Prizes With A Price

After the morning show fad comes another obsession which is sweeping our nation; game shows. These game shows are going crazy and I mean CRAZY. Every channel has one and they're all giving away hundreds of prizes everyday courtesy their sponsors (some of whom seem to be sponsoring every show). 
You guessed it! I am talking about Pakistan's two 'FAVOURITE' shows, Pakistan Ghar and Jeeto Pakistan. The two places you get a ton of stuff at only the price of your dignity. 
One of the shows that I will talk about is supposed to be (emphasis on SUPPOSED) religious. Hordes of people are on every show answering questions and performing horrendous tasks in order to win prizes. But most of the truly cringe worthy antics are saved for those who wish to win a motorcycle. Yes. The ever enchanting motorcycle which our nation seems to lust after. 

But first let's get something straight, you can't blame the people. I used to as well but then I realized everything is pretty damn expensive these days. So for people to get a bike they can't otherwise afford, looking like an idiot on television is a small price to pay for it. Pakistan is not a rich country (duh!) And not everyone has the same resources so we cannot blame people for actually wanting free stuff. I mean heck, if I could brave the humiliation I would be there in an instant (eh, maybe in a burka).

So yes, who do we blame for this public humiliation? Hmm... how about the hosts and the networks! Who scripts these shows? I mean.. did someone script the 'aam khaye ga' segment on Amir Liaquat’s Pakistan Ghar on Express? *shudders* Where do these people come up with this stuff! The stunts may be scripted but the hosts have TOO much leeway, so much so that they get away with ANYTHING they say or do.

These hosts are crossing the line. Amir Liaquat with his cheap stunts involving innocent fruit. And Fahad Mustafa, with his constant rude remarks on people's weight and lives. I mean… stop trying to make me dislike you Fahad, your looks can only do so much.

                                                                                                 *WARNING FOLLOWING IMAGE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT*

Very recently 'Dr.' Amir Liaquat overstepped all bounds after the forceful (yet not so forceful) mango feeding stunt. But that's not it, a regular feature on his show also involves a very annoying trainer who demonstrates an exercise and challenges the men in the audience to copy him. Whilst contestants are doing said exercises Amir 'Bhais' comments are truly nauseating. The man basically revels in people's desperation to win and does everything possible to enhance their humiliation.
Funny thing is even after all these stunts and infamous candid videos, people still believe him to be a pious religious scholar.
 Anyway, if you change the channel from Express to ARY Digital you will see a giddy Fahad Mustafa cutting off people's hair for a bike or asking them to imitate a scene in English, and then making fun of them because well... they don't know English.
  So basically what I've come to realize is that we can't blame the people who go to these shows, for them this is sort of an opportunity to make their lives better. But I believe, its the hosts and networks job to think about ways of distributing the gifts that does NOT involve the other person being forced to give up their dignity. The contestants have no choice but to go along with the host in order to not jeopardize their chances of winning. Since at the time the hosts usually laugh with them and make them feel at ease, they are in a false sense of security, when in reality, they are being publicly made fun of by the host all for the sake of their show's ratings. 

I know there is no such thing as ‘responsible’ media anymore but it is still revolting about what these people are doing just to up their ratings. This is nothing but exploitation of people by these networks and it needs to stop! Maybe it's time to wake up and do something PEMRA? Just a thought. 

P.S I would like to apologize to all the mangoes everywhere for the violation their brother faced on television. I'm deeply, deeply sorry.