the MTV philosophy

Every now and then, in every sphere, there arrives a threat to the status quo - be it the twisting of the fact that sun revolves round the earth or the suggestion that man evolved from monkeys, who weren't as near to being divine as the ancestral lineage of homo-sapiens was believed to be.  Yet, every such threat forces us to shed our inhibitions, welcome new truths and reshape our perceptions. When MTV arrived, it was no less than one such revolution. And, it continues to be so, more or less.

It started with the idea 'think globally, act locally', and that worked! Soon, the appetite for creative and rebellious catharsis found its takers in various regions around the world, and that spawned the regional MTV versions.  Local lingos cocktailed with globally popular ideas and musical instruments, creating a hybrid variety of culture and expression never seen or experienced before. Purists feared it all. They felt the youth mind was being polluted.  But MTV was not about teaching a way of life, it was about celebrating the freedom of having one of your own.  And that was what clicked.

Jump cuts, quick edits, experiments with sound, punch lines, and boldness in incorporating ever new themes struck the right pulse.  Here was a discourse that spoke to you like a buddy would.  They understood perfectly well, what 'coming of age' was.  And they never tabooed anything. Their VJs (another concept that they created) dressed and thought eccentrically.  They made the doubtful look obvious, the strange look normal.  It was perfectly alright to be abnormal.  They welcomed all the misconceptions, all the jitters and all the butterflies of a young mind and took each one head on, amalgamating them into a precious bond with their viewers.

Their contribution, however, didn't remain trapped in the un-tabooing of the tabooed, as the puritans feared.  As and when the time required, they genuinely involved their viewers in discussions beyond the eye-kohl or the heavy pocket-chain.  They co-sponsored social campaigns, mocked the self-proclaimed netas and at times, took up the cudgels against those who were tainting the image of their collective philosophy.  They were raw, they were shameless, they were bold, they were confident.  But insensitive, is one of the things, they weren't!