Our culture industries have zero capacity for critique - any kind of critical engagement is viewed as a personal attack/insensitive/some kind of effort to bring down artists in Pakistan. So much of this comes down to class politics.

Those who create are not used to being held accountable for the space they occupy, or the claims they make. Most often, they create art for one another - and when someone from outside their circles dares to have an opinion - it doesn't compute

And honestly, all this leaves me feeling that artists in our country really don't care for their audiences. They're not in conversation with us, they don't care for our opinions - because somehow, our engagement with their art, 'threatens' the entire industry

Their class conditioning makes them feel entitled to what has started to feel like a form of celebratory-servitude. We must constantly, blindly, applaud the 'struggles' they have undertaken to produce art in this country. This is particularly tone deaf, because to even partake

in that 'struggle', one needs to have immense privilege - but even pointing that out is viewed as a 'personal attack'. All of this feels rooted in a really deep seated othering - space is viewed as limited, and those who don't belong to particular circles, are viewed as 'threats'

If a tweet or an article can threaten the entire industry, then maybe that reflects more on the industry and the people it consists of. Before you start piling on the person with the opinion, maybe take a moment to reflect on your own position and it's implications