African Cinema Conference presents...
tv series--big brother africa
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washingtonpost.com
An African 'Big Brother' Unites and Delights
Voyeuristic Show Is Buzz of Far-Flung Nations
By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, July 14, 2003; Page A01
KAMPALA, Uganda -- Forget Africa's civil wars, its brutal dictators and its
worries about trade, genetically modified food and free and fair elections.
Africa has a new obsession in an unlikely form: a reality television show
called "Big Brother Africa."
The real-time, voyeuristic, 24-hour program is the highest-rated show in the
history of African television. It has farmers and financial workers alike
racing to television sets at home, in bars or restaurants -- or even at the
rural health clinic -- to watch, especially the daily 6 p.m. highlights.
The show began by confining a dozen English-speaking Africans in their
twenties, from 12 countries, in one big house in South Africa. Each week, a
housemate is voted out by viewers; the last one to remain after 106 days
will win $100,000.
The show is the talk of the continent. It's been praised for getting
Africans to question national stereotypes and criticized for "shower hour,"
as well as scenes of cuddling and kissing in bed that seem to condone casual
sex in the midst of Africa's AIDS pandemic. Some viewers say it has done
more to unite them than independence, the Cold War or the pan-African
movement. The producers say 30 million people are watching.
"It's great for Africa," Alan Nsubuga, 31, shouted over the booming
television broadcast at the Venue bar in Kampala. "There is so much
tribalism and stereotypes that we Africans have about each other. This show
is changing all that. We have never had a chance to get to know each other,
since most of us don't travel. And if we do, it's only to the West. It's so
nice to have this."
Along with the drama -- Bayo Okoh, a Nigerian, is gaining weight and is
grumpy; a flirty South African, Abby Plaatjes, is in love with Gaetano Juko
Kagwa, a distant Ugandan -- there are bunk beds and an outdoor Jacuzzi.
There is a brightly colored kitchen and living area decorated with shiny,
overstuffed pillows and an endless supply of wine-filled glasses. And, of
course, there is "shower hour," where the camera dances over the sexy,
hard-bodied housemates inside a spiffy black-and-white checkered bathroom.
In Africa, television stations typically do not have big budgets to spend on
entertainment, so they import most shows from the United States, beaming in
pictures of life far from Africans' daily reality. Nigeria has a lively
soap-opera industry, but the shows are not watched all over the continent.
The South African broadcaster M-Net produces "Big Brother Africa" for
distribution by its DStv satellite television company. Two previous versions
of the program featured only South Africans and were not widely viewed in
other African countries.
"People are so desperate for something African to watch, with Africans from
all different countries," said Erik van Veen, the chief marketing officer
for MTN, the cell phone company that coordinates the text messages, sent in
by viewers during the show, that appear at the bottom of the screen. "Also,
it's just a really good break from all the painful stuff going on in
Africa."
Van Veen, a South African, was also at the Venue bar to watch which
character would be kicked off the show. The unlucky housemate was the
"boring" Zein Dudha, 27, a marketing manager from Malawi "who never added
anything to the house or anything to his country," said a particularly harsh
text message.
The show began on May 25; Bruna Estivao, a 25-year-old model from Angola,
was the first to get the boot, about a month later.
With "Big Brother" playing in his office, Wafula Oguttu, editor-in-chief of
the Monitor newspaper in Kampala, said he had never experienced anything
like the phenomenon of people calling the paper to get updates on the show.
This hadn't happened even for soccer or cricket scores, he said.
"You have people leaving their offices, racing home to watch it every night
on television. I think it works because people want to read about and see
themselves on television," said Oguttu, who was watching the program as he
spoke.
"We Africans don't want to watch the imported shows from America or Europe
anymore," he said. "Besides, it's very humorous to us, because it's African
comedy. Some of the things they discuss are very African. For instance,
there are jokes about extended families, people who eat too much when they
are invited over, men who marry too many wives. It's about us. That's why we
love it."
At first, the show was criticized for featuring only elite urban Africans.
It was also going to be shown only on Africa's $60-a-month cable television
service. That's more than twice what the average African makes in 30 days.
Only about 4 percent of Africans even have television sets, although many
people watch on communal sets in bars, schools and even churches.
So DStv, in a move to help spread "Big Brother Africa" and encourage people
to buy their own television sets, and eventually subscribe to cable, allowed
local stations to pick up the show and air a half-hour of highlights each
day. That means almost all of Africa can follow the real-life drama --
except in places such as Liberia and Congo, where local television is barely
functioning.
"I know it and I like it," said Yunus Lubwana, a 43-year-old vanilla farmer,
who goes to the village watering hole in his Mukono district, about 40 miles
from the capital city of Kampala, to view the show's latest antics. These
include a testosterone-charged Kenyan, Alex Holi, sparring with a
self-employed and buff Tanzanian, Mwisho Mwampamba. They had a tiff over who
could win the war games they played in the back yard. "Big Brother" -- a
booming voice transmitted over a loudspeaker in the house every now and then
-- runs the games to test the housemates' patience and ability to cooperate.
"It's men acting funny," said Lubwana. "It's humorous stuff."
Standing underneath his lush stalks of bright green vanilla plants, he
joined the musings about the show's hottest romance: "I wonder if Gaetano
really likes Abby?"
With its fights over who eats more, and its endless pranks and quarreling,
the show lacks the social and political depth that could lead to a healthy
discussion of Africa's most searching issues, some have said.
The characters talked a little about their stereotypes of one another during
the early days of the show. Gaetano, for instance, upset Bayo, a chubby
Nigerian economist, by mentioning Nigerians' reputation for pulling scams.
That prompted pro-Bayo text messages from annoyed Nigerians. One message
cheered: "Bayo you are a big natural boy, kiss the girls and bring home the
money."
Still, after weeks of watching Bayo, who seemed a gentle bear of a
character, waking up early every morning and cleaning the house, Gaetano has
been silenced.
With the program now in the sixth week of its 15-week run, the searching
social chatter has quieted. But the show is prompting conversations about a
variety of issues that are important in Africa. One is AIDS.
Viewers don't know whether Abby and Gaetano used condoms after they
reportedly started sleeping together. No one is absolutely sure that they
are having sex, but they appear in the same bed every night cuddling and
kissing, and the love affair has schoolchildren discussing the issue.
"I don't think Gaetano should be having sex with Abby," offered Maria
Mutonjo, 12, a student at Nakasero Primary School. "He does not know her HIV
status!"
Her teachers nodded their heads, using the comment to talk later about safe
sex.
In Uganda, the show has become a way of life. That's because the most
popular member of "Big Brother Africa" is the charming and handsome Gaetano,
a 30-year-old law student. One newspaper feature in Uganda detailed how he
was "taking away our wives who expect us -- the husbands -- to be as
nice-looking and smooth as Gaetano."
Gaetano's family members are now celebrities in Kampala. Inside their home,
pictures of him line the walls, along with statues from around Africa. His
mother offers facts about her now-famous son.
"Let's see, he is such an easygoing boy. He likes Ugandan foods. He doesn't
like ham. He is just nice," says his mother, Evelyn Kagwa, giggling as
relatives roar with laughter. The television is on, of course, and Gaetano
is chatting with Abby.
His mother frowns.
His father just shrugs.
The family has reserved seating at the Venue bar every Sunday night, when
one "Big Brother" house member is voted out. The vote is determined by calls
from each country represented, along with a combined tally from calls from
across Africa.
The show is so popular in Uganda that it has replaced the state news on the
set in the parliament's cafeteria.
On a recent day, a viewer's text message flashed across the bottom of the
screen. It said, "Since BBA I see Africa in a whole new light. One Nation.
One People. No Borders."
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