Though I do not watch TV that much nowadays, but I often watch the news, documentary and sometimes

talk-shows. Many of them are contemporary world news, some of them are political news and some of
them are news stories. One such interesting news was a story that covered a case file of police who caught a
serial killer. This news story was broadcasted in Fox news and I watched it about one year ago.
Jeeto Pakistan is a popular game show; it is hosted by Mustafa and aired on ARY Digital. The show is a hit
with the public for obvious reasons. For many who participate, this is their one shot in life to own prizes.
But like all good things, this opportunity also comes with a price. In order to win the coveted prizes, guests
have to take part in a variety of games and activities, many of which can be demeaning and outright
unacceptable. If guests aren’t joining in the base activities, they still have to keep themselves open to crass,
hurtful and insensitive comments from the host.
This begs two questions – what level of responsibility and accountability can we as a nation and as TV
viewers expect from these TV hosts? And second, to what degree are the guests on these shows responsible
for allowing themselves to be shamed and humiliated for the sake of winning some prizes?
Jeeto Pakistan isn’t the first TV show to resort to such tactics to bring in viewers and get the ratings. What
made this episode more unpalatable was the fact that there was a minor involved this time. On the episode
of Jeeto Pakistan that aired on June 13, a young girl in the audience, who was selected to participate in a
game, showed Mustafa a drawing she had made of him. Rather than appreciating her effort and
encouraging her to continue her art, he thoughtlessly mocked her picture and told her she shouldn’t do this
anymore. A minute worth of content for the show, a lasting memory for the young girl.
One could argue that it was an innocuous remark from Mustafa, which meant no harm. That he was just
being playful. What one forgets is that fame is a double-edged sword, because with recognition and
adoration comes a sense of responsibility and accountability, and one’s actions and words, which under
ordinary circumstances, would not have carried much weight, can become powerful tools, which can make
or break people. In this incident, it was the confidence and spirit of a young girl that was attacked. After the
show, her classmates, many in awe of Mustafa, thought it was acceptable to ridicule her for her drawing,
because their hero did the same. Collectively, they made her feel ashamed and that can never be condoned.
Mustafa got a lot of flak on social media for this episode, but despite being aware of how his words
impacted this young girl, rather than apologizing to her and restoring her faith and confidence, he has
chosen to remain silent, leaving us wondering whether these celebrities give two hoots about the people
whose love and support gives them the basis for their careers and livelihoods.
In this incident, the girl did not volunteer to be ridiculed, but there are many episodes where audience
members allow themselves to be shamed for the sake of winning some material goods. And the question is,
what has led us to this point, where we barter our self-respect in return for short-lived fame and a big ticket
item?
Not to pick on Mustafa alone, but another episode that has people commenting on social media was also
from Jeeto Pakistan, where middle-aged women were weighed in front of everyone and the heaviest
woman won a prize.
He made insensitive and sarcastic remarks at their expense, shaming them and then rewarding them for
allowing this shame. And the audience laughed and clapped and the bizarreness of all this was lost on the
one who shamed, the one who was shamed, and those that witnessed – making everyone equally
responsible.
These shows, for the sake of rating, trivialize people and play with their emotions and needs, then one has
to raise their voice and ask for some sense to be knocked back onto the game floor. Intelligent
entertainment can appeal to the general public as well. Talk show producers, directors and hosts just need to
start trusting and respecting their audiences more.