Your post was amazing as usual š¤! I'm not married yet, nor do I plan to be married in the next few years as I am fully focused on my studies (my parents and even grandparents in India fully support me pushing my marriage off until I am comfortable ā¤ļø, even if I will be 28/29 when I start looking), but I've always believed women should have safety nets as well as the courage to be independent and take control.
My parents have grown up in India, and they moved to America in their 20s. In some ways, living in America has taught them many things. In early 2000s, it was expensive to call family, so very quickly, my parents had to make decisions for themselves. They had to trust their gut and each other, and that's how they truly grew as a couple! They share responsibilities without gender roles coming into play as my mother frequently takes care of the finances and my father taking care of us emotionally and providing everyone with sound advice.
My parents, unlike others, are also very, very frank with me and my sister. Very early on, I knew my father's salary, I learned about family drama, I was taught what factors make a marriage successful (I was around ~13-14 when these conversations began). As such, I always knew personal and financial independence mattered most to me. More than anything, I want to be financially secure by the time I get married. I want to experience life as an adult (managing finances, learning to cook, go on trips) before I get married. And I want to do all these things so one day, when I am married, I will be able to actively help myself and my family should troubles arise.
I want a marriage of mutualism. One where he and I are active participants, and I wish more people understood/were comfortable in women who desire such a relationship. I also wish people understood that marriage is not the be-all, end-all. I am fortunate enough to live in a family that respects my personal decision to postpone my marriage. They are amazing enough that they never brought up the topic again! However, I know that's not the case in other households. Both my friends are getting the marriage talks because they reached the "Golden Age" of marriage.
On another note, I think prime time ITV is restricted by the kinds of themes they can show. For major channels, TRPs are all that matter, and if certain content generates the TRPs, it will be used over and over again. Also, if a show is successful, it will be dubbed into another language, further promoting the outreach and TRPs as regional audience will sometimes tune into the Hindi show.
Regional TV doesn't have the same pressures as the audience is not that wide. They can play around with different ideas and themes, and sure, TRPs matter, but creativity does as well since the regional audience can tune into regional or Hindi shows (especially since Hindi shows have subtitles, too).
I've watched shows where:
--Female lead despises cooking and the male lead recognizes this and tells her that he is comfortable doing the cooking in the house as his mother taught him all he needs to know about the kitchen (#1 TRP in it's slot)
--Female lead is the manager of the company that the male lead is a CEO to. She is very competent in her job and saves the company, multiple times, from becoming nearly bankrupt. Male lead develops insecurity and fires her. However, his staff and family convince him that she is an asset. Once he realizes he needs her, he hires her back and apologies (#1 TRP in it's slot, plus it was a widely successful show that revolutionized TV)
--A grandmother sets up an online business and it becomes widely popular and profitable. She upholds her family's finances as her children are unable to do so, telling us that even the elderly can help! (#1 TRP in it's slot)
--A female lead who is very proud of who she is and what she wants in her life. When she receives a marriage match from a rich family, she initially refuses because she doesn't think extreme financial differences (rags to riches) are practical in real life. She doesn't want to fall into the trap of giving up her job because her salary is measly compared to the male lead's riches. The male lead's grandmother is even more impressed by her and tells her that she can continue working (which the female lead does!) (#1 TRP in it's slot, sleeper hit show, plus it's the show that caused the channel to be recognized by the audience)
Now that there are some regional remakes from the South, seeing some of these realities might be a possibility in the future! It would be great if ITV promotes these themes as it would reach a much wider and larger audience!
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