The first time I ever came across the word Crash TV is when I got to learn of a man named Vince Russo,former head writer of the pro wrestling giant World Wrestling Entertainment, who is given the credit for introducing this concept in the late 90s to the world of Sports Entertainment. The concept included content that dealt with real life situations and emotions, either allowed or "added" for the benefit of gaining huge audience and better TRP (Television Rating Point). As a result, the shows got a lot edgier and darker, receiving lukewarm reception by the youth of yesterday, attaining wide stream popularity that led to movies,music albums, reality shows and soap operas to embrace controversial themes and contents, suitable only for ages 14+, bearing the message: "Viewer discretion advised". Though the concept is facing backlash today thanks to the growing social media, our casual malayali audience has started to think otherwise at least taking into consideration the support we show towards TV reality shows where their Unique Selling Proposition itself is attributed to the same.
Nowadays, promos of entertainment shows involve artists often engaged in a war of words, that could either be real,or made realistic, highlighted in black and white, giving it a grey shade and shown in a very tense format, thereby creating a turmoil in the minds of the ordinary viewer who stays tuned to watch the program later. Most reality shows stresses more on the tears of talented artists who face the edge of elimination rather than the sheer brilliance they produce through their performances. Though, the producers of the same realise that people are bold enough to understand and disapprove the sometimes staged and scripted events, they are happy with the ratings/ TRP they receive, and are least concerned about the backlash they might receive for the kind of presentation they put out.
Once an idea that we got inspired by, is now almost customary as we have started to remake foreign reality shows that changed the way we did and enjoyed entertainment. Channels have understood the importance of celebrity endorsements, that can help normalise concepts that once alarmed our society. In some unfortunate situations, some media outlets have participated in negative publicity stunts to attain viewers, often leading to personal attacks. Mr Santhosh Pandit was one person, who was ill treated by some of those media outlets in recent history for higher viewership. Though he is heavily condemned for his efforts in the entertainment scene, the negative publicity attack by the media might have done wonders for him as a person who lacked any cine-godfather or entertainment background, to develop mass viewership and mainstream popularity; a task deemed impossible for anyone that had to walk in his shoes.
With this article I don't wish to criticise any medium or person that has ever used this phenomenon, but just to point out how "real is turned to reel" as a means of promotion; and as we progress on with the latest trends that affect our thought process, there will always be a target in mind, achieved via tactics of viral sensationalism that has no place for sincere and valued efforts. It is safe to say that no matter how cringe worthy we feel upon watching it, we still have shown some interest in giving it a look in the first place. This interest factor could be the very reason that has prompted channels to make use of this concept,drawing a huge audience with the aim of increasing ad slots, thereby finally progressing in the TRP competition. Perhaps it is not just the media but us viewers who have nurtured this concept and made it a success for eternity.
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