Dispatches 19 hours ago
Joseph Nye articulated soft power as the capacity to attract and co-opt nations, guiding their actions in alignment with one’s interests. Nye introduced the term “soft power” in the 1990s in his seminal work, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. Nye accurately recognised that a nation’s capacity to use its cultural diplomacy on a global level helps shape its foreign policy beyond mere military strength.
Pakistan’s cultural potential remains largely untapped due to its historical emphasis on hard power, which has inadvertently sidelined the potential of its soft power, despite the occasional successes and the popularity of Coke Studio. Pakistan has struggled to utilise its soft power, despite having a vibrant and diverse culture that stems from one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Pakistan has experienced both success and failure with its cultural industry. In the early years of Pakistani cinema, it entertained people and promoted national cohesion and a sense of cultural pride in the newly independent nation.
Additionally, the struggling Pakistani cinema experienced a resurgence in the late 1950s and 1960s under the rule of General Ayub Khan. In the history of Pakistani cinema, it was the only time when cinema was used as a medium for national cohesion, while also being taken seriously.
The era from the 1960s to the 1970s is considered the “Golden Age” of Pakistani cinema, during which multifaceted films, ranging from those exploring the Palestinian issue in “Zarq” and “Naya Sooraj” to those delving into sexuality, were produced.
Moreover, in the 70s and 80s, the state-owned broadcasting channel Pakistan Television (PTV) became a popular medium for Pakistani audiences. It left a lasting impact on Pakistani culture through its storytelling, public messages, direction, and performances. PTV, due to its massive reach, played the role of unifying diverse audiences from Khaybar to Karachi with iconic dramas such as Waris, Tanhaiyan, Dhoop Kinare, and Alpha Bravo Charlie.
During the 1980s and 90s, the Pakistani music industry emerged as a success and shaped the cultural landscape of Pakistan with a vibrant mix of genres. In the golden days of the Pakistani music industry, it created a global impact and played a critical role in bridging regional and ethnic divides and promoting religious and cultural tolerance.
However, the decline of the Pakistani cultural industry started in the 1990s, particularly with the film and music industries. This failure was due to a lack of creativity and investment, censorship, insufficient government support, and political instability.
As a result, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, also known as “Gen-Z,” grew up without watching Pakistani films, serials, or listening to their music, and shifted to Bollywood and Western films. This shift diminished national cohesion.
Over the years, India has used Bollywood as an instrument to distort the global image of Pakistan. Especially during the tenure of Narendra Modi, through propaganda films and negative portrayals of Pakistan as an extremist and a haven for terrorists, with films such as Phantom and Raazi.
Hence, Pakistan needs to develop its cultural industry to counter Bollywood propaganda, put forward its nation’s modern and peaceful reality, and reflect its people’s true spirit by leveraging film, TV, and music.
Furthermore, in the 21st century, Asian cinema has been actively seen at the global level, depicted by the success of Oscar-winning movies such as “Parasite” and “The Salesman” from South Korea and Iran, respectively. Sharmin Obaid Chinoy, a twice-Oscar-winning filmmaker from Pakistan, has successfully highlighted Asian storytelling globally.
Meanwhile, the recognition of the Pakistani film “Joyland” at the Cannes Film Festival, the box office success of “The Legends of Maula Jatt,” and the popularity of “Coke Studio” further illustrate Pakistan’s latent potential.
Currently, in Pakistan, where silver screens are dying, cinema and TV have become almost synonymous in Pakistan, where most of the notable work is being produced via television and dramas like “Sinf e Ahan”, “Zard Patton ka Bann”, “Zindagi Gulzar Hai”, and “Ehd e Wafa”, have been effectively shaping the public discourse of various national and social topics.
Additionally, Pakistani dramas have gained a favourable reputation across the subcontinent, especially amongst the diaspora population in Europe and the Americas. Similarly, Coke Studio Pakistan is the only well-performing platform in the music industry, whereas the revenue of the music market in Pakistan is projected to reach US$2.75 million by 2027, highlighting more potential.
Regarding the challenges, Pakistani filmmakers suffer from intellectual slumber and the orthodox approach of censorship by censor boards. Additionally, OTT platforms such as Netflix & Amazon Prime, and others, remain a distant dream for Pakistani filmmakers and artists.
The wide-ranging reasons include, but are not limited to, the inability to create novel stories and screenplays due to the lack of imagination in coming up with new storytelling techniques.
Moreover, in Pakistan, for cinema to be used as a tool for soft power and national cohesion, it needs to be first developed. A brief stint emerged in the 2000s but quickly died down. The revival was largely ascribed to the continuous support by the government, especially by the ISPR, in the production of cinematic masterpieces such as Waar and Khuda ke Liye.
Pakistan needs to rehaul its censorship policies, have a content strategy with noble stories, encourage public-private partnerships, and collaborate with global platforms to increase its cultural footprint. By successfully establishing the cultural industry, Pakistan can achieve positive social effects, social cohesion, rebuild institutional trust, and deconstruct propaganda.
Also, by strategically supporting a new wave of cultural production, Pakistan has the potential and talent to compete globally, much like South Korea’s cinema and K-pop.
To conclude, Pakistan, with its rich tapestry of diverse cultures and distinctive geography, possesses a soft power potential. Soft power is all about a powerful narrative, and Pakistan, with its young, talented population, is capable of rectifying distorted global perceptions, countering the influence of adversaries, and fixing domestic perceptions. Pakistan must invest in developing its cultural industry by engaging the government, media, and civil society to shape Pakistan’s future national cultural strategy.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are of the author and do not necessarily represent the institute’s policy.
Authored by: Abdul Basit Khan, M.Phil Scholar at NDU, Islamabad.
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