Our films: Copy of “a copy of bad copy”?

  Worku Belachew

Would there be another powerful instrument known to man which successfully grab human attention like film?... It seems it does not yet exist.

Remember your stay in a nearby cinema, either from your fresh memory or even from your pervious old good movie going days. lights go off, mobile phones are put on a silent mode and no sidetalk. The hall is designed professionally, and artfully so that it could not either eco any kind of sound from the film being played or not to allow noise from coming in. Imagine, the comforts the seats provide too. Added to these are, the sound system, the big screen and all the marvelous features in the movie which conform to the technological order of the time— the light and sound effects, angle, costume, cosmetics, etc. In such a way, human being attaches a great deal of attention to the film other than anything around. A well feared and respected king speaking in front of masses, or a known and eloquently speaking priest may not enjoy such attention. Would they?

Coupled with a skillful directing, and lifelike acting, no doubt film can drive one out of their wits and can easily twist their minds to the direction intended.

Hopefully, the following story of a poor George may better amplify the power of film in general. It is a story of George who did once a great mistake, but might not have done same again. A trustworthy guy, also a full professor in his academic life, told the story to this writer. The writer was not told as a reporter, rather as a student. That is why he is mute regarding the professor’s name. “Once” the professor said, “I and George , as any youngster would make, walked to a cinema in New York and enjoyed a Hollywood best film of the time.” The film, aimed at portraying a mighty America, brought them an ‘omnipotent’ star who lift his opponents high, like a tiny mosquito and toss them out through a window. For hours, everyone in the cinema were all taken ….

Later on, when the film ended, all in the hall had to disperse, and people were flooding in the narrow exit. Poor George’s mind did not yet recover from the mood of the movie. His walking style, body posture and the tone of his voice had been quite arrogant. And at the narrow exit a certain guy stepped on his shoe which was totally unintentional. George now turned wild,

“How dare you!” He shouted.

“Sorry my brother,” replied the guy, pulling his handkerchief out of his pocket.

Then, the guy bowed to clean George’s shoe. But, George did a great mistake, while the guy was cleaning the shoe, he attempted to crush the innocent man’s back like a cockroach. Now the people that had been leaving the hall became a spectator of a street theatre.

The guy staggered for a while and controlled his balance. Then, he picked George to the skies, spread him on the ground… shot him on the space—in short did everything to him. “I remember his eyes,” professor said and added that, “that begged us to spare his life.”

Alas poor George!----the power of film withdrew George into fake self, the power of a good punch… brought him back to the real self!

Let this writer share with you a sentence from Nigerian mass communications expert, Bello Semiu, which he got in one of his articles. It says, “Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating and indoctrinating citizens.”

Film in Africa, obsession with the west

Film, as a powerful popular art and instrument of mass communication, has served and is still serving only section of the world. This is not to say that the private sector does not spend in Films in Africa. The industry is pretending to grow, to the knowledge of the writer. This is so because it is just a bad imitation of the Western world—this could be translated in terms of costumes, cosmetic, setting, conflict development and selection, and etc. Thus, a great deal of wealth looks like being lost without serving a defined purpose.

In the first place, most Hollywood films shouldn’t be taken as examples for Africa. This is due to their irresponsible portrayal of Africa as a savage land, and its people as ruthless. Good example of such film would be King Solomon’s Mines (1985), an American version filmed in Zembabwe. In the film Africans are seen cooking “delicious soup” putting white people alive in a big bowel. Not only that, Africans are portrayed doing all kind of evils. This is crime committed in broad day light on Africans, which generations could not forget.

Most Hollywood stories filmed in Africa or elsewhere about Africans ‘championed’ in humiliating the entire black society.

So what is it, Nollywood is copying? What is it out film makers in Ethiopia trying to do? Are they overcoming, to their capacity, this situation or reinforcing it?...

Second, we have handful of stories to tell, and have a lot more lessons to educate the millions of African youth. Our own ways of doing things are good, and if there are points of improvement in our culture, it is we who should worry about that.

This being the case, it would be hard to say that countless of films released day in, day out in Africa are representative of our culture. The film directors also seem to focus on how much they get rather than how much they give to their people, without ignoring few directors who are doing their best.

Quite many of the films released in Addis Ababa, for instance, raises the blood pressure of any critical viewer/listener. Most, if not all, of the films represent a so called upper class: with well furnished homes, brand new automobiles, fashionable western cut clothes…to make matters worse, in most of the films the conflict development, dialogue, and the overall story closely relates to one of the Hollywood films. One can listen direct English expression in Amharic; expressions like Oh my God; what’s going on; I can’t live without you; do something… are common.

If we see the cosmetics; the wigs women’s wear, fake nails, lipsticks, fake eyelashes, applications, skin bleaching powders, creams…are few to mention. This may prove that most film makers in Africa/Ethiopia do not want actors/actress to have an African look. It also would not prove this writer wrong, if he says most film makers in Africa/Ethiopia are inherent victims of Eurocentric attitudes.

One could argue that in a country where no college or university dedicate at least a certificate level training, it would be untimely to criticize Ethiopian films. Yes, that is true, the films which are projected in our cinemas, a great deal of them, are amateur’s works. Yet, it is unsafe to conclude that all fouls we observe in the films are sourcing from amateurism on many accounts. We have senior guys who have good academic life and rich experience at least in theatre and literature for instance. The question is: where are those guys? What are they doing?...

The thing is most professionals who could contribute to the sector are taken by two waves—globalization and capital accumulation, this writer believes.

About the former: Ritzer George has a figurative explanation on how globalization affects the way we live and do things. He coined the term McDonaldization in his text “the McDonaldization of Society”. “The dimensions of McDonaldization Ritzer noted include, efficiency, predictability, calculability (or an emphasis on quantification), and control (especially through inhuman technologies)”. Ritzer says McDonaldization is "a largely one-way process in which a series of American innovations are being aggressively exported too much of the rest of the world". So in African films and particularly in Ethiopian we notice that. The directors, scriptwriters , producers and actors model Hollywood in a bad way.

The parable of Plato

This Plato’s example about reality. In Plato’s prisoners chained and fixed to see only a wall, and had no chance to turn their head, see a light on the wall coming from a fire behind them. They cannot see real light outside since they stayed there from childhood. And this light they see copy of the real light, not the real light. All existence for Plato is like this. There is the universal and eternal, and we are copies, bad copies. For him, therefore, artist is a copier of a bad copy. Is so, what could be our film makers? A copier of copy of the bad copy?...

About the latter: market is very important in the film industry. However, our film makers consider that they can reap more harvest when they give the people copy of “the copy of bad copy”. However, they can fill their barn well if they focus on the day to day life of the people. Art is a mirror that reflects life back to the watcher. The watcher would be shocked when he/she sees something other than himself in the mirror.

To this writer, the resources need not be wasted for issues which never define us. We have bulk of matters to confront. For that, films are big hands. Therefore, as we worry much to sectors like agriculture, infrastructure … the film industry is also a key issue and a key sector. What is more, our education sectors should open their eyes… professional associations, media and all pertinent bodies seem to have dozen of works waiting on the table. If you are reading this article and can do something about it, do not hesitate, this reality could be altered.

We need to see our images, our identity and overall our culture in the African cinemas. We need to see African symbols, riddles, proverbs and all other folks. It is clear that Africans generally are defined in Orature ( a literature that could be sung, told, danced…). We have a different history and future as a society, and these things must come on the screen.

Shall I conclude this piece sharing few words of an expert on African cinema, Erna Beumers. This writer has found it so telling, ‘I am convinced that the power of culture and development is in a nation being aware of its own identity. An identity of their own [African] can only develop by creating and watching their own images’, you may goggle the rest in www.powerofculture.nl.

Ed.’s note: The writer is attending his graduate studies at Addis Ababa University Center for African and Oriental studies, specializing in intellectual history of Africa and Cultural studies. He may be contacted @ workuasfaw.asfaw@gmail.com