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| agya koo Salamatu |
At the close of work
each week; taking a stroll on the principal street of Kumasi, I can’t help but
take notice of the numerous posters plastered on every corner of the city.
Interesting enough, most of these posters display Ghanaian movies that are
designed to whet the appetite of every Tom, Dick and Harry. From titles such as
All Die be Die, Agya Koo Salamatu, Bonsam kukukoo,Asem aba Ghana, Ampe Bre,Ataa
Mortuary man and the latest Gargantuan 1 and 2 ; these posters find their way
to the living rooms of most Ghanaians not as posters, but as CD ready to
provided entertainment to many a household. After being in the ever increasing
traffic situation in Kumasi popularly known as “go slow”, what do I see when I
switch on my TV? The same movies being advertised but this time, in motion pictures.
So which people have been patronizing such movies and what do they get from it?
These are but questions I have been seeking answers to. In this article I would
love to share with you five reasons why I think you should not watch Ghanaian
movies. If you are set, then let’s enter:
- Not intellectually stimulating
Most of the Ghanaian
movies are not intellectually stimulating; you can easily predict the end of
the movie from the beginning. Just look at this concept: Agya Koo (Ghana's
finest movie star) who grew up in a small village is not making head way in life.
His childhood friend who moved to the city some years ago came back to the
village and is driving the latest sports car. Agya Koo desires to be like his friend;
he envies his friend and seeks for alternative to be at par with him. He seeks
for advice from another colleague who prescribes sacrificing his 11 year old
son as an alternative. He followed the advice, the wealth and fame starts to
pour on him. Suddenly, the ghost of his daughter appears and keeps hunting him.
Agya Koo is given three days to confess his sins or gets mad. What would agya
koo do? Grab your Copy now! That is a typical storyline of most Ghanaian
movies. With such kind of movies parading on the street of Accra and Kumasi,
even a class three student from my basic school, stands a higher chance of
predicting the end and even writing the other parts of the story if given the
chance. Why should you spend two hours of your valuable time on such movies?
Unless of course, you do not see the monetary value of time or have no dream to
accomplish.
- Use of Foul or abusive language
About 90% of the
local movies shown on Ghanaian television contain very abusive and foul
languages. It is not uncommon to hear one person shout out such words such as “Wu
ye aboa”,”wu a gyi mi” etc which when translated into English means “You are an
animal” and “you are a fool”. These words are said in the typical Ashanti way
that makes you feel the punch even behind your television. Because we can
exercise little control over the words we hear, these verbally abusive words
sink into our hearts, our kids learn them and they reproduce the same kind of
words in their dealing with friends and even parents. Now, I don’t think this
is the kind of values you want your kids to learn from watching local movies.Do you?
- It Makes you Poor
It’s amazing, you find
the ordinary Ghanaian go to a movie store to purchase the latest Ghanaian
movies and later that same person complains of poverty in Ghana. They have at
least 5 cedis to buy a movie to watch but lack the same discipline to invest ₡ 5
on a regular interval in a chosen investment package. On the average, you can
count not less than ten CDs in the living room of every Ghanaian, assuming each
CD cost₡ 5, then you have ₡50 or more lying waste on the shelves of the average
Ghanaian room. If that same 5 cedis was channeled into an investment package
that provide a minimum of 10% return per annum. In three years you would
probably have ₡66.55p in your account. This is reasonable considering the fact
that there is no return on investment on your CDs, they are liabilities.
- You watch others get Rich:
Closely related to the
fact that watching movies (i.e. buying them) makes you poor, you watch others
become rich. I bird whispered to me that on the average an accomplish actor or
actress gets about ₡ 4000 per movie. So what is in it for you? Why spend time
and resources watching someone make money whilst you do not get a dime from it?
The only benefit I can point out is, the joy you get laughing your heart outs.
Why don’t you channel your time and resources in productive activities? An
activity that would translate into monetary equivalent if done well and with perseverance.
What do you think?
- Exposure to intense Nudity
Till Ghanaian movie producers
realize they can change the world with their movies, Ghana would not move
forward and we would be just marking time.
What Next?
If you think of
watching any Ghanaian movie over the weekend, just pause and ask yourself this question.
What is in it for me? Drop me your
comment if you find an answer and let’s keep sharing.
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