Above is a tweet from a veteran, though apparently there were people galore who criticized television news channels for their relenting and protracted coverage of the tragic death of Sushant Singh Rajput. A grievance is that other important issues like economy, unemployment, and even china-faceoff were put to back burner. If you randomly call to your friends, relatives there is a very good chance (78 % in my case with n=28) that they will talk about this issue. This engenders a great dilemma, a question worth considering; Is Sushant’s death or Economy or China or Nepotism of Bollywood our immediate reality of life? Should a common man for 24 /7 be obsessed with an inference that the political might of an individual has consumed one life? Or that two nations stand gun against gun on border?
Renowned French philosopher Jean Baudrillard provocative analysis of Gulf war, where he terms it as a virtual war, presents a great framework to analyze our own set of facts. Baudrillard had pointed that the postmodern culture is so overly reliant on maps and models that it has lost contact of the reality which the model intends to simplify and explain. How does a layman perceive a news channel? A medium which keeps her updated about the reality. There are processes which are applied to convert facts to a presentable news and what we expect is that the news affects our life. Covid has changed our life and every dimension of it, travelling, work, shopping and for many crisis is existential cause of health or unemployment. Then why from 4 p.m. to 11p.m one mysterious death (an investigating agency independent of state gov. is now probing the case) becomes our reality. Why are people lighting candle and planning trees in memory of sushant? What makes people hook on to this model so much so that they are fine with ignoring other issues?
Contemporary media, (including social media) are no more an information relay medium, but rather they are interpreting ourselves for us. From the lens of this interpretation, an initial abuse of power by Government of Maharashtra has made all of us oppressed. Thereby the contemporary media, not only in this case, but in every coverage make us come together in strong solidarity, effect of which is that we see the world only through their lens. We become a new commune which has lost its ability to be sensitive to its own reality and needs. We are more consumed with the desire to achieve our own goal and we are more sensitive to the emotions of group’s solidarity. In pursuit of this goal, we seek more information, more updates and our conscience is kept satisfied only when we learn that we are an inch closer to our goals.
Thus, the medium of communication is probably in the Baudrillard’s third order of simulacra, where there is absence of profound reality. In this world, the map is drawn before determining territories of the nation, a model is made before looking at the subject. Thus what news channels simulate is not even artificial as concept of artificial requires a reality against which one can recognize artificial. This is the situation where representation predates the reality. Effect is that we have completely lost the distinction between nature and artifice. Baudrillard believed that postmodern society is organized around simulation and play of images. Subject in this hyperreality has lost contact with the real and undoubtedly covid has even taken the subject further away. That explains why Arnab Goswami’s Hindi News Channel (it was pioneer in covering Sushant’s case) has dethroned the old guard aaj tak in BARC rankings. Then an 'allege' case of gang-rape surfaced in hathras of Uttar Pradesh and all of national media crowded in Hathras. Facts are conflicting on ground but the case has generated ample amount of solidarity in public at large. The UP police's inhumane treatment of the victim's family has generated a wave of shock in country and media channels are again riding on that solidarity. The rising of the case can be ethical as injustice should be raised, but other rape incidence have not got any coverage, be it be Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West bengal or even a different case in UP were accuse is a muslim. One wonders why? In a country were caste discrimination is rampant and were BJP talks about Hindu unity this inhumane act of administration will generate stronger solidarity in comparison to other cases. The girl's spine was broken and tongue was cut harkens back to brutal gang-rape of nirbhaya which generates strong public convergence. Solidarity is a common public good and the fight of media commerce is to swing the solidarity in favor of their own case. Reality is still far flunged, even in Hathras's case facts are conflicting and no TV channels have aired any view of the accuse's family, Why? Because that may dilute the narration, may dent the solidarity. This google trend may give us all a good picture of of media's war, republic which relies on Sushant's case and Aaj tak which relies on Hathras. Apparently this is not a fight for justice forget even bringing reality to all of us, this a fight for the top. The graph below depicts that reality via google trend, one story jumping over the other. A journalist needs a pitch for that and administration provides it, be it be mumbai or hathras after which it becomes a simulation which they design for us to create solidarity.
Look at this graph and you will notice, both the lines of Sushant and Hathras's victim have same peaks which signifies one plain thing, solidarity is felt for both the victims, though the rage is justifiably more for one(can be for myriad of reason, one being brutishness of the act.). Apparently Television News has become a commercial game which is working on its ability to create more of solidarity in the favor of their narrative. We are all caught up in this play of simulation that has less and less relationship with our immediate reality.
Remember the veteran’s tweet I started with? From news to a new simulation; cricket. Moreover, sushant’s case and it’s hyper-reality is tolerable, but what about other issues that may have direct consequences to the democracy? how do we debate about society where it’s individuals are addicted to simulation?
May be deliberation, may be deliberative democracy.