Despite being the most liked bollywood movie, 3 idiots includes certain scenes which classify as problematic due to their impact on society. One such scene is the ragging of the main character on his first day of university. While the scene was received with applause and ‘laughter’ from the audience, it gives across the problematic message that ragging is humorous and should be encouraged.
For a lot of students around the world, their ragging experience during the initial days impacts their entire university life. It tends to shatter the victim’s confidence while leaving them traumatised.
I believe that people responsible for producing and directing such scenes should be more careful in future and avoid including triggering scenes in blockbusters. While the scene was humorous for some, it was also triggering and traumatising for a certain portion of the audience since it brought back real life flashbacks for them. With the increase in bullying (and cyber bullying), the media should be more responsible and should not promote such acts. It is important that we realise the impact of screen on its audience and how it tends to encourage problematic behaviour through such scenes.
One could relate this to the ragging culture here in Pakistan, as in majority of the institutions it is prevalent. This has also lead to a lot of casualties as people often don't understand where or when to stop. Making newly admitted students do things that any person wouldn't voluntarily do, keeping their self-res[ect often has drastic effects.
students have gone to the extent of commiting suicide as their will to live with such less respect is damaged to that extent.
One can definitely call this a form of corporal punishment as ragging includes every and any form of physical torture. It is very unfortunate that despite it being so common, the institutions have turned a blind eye towards them…
I agree with your assessment that ragging is not a lighthearted subject. It's a significant problem with far-reaching effects for the pupils who are subjected to harassment and bullying. It can even be life-threatening for certain people under a lot of stress, and it's a fairly common topic in large-name colleges and institutions all around the country. Due to ragging becoming a popular topic under the guise of fun and pleasure, this issue has grown desensitized. The newcomers' confidence is broken only to get a sense of superiority from the seniors. While several movies are being made showing the effects of ragging on students (Table 21 being one of them), several others praise this act under the name of comedy…
Underlying issues such as ragging are incredibly problematic due to their implicit and broader impact on society. The ragging scene of this movie relates to my personal life experiences. Having spent a substantial amount of time in a military residential institution, I can completely feel and relate the issues related to ragging and mental health. Incidents such as ragging are a form of entertainment and laughter for the seniors who neglect the negative consequences of their actions. It is prevalent because of the power hierarchies and junior-senior boundaries. It promotes the wrong message that ragging is fun and should be encouraged. Their reasoning is based on false beliefs. Their seniors dealt with them similarly, so they believe they are entitled…
Your points on the harmful representation of ragging and its consequences are very valid. I wanted to add how such representations often end up enabling and reproducing similar behaviors in real life, as well. For instance, I was talking to a couple of friends from NCA in Lahore, and they told me about the horrendous ragging culture in the university. The ragging there goes far enough to be considered bullying and harassment at this point, and one of my friends even had to move out of the hostel and get a flat with another student in Gulberg to get away from their seniors who just wouldn't let up. My point is this: when we see media representations of overtly harmful…
This is undoubtedly a very serious issue which has been taken very lightly at our ends. Just like we say that certain comments and actions can be offensive and might have a huge impact on the other person, similarly ragging in itself is extremely harmful to one’s mental health which has now been normalised in our society. So much so that one’s university experience as a freshman begins with ragging done by seniors which is considered an ‘activity’ by them rather than a serious issue. This is due to how normalised the society has made this concept of ragging. Just like this movie, I recall watching a movie named “Table no.21” who’s entire theme was based on how serious of…