There has been a lot of debate over free speech and freedom
of expression lately. The most recent one stemming from the Knockout Roast
hosted by All India Backchod (AIB), a Youtube comedy channel known for its many
hilarious videos, some of them obscenely offensive. Now what happens in Roast
comedy is that your jokes are centered on humiliating the other person in all
possible contexts, ranging from his choice, sexuality, looks, girlfriend,
family, anything at all pertaining to the person. The more sacrilegious the
insult, the louder people laugh. Now this roast, where the roasting happened of
two popular male actors, was funny in parts, hilarious in others, extremely
sexists and racists on other lines. Again, as in the case of recent movies and
songs, everything is centered on sex and obscene gestures. There has emerged
this trend, where showing obscene gestures to convey that you don’t care have become
a fad, and everyone seems to be following it.
Coming back to the roast, naturally many people raised a
furore claiming it hurt their personal, religious, racial sentiments and
clamoured for it to be taken down. While relentless initially, the channel had
to eventually take down the video. There were litigations filed against them. This
prompted a few other Youtube channels comprising of comedians to release
another video urging people to raise their voice and voice their opinions lest
the freedom of expression be taken away from us altogether. And that internet
is the most free form of media and heaven forbid that it too be regulated over in
due course of time. That it is a fair media, and allows you to voice your
opinion so rather than forcing someone to take down something they’ve created
and hinder a person’s creativity by placing hurdles around them, voice your
opinion if you are against it without resorting to violence.
Internet is a
comparatively fair media, everyone gets a chance here. Everyone is subject to
ridicule and appreciation. The question however is again about free speech.
Like someone said, your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins. It
is a question of responsibility, of how responsible you are as a person. If you
are sane enough to know that in the process of utilizing your right to freedom
of speech, thought and expression, are you interfering with another person’s
right to live in peace?
Take for instance, the case of this video. As I have earlier
pointed out, it was in parts funny, sometimes hilarious even, but at other
times it was obscene. Being centered on sex is not a point in case by itself, it
is the way that that is portrayed that is obscene. For instance, at one point
one of the actors says that they are both infinitely better than the others who
have been ridiculing them simply because they can have sex with whoever they
want. As if having sex with every other person, or being in the position to be
able to do so, is the motto of life. One other person in the panel was
continuously ridiculed for how dark he was, another for his sexual preferences,
one guy for his cultural background.
Another point is that they may have said it in good sport,
and don’t really mean it in a derogatory way. Which may even be true. The
problem is that they are in one way or another, propagating the way a person
should be, how a girl should be hot, good-looking, else they can be subject to ridicule.
The argument that it is the audience’s prerogative to take whatever they want
from the video, and if they object to their content then do not watch their
videos, or speak out against their ideologies also holds good. The problem is
that Indian audience is not mature enough to do that. There are people who take
for face value what is being said and then propagate these ideas which are
really derogatory. So it essentially isn’t their fault, they are doing this in
good spirit, while our Indian audience isn’t mature enough to take it for what
it is, and after all, internet being a free medium, everybody has an access to
it, even children. But being what you are right now, and having the kind of
reach that you posses, it also your responsibility to moderate your content,
especially considering the atrocities happening against women already. You can
keep talking about your freedom of speech, but what about your responsibility
to that same freedom of speech? I am a great fan of your work, and I enjoyed in
parts your roast comedy, but you should tone it down for the sake of your own responsibility.
06-02-2015
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