Crow's Nest...

I think most of the overseas Pakistanis today miss a reliable source if news that connects them to Pakistan. Sure we have multiple media outlets that are trying to make us believe that they do the most reliable reporting but this is not true. In fact it is the farthest thing from the truth. Whenever I watch a TV channel from back home or try to read a newspaper I am disappointed by the level of dismay, disappointment and self blame all the opinion makers suffer from. All I can read is the things wrong with the society. All of them want to profess they possess the ability to identify all the ills of our society. They are so enamored by the onslaught of the media war that they just can not see any positivity in the daze of their own negativity. One almost feels like distancing one from all the bickering, blabbering of these actors. These actors who for small amounts of money are committing a monumental crime by disillusioning this nation. I guess that fault is our own that we a...

I could never muster any courage nor get any time to watch soaps on Pakistani TV channels. Every now and then, though, I get to catch a glimpse of TV screen while transiting through the TV lounge to any other part of the house. All I see is a shot of a women, which is either zooming in or zooming out, and the women weeping, sorrowfully. I am told that at times whole episodes are dedicated to shots of a woman, either sitting or standing, in a lush lounge of a lavishly built house and weeping over one thing or the other. I am also told that it is safe to assume that almost 80% of the time screen shots involve a character who is in remorse over either something lost or something found. There is too much crying and wailing involved in the Pakistani soaps of the day. These soaps are too depressive for a general viewer. Women find these emotionally charged soaps very interesting and close to their hearts. Generally because they think that they can relate to all the depression depicted...

I have always believed that media has a far greater role in shaping a society today than it ever had in the past. It can make people believe in things that don't exist or that might exist. It can make us dream for the good or the worse. But why is it that media has become so influential in my world? I think it so because all that we see on the television screen today seems very plausible. All the cars, clothes, houses and women seem plausible existence to the viewers of today as compared to those of yester years. The world has shrunk into a true global village and all that happens in the developed world is actually felt by the viewer in the developing world. With all the live streams and audio video content on the air we can actually feel our presence in the center of any situation. This changes things a lot from a layman's perspective. Earlier when we saw huge cars, seamless roads, large casinos, colourful vibrant beach fronts on the TV screen we could not associate ou...