Manufacturing Consents In Dissolving Marriages: A Qualitative Content Analysis On Pakistani Urdu TV Dramas

Abstract

The depiction of imprudent behaviour of people in our media, especially in television dramas is common nowadays. Stories based on marital affairs and physical abuse are popular content in a majority of the Pakistani Urdu TV dramas. These dramas have gained high ratings and have become a part of daily discussions in many homes in our society. Fantasized lives, illicit independency, and unwise behaviour depicted in Visual Television Contents can change its audience’s perception of the world completely. People start doubting their relationships with their significant others on a subconscious level. This depiction also sets precedent for distrust in the minds of children as well. In this paper, researchers argue that repeated television exposure increases favourable attitudes to separation between married couples. Through a qualitative content analysis, 29 male and female characters are studied from three popular Pakistani Urdu dramas telecast during 2019-2020 to explore the factors behind the clashes of the married couples portrayed in Pakistani Urdu TV dramas. The study also analyses the tragedies in domestic stories of dramas that represent the vulnerability of the married couple’s relationship.