicity.

Shows like Bigg Boss have not only encouraged bullying but also toxic behaviour. Big names of the Indian television are brought into the show; people who are supposed to be entertainers, and all that they do is fight.

I wonder sometimes, if the show just teaches people how to fight and abuse, and that there is no space in the world for dignity. The only good that this show does is to provide employment to a couple of jobless celebrities, and YouTubers who use this as an opportunity to stay relevant by dissing the ones who are a part of the show.

People of all age group including board exam students are glued to the show. Some sidetrack their studies, make accounts on social media and trend for their favourites the whole day, and ruin their mental health by arguing with random people for their favourites.

Bully school?

The show agitates its audience by showing their favourite stars as people who are fighting, crying, or planning and plotting all the time. Salman Khan bullies and belittles people who have made a name for themselves, on the show.

Also the bias towards certain contestants is evident in every season. Amidst the toxic behaviour exhibited by each and every contestant every season on the show, the audience is given a tough choice to choose their favourite toxic personality on the show.

Where is any positive content?

We desperately need positive content on our TV screens during these tough times. While we love to see our celebs on shows, we would prefer that they entertain and spread positivity than hurt their fans by fighting, crying and going on such misogynistic ‘reality’ shows which are aired on apparently feminist and ‘positive’ channels.

Sansthita Chattopadhyay

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