African movies demean African culture - MP

Accra, Nov. 2, GNA - Ms Josephine Hilda Addoh, NPP-MP for Kwadaso, has said that most of the African movies shown on our television screens demeaned the African culture and discouraged the youth from aspiring to succeed and become wealthy through hard work.

She said most of the movies portrayed aged persons as witches responsible for the misfortunes of the youth and portrayed wealthy people as ritual murderers and corrupt, as if to say that for one to be rich and successful one necessarily had to take dubious and obnoxious means.


Ms Addoh made the observation on Tuesday at the launch of a new drama series on Metro TV, which the creators, Media in Partnership for Development, called a "Telesorpala", dubbed "The Salon". She noted that about 70 per cent of drama and movies on Ghanaian television screens today were from Nigeria and they promoted foul means like juju (black magic), ritual murder, corruption and other vices as the only means to becoming successful.


"This trend discourages our youth from even trying to make money through fair means because the movies also point to fair means of succeeding as very difficult and in some case unfruitful," he said. Ms Addoh said of all the means of mass communication, television was the most effective as it combined both sight and sound, adding that it was, therefore, very important that a lot of attention was paid to what went on the television screens.


She said most of the ideas television movies and drama series put in the youth were not good for the formation of good value systems. "Our films makers must be more creative and nationalistic in their work to ensure that the films promote good values and motivate our youth to aspire to succeed through hard work and also to respect the elderly in society."


Mr Seth Adjei Baah, Chief Executive of Shaaba Enterprises, who presided, stressed that African movies and drama series on the television dampened the spirits of viewers and discouraged hard work as the means for success and wealth.

He also urged filmmakers and television stations to work at reducing the counter-productive movies from the television and show movies that would promote hard work, respect for African culture and respect for the aged.


Mr David Dontoh, an actor, said the arts industry was the mirror that held society in front of itself. It was, therefore, important for actors to understand the environment in which they operated in order to better interpret the behaviour of the people and reflect it back to them.


He said actors could not afford to live immoral lives and expect to make a positive impact on society by portraying morality on the screen. Mr Bernard Imoro, Director of Telesorpala, said the "Telesorpala" was a combination of three words in English and a northern Ghanaian language.


These are television, "sor" meaning new and "pala" meaning way. The word therefore means "New Ways of Television."


He said he believed that the media, including filmmakers had a role to play in shaping the perspective of society about issues and to a large extent contributing to national development. "I believe the media has moved from being the fourth to the second estate of the realm and we need to make use of the power we wield responsibly to ensure that we capture the minds of society for good values," he said.