Madagascar Escape to Africa and Parents’ Career Expectations for Children

This essay is a thematic review of a computer animated comedy filmMadagascar Escape 2 Africa. It highlights the rich thematic embodiment of the film. Entertainment-Education has been adopted as a theoretical framework for analysis, owing to the fact that it emphasizes infusion of educational oriented content into the production of entertainment programmes/media content to achieve attitudinal change in society. Five themes have been identified from the film and discussed, namely: the usefulness/relevance of every talent/skill, the power of unity/friendship, innovation, adventure and love. The central thesis in the essay is that all talents are relevant and important to the growth and development of society as contained in the film under review, hence parents are advised to identify talents which their children have and guide them accordingly to exploit and utilize them to the fullest. This is against the career imposition trait of most parents, which often time leads to poor performance of children in careers they have no passion for. Conclusively, the study recommends the Entertainment-Education approach to producers of children films and media content to help reduce the cultivation effect that arises from the projection of violence, crime, nudity and profane scenes in cartoons and children programmes. This will go a long way to help achieve the desired attitudinal change in society.

From Primary Orality to Secondary Orality

There are two sides to the phenomenon of globalization: the positive and the negative. On the negative side, it is apparent that indigenous cultures and performances are being dangerously diluted and annihilated due to the unprecedented proliferation of globalized values and norms. On the positive however, globalization has opened up many cultures to the world by removing physical distances and space, creating a phenomenon of cultural syncretism evident in information and communication technologies. In this paper, the researcher tries to examine the possibility of internationalizing Nyum Onzho and some aspects of the theatre in order to promote, showcase and project its theatricality across the world through the instrumentality of the variables of globalization such as the television, video-film format and internet sources.Among the Eggon, a story is called Onzho and the art of the storytelling itself is called Nyum Onzho. Hence, Nyum Onzho is the art of storytelling. The aim of this performance is to produce an individual who is transparent, honest, respectful, skilful, and cooperative and one who could conform to the social order of the society. This art of storytelling is central to the life of every Eggon person. It is largely secular and the most eclectic and dynamic in form and content.This paper also explores the proposition for a paradigm shift from primary orality to secondary orality. That is, from its original face-to-face format into the digital format.It also examines how Nyum Onzho performance and the indices of globalisation could be adapted to each other and harnessed in the service of development objectives of the Eggon people. This paper concludes that, despite the challenges, losses and treat inherent in globalization, there are also significant gains,opportunities and benefits the advent of globalization has offered. It therefore becomes imperative for the Eggon people to key into these numerous benefits and opportunities globalization has provided to internationalize, promote and showcase their culture and cultural performance to the global community.

Grappling with Corruption in Democratic Nigeria

Nigeria, especially since its return to democratic governance in 1999, has been inherently laden and plagued with the malady known as corruption. Corruption remains the greatest undoing and bane of the nation’s socio-economic and political development as well as democratic consolidation. Evidently, the menace of corruption in a democratic ambience as Nigeria corrodes public trust in the system, magnifies unemployment and intensifies underdevelopment in all sectors of the economy. It is akin to a cancerous disease that spreads very rapidly through the host, destroys cells, weakens the body and in the process of time kills its victim. Although it pervades every strata of the society, this study is an exploration of the concept and context of political corruption with regards to political elites who hold positions of authority and in control of the society’s common wealth as exemplified in the play, Dawn of Awareness by Felix Akinsipe. This paper argues that sustainable development and political stability in Nigeria will remain a mirage for as long as political corruption continue to hold sway and remain unimpeded by not curbing the impunity with which political office holders indulge in corrupt practices. The paper recommends that stringent punitive measures must be put in place as well as value re-orientation for all public officers holding leadership positions.

Female Mask/Masquerade in Nigeria, Aesthetics and the Art of Secret Societies

The Dramatic performance by actors in masks and costumes still remains enigmatic. The ideological context of mask, and masquerade in Africa is associated with the spirit world which is an act of secret society dominated by men’s world. This paper focused on the role, performances and contributions of women in masquerade performances in Nigeria. The symbolism of women’s aesthetics, cosmology, mythology, performance, Genre, audience participation, construction, and originators and custodians of mask and masquerade is highlighted as emerging trends of feminist discuss in contemporary theatre performances as central to women liberation in men’s dominated society. The paper concludes the role and place of women in taking the masquerade performances, economic, social, political, culture empowerment from it’s inception as custodians of Spiritism.

Kenyan Television Stand-up Comedy as a Reflection of Societal Mentality

The held mantra for comedy is laughing at ourselves, meaning that the jokes and situations highlighted by a stand-up comedian are a reflection of societal values and norms that may in turn be idiotic in nature but still held dear by the society. The norms maybe like a ritual that though at times ineffectual and at times detrimental is still held as a part of the societal code and cannot be discarded easily. Indeed the traditional venue of a typical stand-up comedian has been the pub, performing to an audience that is inebriated, but with the increased popularity of stand-up comedy in Kenyan television the audience has increased tenfold but the substance of the jokes is yet to be analysed in detail. This paper tries to look at the performances of different stand-up comedians in the Kenyan television while analysing the nature of their jokes in relations to the idiosyncrasies in society.

The Gender Agenda in Kenyan Children’s Feature Films

The gender agenda has featured substantially in creative works from Africa and particularly Kenya. Although film is considered a new form of creative expression in Africa, compared to the west, it has not been excluded in exploring gender issues. While the gender discussion has prominently featured adults, the Kenyan film has gone a step further and explored gender on a different level. Gender has been explored from the point of view of the child and employed the child character as a suitable medium. Kenyan filmmakers by employing the child character on the subject of gender seem to suggest that engendering of any member of the society begins in childhood and progresses into adulthood. This is a unique aspect about the Kenyan film yet has not been critically examined. This paper therefore examines the child character and the exploration of gender in Kenyan films about children to ascertain the significance of the child character in exploring gender issues in society. It focuses on three selected films that extensively explore the engendering of children namely: Subira, Malika and Becoming A Girl. The films mainly focus on the engendering of the girl child by the society and that this happens in childhood. They also employ the girl child as acharacter in exploring the issue of gender. Examination of the child character will be guided by the Sociological theory of film and the Formalist film theory. The structure of the paper is as follows: A background on the gender issue in creative works, theoretical perspectives on gender, analysis of Kenyan children’s films on gender and conclusions on the use of the child character in exploring gender.

Film as an Artefact

Films are important sites to access materials about a community's history and heritage. This paper, from an Afrocentric point of view and guided by post-colonial literary criticism, interrogates the two films; Nairobi Half Life and The Kitchen Toto with a view to establish the extent to which filmic representations can reflect the society. It looks at how the forces that were /are present in colonial and post-colonial Kenya have been developed in the two films. The paper, specifically looks at the issues of governance and identity in the Kenyan society and focuses on how the forces present in the colonial and post-colonial Kenyan government divided people in terms of ‘us’ and the ‘other’ (colonizer-colonized in The Kitchen Toto and haves and have-nots in Nairobi Half Life) with the process of ‘othering’ resulting into alienation and loss of identity. It traces the protagonists’ conscious struggle and move to relocate themselves from the strictures and imprisoning experiences of ‘othering’, appraising the protagonist’s denial of this alienation in his acceptance of homecoming. Thus the issue the study tackles is that of Kenyans loss, the subsequent alienation from their culture and their own selves and the struggle to reclaim these selves once the realization of that loss is made. The paper lays bare social issues such as how socio-economic issues can contribute to one becoming a criminal; in Nairobi Half Life, and how a specific class/group of people in the society can be ‘criminalized’ in The Kitchen Toto. The conclusion reveals that the protagonists find their identity and fulfilment in the totality of their religions, culture ancestral heritage and a sense of belonging. The paper is based on the argument that films mirror the society.

A Critical Gender Analysis of James Atu Alachi’s Enekole

Gender is a concept that has gained so much attention in the theatre today. This is due to the current agitation and turbulent struggle that women have been doing because of the oppression, mistreatment and relegation they face every day as a result of patriarchy – the culture of male domination that has secured a foothold mostly in dramas written by male playwrights. James Atu Alachi seems to be different. This paper, through the analytical approach, attempts an investigation into one of Alachi’s plays, Enekole, in order to point out the fact that there are male playwrights of this present generation that can join their creative hands with those of the female playwrights to ensure a gender sensitive and equal Africa.

Potentials of Drama Therapy in Unmasking the Personae of Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation among the Kenyan Maasai

Circumcision of females was and still remains a cultural practice in many African communities. While modernity and access to education has led to vilification of this tradition, the guardians and conservators of traditions who perceive not virtue but abomination in this revolution intrepidly use myths and falsehoods to sustain the tradition. Where that does not work, force is used. The Maasai are such a community where circumcision of women is still entrenched and highly esteemed. Some girls manage to escape but the effects of the harrowing escape remain. Subsequently, this study proceeds from the postulation that drama therapy is a useful tool not only to reach out to the survivors of any form of distress but also as an avenue for helping the victims cope while enhancing their selfexpression by obliterating the facade engendered by the trauma. Our contention is that as a tool for unlocking the voices of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) survivors, drama therapy creates a safe and playful environment where the survivors are able to act out their anxieties, fears and mental conflicts and reclaim their true beings, dreams and positions in society. In this way, drama therapy provides a platform on which the stigma related to FGM emotions can be expelled. While using various drama therapy techniques such as story-telling, poetry, role playing, song and dance, this paper examines and establishes how drama therapy can be used as an effective tool in regaining the real persona of survivors of Female Genital Mutilation. The study employs Nietzsche’s Will to Power theory and Rogerian theory of self in interrogating the potentials of drama therapy. Nietzsche’s Will to Power theory has been used to explore underlying motives behind the survivors’ rebellion against Female Genital Mutilation whereas Rogerian theory of Self has been used in exploring the survivors’ perception of their world, perception of the concepts of freedom, choice and personal responsibility, particularly after surviving Female Genital Mutilation. The study utilizes control-group as its research design while engaging in-depth interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and participatory theatre to obtain data for analysis. The data collected was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively.