Portrayal of Violence in Pashto Language Movies and the Perceptions of Modern Youth: A Case Study of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan)

Abstract

The Pashtun subject is derogatorily portrayed in Pakistani or Lollywood movies as either the brave savage, the violent Islamist, or the unkind father and simple-minded clown. These portrayals have their roots in post-9/11 national and international political discourse as well as colonial discourse, which subsequently influenced Pashto movies. The representation of Pashtun subjectivities in cinematic renditions is crucial in establishing their exclusion from the nation's imagined community and political body. It also serves to reinforce the dominance of specific identities over other marginalized identities. This study also looks at the influence of violence in Pashto films on the behavior of the contemporary youth of KP. The information was gathered from three districts, i.e., Peshawar, Mardan, and Karak, of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; the data was gathered from 300 university students, Male and Female, by utilizing a simple random sampling procedure. According to empirical findings, most KP youth disagreed with the idea that Pashto Language films depict violence in their narratives. Nonetheless, they think that some Pashto Language movie characters are opposed to the customs of the Pashtoon identity.