Shimla: IIAS fellows learn about socio-cultural impact of OTT platforms

Fellows, associates and other participants from the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, learnt about the socio-cultural impact, and the changing media landscape due to over-the-top (OTT) platforms during a special lecture which was delivered by Anant Vijay, a national award-winning journalist, author and cultural commentator.

The lecture, themed “The Expanding Scope of Entertainment in Global Contexts: Challenges and Possibilities”, featured Vijay presenting a detailed analysis of the rapidly emerging OTT platforms in the global entertainment industry.

He said that OTT platforms had significantly transformed conventional notions of entertainment over the past few years and had emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global entertainment industry. Referring to various international reports and Indian experiences, he noted that digital platforms had expanded the reach of entertainment in unprecedented ways.

During the lecture, he also discussed in detail the issues related to increasing violence, nudity, uncensored presentations and the construction of ideological narratives in Indian OTT content. “Certain web series and digital productions are presenting social, religious, and political discourses in new ways, thereby influencing public thinking and cultural perceptions on a large scale,” he said. In this context, he cited examples from several popular web series to explain the process of narrative-building within the entertainment industry.

An interactive session was also held after the lecture, during which participants raised several questions concerning regulation of OTT platforms, freedom of expression, censorship, Indian cultural values, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), the social responsibility of digital media and the influence of entertainment content on younger generations.

Responding to their questions, Vijay said maintaining equilibrium between creative freedom and social responsibility remained one of the major challenges before entertainment media in the digital age.

The session was held under the chairmanship of Himanshu Kumar Chaturvedi, Director of the institute.