We should make better cartoon shows instead of banning them: Siddhartha Sinha

Interview with consultant psychiatrist at the Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences

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Over the last few years, the quality of cartoon shows has degraded substantially. The laugh-out-loud experience that cartoons offered has been replaced by something that encourages violence and bad behaviour, especially among children. While politicians in Pakistan took the lead in calling for a ban of the popular Japanese cartoon show, Doraemon, activists in India want to do the same, as they feel the show is too violent. Siddhartha Sinha, consultant psychiatrist at the Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences, spoke to Shakya Mitra about the calls for the ban and what he feels is the best way forward. Edited excerpts:

What is your first response to politicians and activists in India and Pakistan wanting the cartoon character Doraemon banned?

The whole point is that they are correct. Cartoons that show violence and where the content is encouraging children to become violent is unwatchable. My son has learnt a lot of wrong things from watching these cartoons. They should be regulated as they show bullying and other negative actions which young children are imitating in their daily lives.

Do you think cartoons influence children? For example, Tom and Jerry is often said to be a violent show but there is a generation that has grown up on it and continues to enjoy it. What are your views?

Tom and Jerry were not human beings, a rat and a cat are not humans. Shaktimaan had a bad influence on children, there have been cases of children dying because they tried to imitate Shaktimaan. When we were young, cartoons were not violent, there were shows such as DuckTales, Tom and Jerry and so on. The advent of digital television has made content completely unrestricted. Kids have started imitating Doraemon. Someone should monitor the content that cartoons are showing nowadays. With unrestricted viewing and access to television and the internet, things are very different today. My son, for example, learnt to use Youtube when he was two years old.

What is your take on the cartoon shows in India, do you think the quality has improved, and do you think today's cartoons need parental guidance?

The quality of cartoons has most certainly degraded, I can show my son and people of his age group, old episodes of Tom and Jerry, but 20 years down the line, I would not want him to go around with CDs of Doraemon and show it to youngsters. Also, the time is different, this is not 1995, this is 2016. I agree that cartoons need parental guidance. Moreover, Youtube also needs parental guidance. A system of monitoring must be in place.

Doraemon is essentially a cartoon character, if politicians and activists believe watching cartoons is offensive, what does it say about the sense of humour in the country?

Even though it is only a cartoon character, it is having an impact on children. For example, it has been noticed that young children have been shouting at their mothers because of what they are seeing in today's cartoons. I feel instead of banning cartoons, what we should do is to start a movement that allows for better cartoons being made, that show good moral values.

Do you think what people see while watching cartoons is actually influencing their behaviour when they go outside?

Yes, cartoons influence your behaviour in public. We should find a system where every cartoon being made is monitored-violence in cartoons cannot be tolerated as it will lead to psychological disorders in children later in life.

Banning cartoons is obviously not the solution, so what in your opinion should be done to correct the situation?

We should start filtering content. Youtube should very clearly have disclaimers for cartoons that are not up to the mark. There should be a committee that reviews the content that is being aired on cartoon channels. Essentially, cartoons are a child's right and taking them away from them is not right, but there should be a system to restrict and filter the shows.