Media and Entertainment in Bangladesh PDF

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Media and Entertainment in Bangladesh: Movie Preferences of the Students of North South University Submitted by, Name: Rafiul Islam ID: 1620913030 Course: Eng105 Section: 23 Submitted to, Atanu Bhuiyan (ATB) Department of English & Modern Languages North South University Date of submission: 31 August, 2018 1|P age

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to thank my parents for their support. Special thanks goes to my friends Nabil Niaz and Rokibul Hassan for always being there for me. My deepest appreciation goes to all the students who have participated in the survey, without them my research would have been groundless. Finally, special thanks goes to my teacher Mr. Atanu Bhuiyan who have guided me throughout the whole process and without his support this would not have been possible.

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ABSTRACT The main objective of my research paper, ‘ Media and Entertainment in Bangladesh’ is to find out why the students of North South University are not interested in watching Bengali commercial movies in cinema halls. The study examined that students of North South University are more interested in innovative and imaginative movies. But most of the Bangladeshi films are low-graded and abysmal. Besides the environment quality of the most Bangladeshi cinema halls are dreadful and sickening. The young generation want a nice place for hangouts and entertainment purposes. But people of sound mind will never watch vulgar Bengali movies for entertainment and visit low-graded cinema halls for hangouts. So most of the students of North South University are now more interested in foreign movies. Most of our young generation have little ideas about our glorious history of film industry. Commercialism has ruined our film industry. Now our movies are lack of imagination and creativity. In this research I tried to show the current situation of Bangladeshi film and why students are not interested in Bengali commercial movies anymore. I also point out some solution about improving the current situation of our film industry in my research paper.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………….5-6 2. BACKGROUND…………………………………………7-10 3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS………………………………11 4. HYPOTHESIS………………………………....................12 5. METHODOLOGY……………………………………….13 6. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS……………14-26 7. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS………………27 8. RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………28 9. CONCLUSIONS……………………………....................29 10. REFERENCES……………………………………..........30 11. APPENDIX……………………………………………..31-36

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INTRODUCTION Movies are like cultural artifacts. Cultural artifacts contain historical and cultural information of a society. Similarly movies are historical and cultural reflection of a society. From a movie we can learn history and it helps us to understand the norms, the values and the culture of a society. Movies are one of the best medium for both entertainment and education. In current world directors from different countries are making countless of magnificent movies every year. But the situation of Bangladeshi film industry is quite different. There was a time when Bengali movies were so popular that people of India came to the cinema halls of Dhaka to watch Bengali movies. In that time our film industry produced great films like, ‘Vaat De’, ‘Jibon Theke Neya’, ‘Ora Egaro Jon’, ‘Chhutir Ghonta’, ‘Aguner Poroshmoni’ and much more great and remarkable movies. Those kind of movies were able to reflect the theme of our culture and our history. Back then the people of all classes and ages were eagerly waiting for new movies to release in cinema halls. They used to visit cinema halls with friends and families. Supriyo Mukherjee (2016) said in his article, titled as Bengali Cinema Has Always Been Way Ahead of the Times, “From choosing unorthodox themes to portraying them sensibly, from picking complexed characters over heroes to exploring new techniques of story-telling, Bengali cinema has set many benchmarks in filmmaking.” (para. 2). But nowadays most of the Bengali movies are low-graded and abysmal. Because most of the film producers of Bangladesh believe in commercialism. Our commercial movies are full of violence and low-graded speech besides the most of the movies are copied from Indian or Tamil movies. Partha Chatterjee (2013) said in his article, titled as Decline and freefall of Bengali cinema, “The Bengali commercial films are a poor copy of their Hindi and Telugu 5|P age

counterparts, without their raw energy or production resources” (para. 1). These movies are made for those people who belong in lower class of the society. Moreover the environment of most of the cinema halls are very dreadful. Those cinema halls are not the perfect place for hangout with friends and families. Besides these movies don’t reflect our norms and values. So people of middle or upper class who are highly educated don’t want to watch these movies in cinema halls. Now the young generation especially the students are more interested in Hollywood and Bollywood films. They watch Bengali movies occasionally. They don’t want to visit cinema halls with friends and families to watch Bengali movies. Now Bengali film industry are producing movies for a certain class of the society. Commercialism and lack of creativity bring our film industry at this stage.

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BACKGROUND Bengali film industry has a glorious past. The downfall of Bengali movies started at 1990s. Shegufta Yasmin (2011) said in her research paper, titled as Contemporary Bangladeshi Commercial Cinema, “Bangladesh has a rich golden past of cinema. Many renowned and famous cinemas, actors, actresses, directors are here. We have enjoyed a glorious era of Black and White cinema. But now for last few years we are facing a crisis in Bangla cinema” (p. 176). Bangladesh has a strong cultural background and a great history. So what’s the reason behind this downfall of our movie industry? And why the young generation aren’t interested in Bengali commercial movies anymore? To find these answer we have to look behind. In the past, we produced great movies like ‘Pather Panchali’, ‘Saptapadi’, ‘Aparajito’, ‘Subarnarekha’ and much more great movies. Supriyo Mukherjee (2016) said in his article, titled as Bengali Cinema Has Always Been Way Ahead Of The Times, “Bengali cinema has an extremely rich history dating back to the 1890s when the first ‘bioscopes’ were shown in theatres in (then) Calcutta” (para. 4). Though the visual quality of those movies were mediocre, those movies had great storyline. Those movies were created with passion and heart. Commercialism didn’t enter in the Bengali film industry then. That time directors only concerned about the audience and the film. They didn’t care much about the profit. So that time great directors were born like Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray and Ajoy Kar. Supriyo Mukherjee (2016) said in his article, titled as Bengali Cinema Has Always Been Way Ahead of the Times, “Any conversation about the greatest Bengali director of all time often boils down to one man- Satyajit Ray. Without his contributions, Bengali cinema wouldn't have been the same” (para. 6). But today commercialism have corrupted the heart of Bengali film

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industry. Nowadays the directors are copying songs and storylines from Indian and Tamil movies. According to Ankur Baksi (2018), “Most of the big budget Bengali movies with big stars shamelessly copy from South Indian movies…. Bengali movie directors shamelessly copy from Tamil & Telugu movies. Forget about story and script, they even copy the wardrobes and background music from South Indian movies” (“Why do all the Bengali movies copy South Indian movies?”, para. 8). Most of the Bengali people are not properly educated. They not interested in creative movies. They want instant entertainment at low cost. Most of them don’t care about the storyline or the essence of the movies. As most of the people of Bangladesh interested in commercial movies, the producers and the directors are making this kind of movies more. But the university students of Bangladesh are more concern about the storyline and the theme of movies. They want creative and imaginative movies. As they don’t find these qualities in Bengali movies, they are now leaning towards Hollywood and Bollywood films. Because in Hollywood and Bollywood directors are making more and more mind-blowing movies every year. Another issue is showing violence and using vulgar speeches in movies. According to Mukul Rahman (2015), “Violence and vulgarism are the main focusing points of producers and directors. Many cinemas faced case for having unauthorized scenes for adults only” (“Bangladeshi Cinema: past, present & Future”, para. 3). In low-graded Bengali movies, producers have tendency to show unnecessary violence. Besides those movies are full of vulgar speeches. So the students don’t want to visit cinema halls to watch these violent and low-graded movies with their friends or families. Moreover the environment of these cinema halls is abysmal and dirty. These cinema halls are full with foul air and most of the sits are 8|P age

broken. Besides the quality of food of the food courts is terrible. So middle and upper class people don’t want to visit these places. But environment is not the main issue here. There are few cinema halls in Bangladesh with magnificent environment. But the students don’t want to visit those movie theaters to watch Bengali movies also. They visit those theaters to watch Hollywood movies. Besides the lower class people cannot visit these movie theaters to watch Bengali movies because of the high cost. So cinema theatre like Star Cineplex or Blockbusters don’t release Bengali commercial movies very often. North South University is one of the best private universities of Bangladesh. Educational expenses is high in this university. So most of the students of North South University are from upper-middle or upper classes. As the most of the Bengali commercial movies are not suitable for educated middle or upper class people, most of the students of North South University don’t visit cinema halls to watch Bengali movies. They are more interested in Hollywood and Bollywood movies. As the Bangladeshi movie theaters are not allowed to show Bollywood movies, most of the students of this university visit cinema halls to watch Hollywood movies. Students of North South University are no different from other university students. They want creative and imaginative storyline in Bengali movies. If the Bengali film industry able to give them imaginative movies with better theme and storyline, they will watch Bengali movies in cinema hall. For example, Shyamol Chhaya (2005), The Clay Bird (2002), Television (2012), Pleasure Boy Komola (2012) and Aynabaji (2016). The mystery/crime film ‘Aynabaji’ was released in 2016. The young generation (especially the university students) gathered in large number on movie theaters to watch this movie. Because that movie has an imaginative storyline. The actors and the director dedicated their heart and soul to this movie. According 9|P age

to Apurba Jahangir (2016), “Actors, director and cinematographer, the producers also did a phenomenal job. They have taken Aynabaji to its peak” (“The 'Aynabaji' Experience”, para. 5). The Bengali film industry can be able to improve their situation if they liberate Bengali movies from commercialism. We have talented directors and they are making a few creative movies. But that is not enough. The government should contribute more in this sector to improve the quality of Bengali commercial movies and the environment of cinema halls. The young generation is always interested in creative and innovative movies. So if the government, the producers and the directors take necessary steps together, the Bengali film industry will be able to regain their golden era and the young generation will come back to cinema hall to enjoy Bengali movies.

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS In my research, I plan to find out the reasons behind the lack of interest of students of North South University on watching Bengali commercial movies in cinema hall. My research will address the following research questions: 

What kind of movies do the students prefer to watch in cinema halls?



What was their first experience in a cinema hall while watching a commercial Bengali movies?



What is their expectation from a modern Bengali commercial movie?



What is their choice of medium when they want to watch a Bengali movie?



Do the students think the quality of the Bengali commercial movies should be improved? And why?



What kind of steps should be taken to improve the quality of Bengali movies and the environment of the cinema hall?

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HYPOTHESIS Every year hundreds of Bengali commercial movies are released. From my research expect to find out that Students especially in North South University generally don’t want go to cinema hall to watch Bengali movies because the most Bengali movies that are shown in theater are low-graded and abysmal. I think the environment quality of cinema hall is another important reason. If we can create a better story line and a remarkable theme for Bengali commercial movies and if we can ensure a better and friendly environment of cinema halls the young generation will be interested again in Bengali movies and will enjoy their time in cinema halls. I expect the students will agree that the current quality of most Bengali movies is unspeakable. They will also agree that the environment quality of Bangladeshi cinema halls is dreadful. I expect they will visit cinema halls for watching Bengali movies if more creative and imaginative Bengali movies are released. I think they will also expect a better environment from Bengali cinema halls so that they can visit cinema halls with their friends and families.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY My primary research was carried out on random thirty students of North South University who were present in NSU on 26 August, 2018 between 2:30 pm to 5:00 PM. Their age group was between nineteen to twenty five years. A survey questionnaire related to my research topic was given to them. The questionnaire contained twelve questions related to movie Preferences of the Students of North South University. All of them were multiple choice questions with four options. There was no open ended question. I got all my questions completed on that day. For my secondary resource, I used standard search engines like Google, Google scholars, Yahoo etc. and I also used information from blogs and other websites. All these things helped me very much to come to the conclusion.

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DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS In order to collect data about movie preferences of the students of North South University, I performed a survey questioning about different aspect of my topic. The data helped me to find the result of my research topic. The questions were completed by thirty students of North South University. The data I collected is presented and analyzed bellow: In my first question, I asked the students about what type of movies do they like most? I asked this question to find out that which type of movies the young NSU students prefer these days. The data is presented with the help of a donut graph in figure 1.

1.What type of movies do you like most? 0, 0% 1, 3% 10, 34%

19, 63%

Figure 1: What type of movies do you like most?

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a.

Dhallywood movies

b.

Bollywood movies

c.

Hollywood movies

d.

Tollywood movies

From this graph we can see that 19 students out of 30 like the Hollywood movies. Which means 63% of students like Hollywood movies. And 10 out of 30 students like Bollywood movies. Which means 34% of students like Bollywood movies. Only 1 student like Tollywood movies and none of them like Dhallywood movies most. This data show us that most of the students of North South University don’t like Dhallywood movies. In my second question, I asked the student about which medium do they prefer when they want to watch a movie? I asked this question to find out which type of medium they like when they want to watch a movie. The data is presented with the help of a bar graph in figure 2.

2.Which medium do you prefer when you want to watch a movie? d.

Smart phones or Tablet computers.

c.

b.

a.

4

Computer

18

Cinema Hall

3

Television

5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Figure 2: Which medium do you prefer when you want to watch a movie? In this graph we can see that the x axis represent the number of student and y axis represent the options of the given question. Here, 18 students out of 30 like to watch movies in computer, 4 out of 30 like to watch in smart phones or tablet, 5 out of 30 like to watch in

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television and only 3 out of 30 chose cinema halls. This data show us that most of the NSU students don’t prefer cinema halls while watching movies. In my third question, I asked students about what do they think about the quality of Bangladeshi commercial films? I asked this question to understand their mentality about Bangladeshi commercial films. This data is presented below in figure 3.

3.What do you think about the quality of Bangladeshi commercial films? 17

18 16 14

Axis Title

12 9

10 8 6

Series4 3

4 1

2 0 a. Series4

It is good enough 1

b.

It is good but not good enough

c.

9

It is poor and abysmal

d.

It is mediocre

17

3

Axis Title

Figure 3: What do you think about the quality of Bangladeshi commercial films? In this graph the x axis represent the option of the question and the y-axis represent the number of students. Here, we can see that 17 out of 30 students think the quality of Bangladeshi films are poor and abysmal. 9 out of thirty think that it is good but not good enough. Only 3 said it is mediocre and only one person said the quality of Bangladeshi film is good enough. This data show us that the most of the NSU students think the quality of Bangladeshi commercial movies are poor and abysmal. 16 | P a g e

For my fourth question, I asked the student about what do they think about the environmental quality of most Bangladeshi cinema halls? I asked this question to find out what they think about the environmental quality of Bangladeshi cinema halls. The data is presented below in figure 4.

4.What do you think about the environmental quality of most Bangladeshi cinema halls?

3, 10%

1, 3%

a. It is good enough

11, 37%

b. It is good but not good enough c. It is poor and abysmal d. It is mediocre

15, 50%

Figure 4: What do you think about the environmental quality of most Bangladeshi cinema halls? In this donut graph we can see that 15 out of 30 students (means 50%) think that the environment quality of Bangladeshi cinema halls is poor and abysmal. 11 out of 30 students think that it is good but not good enough. And only 1 student think it is good enough. So this data show us that most of the NSU students think that the environment quality of Bangladeshi cinema halls is poor and abysmal. 17 | P a g e

In my fifth question I asked the students about do they visit cinema halls to watch Bangladeshi commercial movies often? I asked this que...