Not too long ago Oprah was not on my radar. I didn’t watch her show so I didn’t pay attention to anything she did. I usually associated Oprah with feel-good daytime talk shows. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the wand she wields over American culture in general. It’s still a mystery to me how she does this but who can deny the influence she has. The recent Mommycast podcast focusing on Africa is a clear example of Oprah’s influence over what I call the Twinset clan (next time you watch Oprah count the number of twinsets worn in the audience). The Twinset clan is that group of soccer mom types whose purse strings are coveted among marketers. Many are stay-at-home wives of American businessmen who manage the household and have access to endless disposable income. And when Oprah says Africa needs money, they say how much. After the airing of Monday’s “Building a Dream” special about Oprah’s South African girl’s school experience, the tremendously popular Mommycast show has dedicated a whole show, advertisers and all, to the topic of Children in Africa. What makes the particular show interesting is the focus on how African issues are understood in those suburban households. Listen to the show and tell me what you think.
Hip-hop and democracy in Senegal’s elections
I’ve often asked if hip-hop can save Africa, and now we’re getting to see for ourselves. Senegal, one of Africa’s most stable democracies, is currently going through elections and as in the past hip-hop is playing a serious role. It’s interesting being an African living in the States and experiencing both African and African-American cultures simultaneously. My position has given me a unique vantage point to which to compare hip-hop’s beginnings and where it has reached both in the States and on the continent. African hip-hop still maintains the revolutionary nature of hip-hop’s beginnings while American hip-hop has grown into a beast of another nature. As American hip-hop has grown to be accepted in the mainstream it has become a music of materialism and shortsighted goals. The music and culture that brought many black Americans out of struggle and strife is threatening to take them right back to those hard times. Maybe this is a lesson for both African and American rappers. Maybe taking American rappers to see the role hip-hop plays in Africa’s youth’s lives, as VH1 did last Thursday, will allow them to see how powerful hip-hop is/was and get them looking at whether they’re using it to it’s full potential. Ben at Nomadic Wax has been documenting the Senegalese elections from a hip-hop perspective with amazing results. The question is though, how closely will African hip-hop youth follow the path of their American counterparts?
Whitaker wins one for African film industry
By now you’ve all heard that Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. While this is another big boost for Black actors in general, it is more of a validation of African film. Before the awards I was speaking to my partner at the film commission about what the implications of a win like this will be. One thing he emphasized was how more African films will mean more roles for black actors. I think one thing that many people, especially Africans, overlook is the relationship between African-American progress and African progress. While we rarely expound on the connection, Whitaker’s win shows how African stories can provide unlimited opportunities for African-American actors and producers to create award-winning films. While many producers have looked primarily to South Africa and apartheid for strong African stories in the past, Whitaker’s win shows that there are more than enough stories to develop on the continent. That’s why Dreamgirls’ Danny Glover skipped the Oscars to attend the Pan African Film and Television Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Now that the word is out, the goal must be to encourage more African screenplays (preferably from Africans themselves) and get African stories told by African people. While I’m glad Warner Bros. made the effort to make Blood Diamond, I think the studios can now see the benefit of telling African stories from an African’s perspective using African/African-American talent. And while “The Last King of Scotland” wasn’t a blockbuster at the theaters, at this point we see there is a large enough audience interested in seeing a African film that is given the budget both independent and blockbuster Western movies enjoy.
Update: The BBC reports about African reactions to the Oscars at the Fespaco film festival in Burkina Faso.
This week in African Style 2/17 – 2/23/07
• “Black Gold”, African coffee documentary, to air on PBS.
• African countries ready themselves for the roll out of One Laptop Per Child initiative.
• Africa tops Mideast as US crude oil source.
• Akon teams up with Verizon for TV campaign.
• PRODUCT RED – In the black?
Reuters and Africa 2.0
The recent news of Reuters’ new Africa website which includes African bloggers is BIG. Not only because of the idea that there’s more than enough news coming out of Africa to fuel a separate site, but also because it’s a major boost for African voices. With the incorporation of Global Voices blog posts, Reuters dares to shine a light on the African people themselves. While diehard news buffs can still rely on sites like AllAfrica.com and CNN for news, Reuters introduces a opinionated human element to their stories. With bloggers taking over traditional media, this move is nothing new but for us Africans it’s a huge step. Many of us have complained for years about the one-sided image the media shows of us and have blamed everyone but ourselves (maybe rightfully so). Wherever the blame lies, we’ve got the mic now guys, what are we going to say.
Malian director puts globalization on trial
I made note earlier of the movie Bamako, but it certainly deserves more than a side-note. Co-produced by Danny Glover, the movie Bamako has been taking the film critics by storm. Directed by Mauritanian-Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako Bamako is a fictional story of a trial where ordinary Malians hold international financial institutions (World Bank, IMF) to account for what they see as the damage caused by neoliberal policies. I must admit I haven’t seen the movie but from what I’ve heard and a look at the trailer below, it’s a must see.
Bling & Blood go primetime on Vh1
I mentioned before that Vh1 in conjunction with the United Nations was producing a documentary on the bling and blood diamonds relationship. The documentary, “Bling’d: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip Hop”, “takes a look at the illegal diamond trade in Sierra Leone, West Africa and its connection with the hip hop culture, particularly how ‘bling’ played a role in the nation’s 11-year civil war.” While we’ve seen quite a few film projects about blood diamonds and Sierra Leone, it’s a wonder that the hip-hop angle has never really been explored in depth by a major film/television company; or did I just miss it? Either way the documentary features interviews with Paul Wall, Raekwon, Tego Caldron, Jadakiss, Big Daddy Kane, and Kanye West among others. Hopefully the documentary will expand beyond the war in Sierra Leone and show how the diamond trade exploits both the Africans who mine the diamonds and the African-Americans who aspire to own one. As Sierra Leonean rapper Chosan said “Don’t give up and keep shining, your heart’s worth more than a diamond”. The documentary premieres Thursday, Feb. 22. at 8pm on Vh1.
This week in African Style 2/10 – 2/16/07
• Cell phones fight AIDS in Africa
• Sophis Okonedo plays in Skin
• Africans challenge global corruption in ‘Bamako’ courtroom
• Africa: 48 African countries expected in Cannes
• Warner Music announces strategic initiatives in North Africa
• Global Film Community invited to Oscars
• Africa/America—a beauty that could be
• Joburg Fashion Week’s Disco Masais and African City Girls
• Are mud floors cool?
Refugee entrepreneurs
Fortune Magazine has a great feature on African refugees who have fled their homeland and have started businesses in America. This feature highlights one of the undeniable strengths of the USA. While the country has enough problems to put it on many people’s hate lists, I doubt anyone can deny that this country is at the top of the list for business opportunity. While there is no level playing field for people of color, there are more than enough opportunities to make a living and chase your dreams. America is one of the few places that determination is rewarded, however strange the reward may be (queue “Star Spangled Banner”). Especially in todays world adopting a long tail mentality is the way to go.
Is identity holding Africans back?
I got into a debate about African identity last night. The debate brought about two specific issues. Do individual African nations have to create their own identity first before subscribing to an African identity? also what part does identity play in resolving Africa’s issues? What are your thoughts?