Until we as a nation eschew our hypocritical & arrogant values & the consequent marginalisation of the majority of our citizens through financial & educational considerations, many Abraham Attas will be missed.
Until we as a nation eschew our hypocritical & arrogant values & the consequent marginalisation of the majority of our citizens through financial & educational considerations, many Abraham Attas will be missed.
ADJOA WANGARA 8 years ago
francis kwarteng has presented another stupid and useless article written with a bogus English grammatical.
francis kwarteng has presented another stupid and useless article written with a bogus English grammatical.
KING LOMOTEY 8 years ago
Minuah Baah, I beg to differ. This is not "another stupid and useless article written with a bogus English grammatical."
The usual Ph D. I pity Ghanaians.
Minuah Baah, I beg to differ. This is not "another stupid and useless article written with a bogus English grammatical."
The usual Ph D. I pity Ghanaians.
Gordon 8 years ago
I don't really know what to say...
I have not seen "Beasts of No Nation". I have been drawn to the discussion by all the write-ups about Abraham Atta and his "tenk you" speech. But I still have not seen "Beasts of No Natio ... read full comment
I don't really know what to say...
I have not seen "Beasts of No Nation". I have been drawn to the discussion by all the write-ups about Abraham Atta and his "tenk you" speech. But I still have not seen "Beasts of No Nation". I guess it's on youtube or one can pirate it from the internet. But I still haven't seen it. These days, there is so much free stuff to see and to listen to that one has a hard time getting around to seeing all of these.
Some questions to Francis:
1. Is "Beasts of No Nation" a good film, technically, dramaturgically, etc. or all the noise is just because of Abraham Atta's "elevated" role in the film and the follow up?
2. Is Abraham Atta's performance very unique (that is, not many other kids his age could have performed so well given the chance)? I ask this question because a good stage/film performance is really not something everybody can quickly and easily see. If you're a Ghanaian, you will equate good acting performance with how "real to life" the actor performs (verisimilitude) but experts will look at something else. Acting is not like the 100-metre race where the person who first crosses the line is always the best.
2. Yes, Charlie Chaplin found the transition from the silent slapstick dramas of his earlier years to the sound era difficult but he was not completely lost in the sound era. One of his all time bests (and a personal favourite) is The Great Dictator (1940) and the voice we heard was Chaplin's... Or?
The Abraham Atta saga gives rise to a lot of discussion that can be linked to many other things. I am thinking of if Abraham Atta could have happened 40 years ago? Perhaps not, which doesn't mean there were no kids of Atta's talent in the Ghana of those years. It's interesting and a positive aspect of the world as a globalized village. The Oscars have had a foreign film category for long but it is only now "foreign" is including countries in Africa and other "exotic" lands. It's the same with the Grammys too and Angelique Kidjo can distinguish herself globally rather than just locally. We are seeing a period when Africa is being more and more integrated into the rest of the world. I hope for a time soon when we can be dictating our own terms even in the global entertainment world.
There are more things to discuss but a few words on the political angle. I don't think Abraham Atta will teach our politicians anything. What, exactly? That more money should be devoted to the entertainment industry in the budget? Or more to our schools? That our politicians should stop trading insults with each other? And the radio hosts more guarded in their statements?
The things that our politicians ought to do ought to be done - Abraham Atta or no Abraham Atta. And therein lies our problem.
I also join the numerous others to wish Abraham Atta good luck and a successful career. At his age, a lot will depend on his managers and how they package and sell him. They can make or unmake him. It is a very tough industry with cut-throat competition. Talent, alone, is not the greatest criterion of success.
Now, let me see if I can watch the film...
Francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Gordon,
Thanks for your extensive response.
What I can probably say to you at this point is that you should make time to see the movie first and then we can discuss further, in some detail, what and how Abraham At ... read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Thanks for your extensive response.
What I can probably say to you at this point is that you should make time to see the movie first and then we can discuss further, in some detail, what and how Abraham Atta and the content of the movie tells us and teaches us (a lot of things) about African politics, with particular reference to Ghana.
You could read the novel as well in its place, the movie. Please also make time to read those African societies where one civil war or another has taken place when politicians didn't do right by their people and the countries they ruled. I hope you have seen and read Ishmeal Beah's "Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" and what its powerful narrative is shaping America's foreign policy in Africa, especially in West Africa, as well as impacting African leaders and civil society organizations, the United Nations and NGOs (in spite of questions being raised about certain aspects of the book)?
Remember we still have the legacies of Charles Taylor, Joseph Kony, Boko Haram, Foday Sankor, Al-Shabab, Idi Amin, and several others still with us today. For instance, many Liberians still complain today that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is behaving as though she never learned anything from the Liberian civil war (and her controversial association with Charles Taylor).
There is therefore not much I can say to you at this moment since you have neither read the book nor seen the movie. You should do that first. On the other hand, I am surprised that Ghanaians are jubilating over the sudden rise of Abraham Atta to international fame, which is not wrong anyway, rather than assessing the social, political, moral, psychological, and philosophical import of the movie (for our society).
Has Anas Aremeyaw Anas' investigative documentary "Spirit Child" taught us anything us? Did he have to bring the ritual killing of disabled children to the attention of Ghanaian leaders, as if Ghanaian leaders and the traditional leaders of the regions where these atrocities occur know absolutely nothing about them?
Have investigative documentaries on witch camps and trokosi shrines taught us anything? Haven't these documentaries made a great impact on how we view certain persons in our society, in that some writers like me who never lived or visited any witch camp or trokosi shrine have come to understand some of these difficult social questions by simply reading about them and watching investigative documentaries? You wonder why the West, particularly America via the CIA, uses Hollywood and films to tell stories that help it maintain its global dominance and cultural hegemony?
Well, has the movie "Deadly Voyage" taught our leaders anything about why our men and women who are crossing into Libya, a war-torn country, and the Mediterranean into Europe, in droves? Why are Europeans, Australians, Japanese, Americans not crossing into Europe at the point of death? Perhaps nothing will ever change even if our leaders do right by their people and build sustainable economies!
The other question is: What sort of future leadership can Ghana and Africa have if our societies continue to screw up children like Abraham Atta? This is perhaps the biggest question that came to me after learning all that I needed to know about the movie, novel, and child soldiers in Africa. Ghanaians are not talking about these.
The fact is that I do more than reading and watching movies, though "Beasts of No Nation" is a fictional account of a civil war in a hypothetical West African country, and about war lords, and child soldiers and the potential destruction of countries and children who are involved in some of these brutal wars.
I don't think our leaders and Ghanaians for that matter want us to return to the gory days of Charles Taylor's civil war. Any child soldier who managed to escape the Liberian civil war and made it to Ghana will definitely tell you what that conflict holds out for Liberian political leaders, etc. Of course, there are other movies besides Abraham Attah's that could also potentially teach Ghanaian and African leaders a lot of things. There are more in stock in this movie for Ghanaian and African leaders.
And yes, Abraham Attah does not have to teach our leaders and societies anything. Leaders and societies have to do what they have to do. This I generally agree with you.
But movies and novels are not only for entertainment. They are more than that. Yours is a highly simplistic evaluation of a very complex question. That is, your take is a narrow and strange way to view or look at movies and books generally, if you ask me, since you have not even seen the movie or read the novel under question in the first place.
What is more, the writings of Marcus Garvey, WEB Du Bois, Vladimir Lenin, and a number of others greatly impacted Kwame Nkrumah and shaped his political vision, just as the Bible and the Christian writings of Leo Tolstoy shaped the views of Gandhi, an avowed Hindu.
Also Bill Clinton, for instance, read a book on the Yugoslavian crisis that convinced him to intervene in that conflict. Elsewhere, I have discussed this matter, including the title of the book, author's name, and Clinton's own remarks about how the content of that book shaped his foreign policy ideas toward that region and how the author's forceful arguments convinced him to engage that region.
Maybe, when you are done reading the novel on which "Beasts of No Nation" was based, then we can have an exhaustive discussion on which films and documentaries have shaped societies and the political, social, and moral views about political leaders around the world.
For instance, Spike Lee's movie on Malcolm X continues to be shown to American students so that they can better understand the man and his, social movements, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights' era. Many American leaders including Bernie Sanders have been influenced by this movie.
This does not mean the leadership of the 1960s in America did not do what it was supposed to have done to improve race relations. It certainly did. Movies and films potentially bring the past to the attention of the modern. Persons who never lived in certain periods of time, chronology, as well as separated by physical distance can overcome these hurdles by reading and watching films and documentaries.
But Lee's movie continues to teach American children, particularly African-American children, not to take the freedom and rights they enjoy today for granted. I guess you may have known how Stowe's antislavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" galvanized America's Abolition Movement? Did Stowe had to write to teach American leaders that slavery was bad?
How about the world reading about the writings of men who were concerned about the killings taking place in the Congo, for instance, under the leadership of Belgian King Leopold, something Adam Hockschild describes in his book "King Leopold's Ghost"? Did these courageous men Adam discusses have to write to convince the world that killing and economic slavery was bad? How did these men manage to galvanize the world against King Leopold via their writings? Why did world leaders and the general public have to read these men anyway?
There are just too many movies shown across American classrooms today for similar reasons. This is even done in Ghanaian schools as well. These are exactly what the films and books by Michael Moore, to mention but one writer and movie director, are doing in American schools and society. Are we saying Moore's works are not contributing to American internal and external politics. Sure they are!
Adolf Hitler, Nelson Mandela, Saddam Hussein, Julius Nyerere, Mahatma Gandhi, and most leaders around the world (and in history) have been convinced to do one thing or another by reading, watching movies or documentaries. Perhaps I should ask: Why do we read or watch films at all? Are we saying that we should not read economics textbooks because they will not matter because our leaders and societies should know what to do with or without the acquisition of economic ideas and theories from textbooks?
Why do human beings need education since education, books, films, schooling, etc., come to shape who we are as human beings? Why are Jews and Hollywood using films to educate the world about genocide?
Didn't Bill Clinton watch some of these films himself and became convinced that the Germans and others involved in the Holocaust must pay reparation?
Why are political films so important in international relations and diplomacy? Why did Idi Amin get so mad about the movie "The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin"? And how many leaders from around the world, particularly in Africa, have been impacted by this movie, although it is a mere fictional account? How about the movie "Escape from Sobibor" and hundreds like it?
And no, Charlie Chaplin did not necessarily find the transition from silent film to sound film difficult. You should make time to read more about him and his work. That said, I mentioned the 1930s in regard to Charlie Chaplin and his silent movies and you are mentioning 1940! I see no connection here. Neither did I say he totally ignored sound movies.
I hope this little information helps. Of course, this is a subject matter that will require a series of articles to convince myself that I have finally exhaustively covered all the terrains I need to cover. But it is an endless subject matter since I have spent my entire life covering this field. I will never finish it even if I should star now.
Thanks.
Gordon 8 years ago
I think you may have totally misunderstood me.
I started my comment by admitting that I had not seen the movie (nor read the book) as a preamble to my comments so that you would know that the comments are from someone who ... read full comment
I think you may have totally misunderstood me.
I started my comment by admitting that I had not seen the movie (nor read the book) as a preamble to my comments so that you would know that the comments are from someone who has not (yet?) seen the movie. And then I stated that the reason I hadn't done so was because there is so much else to see and read that I hadn't (yet?) come around to seeing Beast of a Nation. And then I ended my contribution by saying that I was now going (from the writing?) to see the film.
Your lengthy response gives the impression that I was claiming that it was not necessary to watch the film or read the book on which it was based. But, Francis, I never made any such claims. I never said anywhere that films and novels don't teach anything. Did I, Francis?
I knew you had seen the film and read the book. My two questions were asking your personal views about the quality of the film and the performance of the actor. I knew you could pronounce on these because you had seen the movie. I didn't make any pronouncements on these matters because I haven't seen the film. I don't need to have seen the film before I hear of your personal views on the two issues (just as you don't need to see a movie before you read a review of the film). But you didn't tell me your own views. You were rather lecturing me on the importance of films and novels - a rather unnecessary lecture considering the things I have spent my life in studying. Francis, on that score, you were preaching to a leading member of the choir... There was absolutely no need for you to suggest that I think it was not important to read books - novels or textbooks.
The Charlie Chaplin ref was a minor issue too. You were arguing that the accent/language spoken didn't really matter. Charlie Chaplin achieved greatness without even speaking. And I said he eventually did speak and one of his greatest films and a personal favourite of mine was a talkie. I added the year of the film as a conventional act, not that I was talking about the 40s. It was not as if I was negating your point about the importance/non-importance of the accent with which Atta expressed himself - the main point you were driving at. And if you and I were talking about Chaplin's TRANSITION to sound, how can I, then, be saying you were arguing that "he totally ignored sound movies"?
Of course, your article touched on many other things too but one cannot talk about everything in a single discussion. It doesn't mean I am unaware of the full ramifications of your piece.
Yes, I intend to read the book (first) and watch the film later. I never said I wasn't going to do that (much less that it was not important). But I said there are so many films and books to read. Didn't that come out at the beginning of my comment? Or are you saying unless I read Beast of No Nation, and see the film, I have no rights to utter a word by way of comment on any of these?
Gordon 8 years ago
I've read over and seen I have to make one clarification.
When I wrote that "I don't think Abraham Atta will teach our politicians anything" I mean this to be understood not that films cannot teach people anything but rat ... read full comment
I've read over and seen I have to make one clarification.
When I wrote that "I don't think Abraham Atta will teach our politicians anything" I mean this to be understood not that films cannot teach people anything but rather that our politicians do not learn and will consequently not learn anything from Abraham Atta's movie. I developed the argument further by intimating that they don't even have to wait for Abraham to teach them the things they ought to know to do...
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Gordon,
Points well taken. I do appreciate your clarifying the statement further because I understood it the way you think I did. One statement though: Some of our politicians do in fact learn.
For instance, not e ... read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Points well taken. I do appreciate your clarifying the statement further because I understood it the way you think I did. One statement though: Some of our politicians do in fact learn.
For instance, not every politician supported the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), to mention but two, when they came up for national debate.
So some did/do in fact learn(ed) after they had/have studied the questions, studied the scientific data on the questions, studied how other societies had/have dealt with the questions, and even invited international experts to share their opinions on the subject.
After all, Abraham Attah's sterling performance and achievements have given way to a national discussion in which politicians, journalists, religious leaders, and the general public are saying what they think.
I can only hope that everyone in this national debate learns something positive from Abraham Attah's achievements.
Thanks.
Francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Gordon,
Try reading the novel first if you can. I have done this in the case of John Grisham, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Orwell, Michael Crichton, Mario Puzo, Paulo Coelho, Frederick Forsyth, Alex Haley, Jeffr ... read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Try reading the novel first if you can. I have done this in the case of John Grisham, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Orwell, Michael Crichton, Mario Puzo, Paulo Coelho, Frederick Forsyth, Alex Haley, Jeffrey Archer, Agatha Christie, Ken Follett, and literally tens of writers from around the world, including Africans, whose written works have been made into movies and animated movies (cartoon).
Remember that movies and animated movies hardly tell stories in their entirety. This is the more reason why I prefer reading books to watching their enacted movie versions.
The controversy which the movie "Amistad" generated is still fresh in my mind. This is also why I love film criticism and film theory.
So like I said to you before, I do more than merely watching movies and cartoons. This is not to say cinematography is not a complex undertaking. It is very complex.
But I always want to be more than well informed and merely watching movies and cartoons will not achieve this for me.
So I take the extra step to read in the particular case where a movie is based on a book. More fundamentally, then, this partly explains why some authors refuse to allow their books turned into movies if they are not somehow connected to script/screen writing based on their works.
I don't want screen/script writers giving me their renditions or actors/actresses translating for me a work that I can read on my own and make independent judgments.
Acting is fundamentally about the politics of pretense, as I said in the article, and therefore there is that need to get into the pages of books myself to put my own gloss on what I read.
Thanks.
Gordon 8 years ago
Yes, I know you are very widely read and, Francis, sometimes, I wonder if there is any book you have not read. Perhaps the ones not yet written ... lol.
Anyway, I can assure you, I have also spent quite some time reading b ... read full comment
Yes, I know you are very widely read and, Francis, sometimes, I wonder if there is any book you have not read. Perhaps the ones not yet written ... lol.
Anyway, I can assure you, I have also spent quite some time reading books and watching films based on them (often times even as a duty).
Books, films and acting are all different media even if related. So one has to approach each according its own requirements. Remember Umberto Eco, who died recently, said the film based on his book, Ill nome della rosa (The Name of the Rose), was better than his book? I always find that funny... His death was observed with that of Harper Lee with some of the obituaries written together but I don't think Lee made a similar comment on the film based on her famous book. Of course, these are things that will not escape somebody like you...
But, Francis, ghanaweb is not a forum for the discussion of books and films. Have you noticed how few comments book reviews attract on this forum - even very well written reviews (not just advertisments for books)?
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Gordon,
Thanks again.
Well, a movie will be "better" than a book if the script for the movie embellishes the contents of the said book or if special effects, say, add more to the enacting quality and content of a ... read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Thanks again.
Well, a movie will be "better" than a book if the script for the movie embellishes the contents of the said book or if special effects, say, add more to the enacting quality and content of a movie's dramaturgy.
And if I may add, special effects for instance, has made cetain cinematographic renditions based on books which were written when special effest was not in existence. Any author whose book is made into a movie will appreciate the gift of special effects to contemporary cinomatography.
This is why certain movies made in the early 20th century and even late into the late into the 20th century are remade.
Finally, I have reviewed some very good books, some academic, but have shared them with the authors, my core friends who love reading. I will not publish them on Ghanaweb. I will rather publish them on Modernghana if I ever decide to do so.
I have met more serious readers and writers on Modernghana than on Ghanaweb. And mind you, Gordon, you are also widely read. That is clear from your commentaries. There is more you and I share than otherwise.
Thanks.
Gordon 8 years ago
Just some info to you, in case you "visit the scene of the crime" (this expression is from one of the greatest contributors to this site who does not appear here anymore - BERNARD TETTEH)...
I've read Beasts of No Nation a ... read full comment
Just some info to you, in case you "visit the scene of the crime" (this expression is from one of the greatest contributors to this site who does not appear here anymore - BERNARD TETTEH)...
I've read Beasts of No Nation and I have seen the movie too. I am now better equipped to talk about both and not just the "controversy" surrounding the lead actor.
Perhaps we may take that aspect of the discussion later on, if the occasion presents itself.
Thanks for all the discussion and "sorry" for the misunderstanding in my first comment about our leaders who don't learn anything and won't learn from Abraham Atta...
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood, Ghallywood, Queen's English - all glorify the eminence of western exceptionalism. I will settle for Ghanaflix & Pidgin English.
Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood, Ghallywood, Queen's English - all glorify the eminence of western exceptionalism. I will settle for Ghanaflix & Pidgin English.
Until we as a nation eschew our hypocritical & arrogant values & the consequent marginalisation of the majority of our citizens through financial & educational considerations, many Abraham Attas will be missed.
francis kwarteng has presented another stupid and useless article written with a bogus English grammatical.
Minuah Baah, I beg to differ. This is not "another stupid and useless article written with a bogus English grammatical."
The usual Ph D. I pity Ghanaians.
I don't really know what to say...
I have not seen "Beasts of No Nation". I have been drawn to the discussion by all the write-ups about Abraham Atta and his "tenk you" speech. But I still have not seen "Beasts of No Natio ...
read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Thanks for your extensive response.
What I can probably say to you at this point is that you should make time to see the movie first and then we can discuss further, in some detail, what and how Abraham At ...
read full comment
I think you may have totally misunderstood me.
I started my comment by admitting that I had not seen the movie (nor read the book) as a preamble to my comments so that you would know that the comments are from someone who ...
read full comment
I've read over and seen I have to make one clarification.
When I wrote that "I don't think Abraham Atta will teach our politicians anything" I mean this to be understood not that films cannot teach people anything but rat ...
read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Points well taken. I do appreciate your clarifying the statement further because I understood it the way you think I did. One statement though: Some of our politicians do in fact learn.
For instance, not e ...
read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Try reading the novel first if you can. I have done this in the case of John Grisham, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Orwell, Michael Crichton, Mario Puzo, Paulo Coelho, Frederick Forsyth, Alex Haley, Jeffr ...
read full comment
Yes, I know you are very widely read and, Francis, sometimes, I wonder if there is any book you have not read. Perhaps the ones not yet written ... lol.
Anyway, I can assure you, I have also spent quite some time reading b ...
read full comment
Dear Gordon,
Thanks again.
Well, a movie will be "better" than a book if the script for the movie embellishes the contents of the said book or if special effects, say, add more to the enacting quality and content of a ...
read full comment
Just some info to you, in case you "visit the scene of the crime" (this expression is from one of the greatest contributors to this site who does not appear here anymore - BERNARD TETTEH)...
I've read Beasts of No Nation a ...
read full comment
Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood, Ghallywood, Queen's English - all glorify the eminence of western exceptionalism. I will settle for Ghanaflix & Pidgin English.