Thoughts on Big Brother Africa
Big Brother Africa draws huge audiences from across Africa, offering an unprecedented forum for continental voyeurism and conversation on countries, money and morality, cultural decency and pollution, pornography and popular culture, gender and class relations, racial and national stereotypes, globalization and African cosmopolitanism. The Middle East attempted its own version of Big Brother in 2004 […]
Big Brother Africa draws huge audiences from across Africa, offering an unprecedented forum for continental voyeurism and conversation on countries, money and morality, cultural decency and pollution, pornography and popular culture, gender and class relations, racial and national stereotypes, globalization and African cosmopolitanism.
The Middle East attempted its own version of Big Brother in 2004 with countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Somalia, Syria and Tunisia participating. But due to religious protests it did not air past week one.
But what is the concept of the Big Brother Africa? Put a group of people, twelve, fourteen and twenty five of them under one roof and see them in their natural state. Of course, for their activities to come to the open, the all-seeing eye of the Big Brother must be there to watch every detail of their lives. This way you see the deep texture of life: love, hate, betrayal, backbiting, outpouring of emotions and all kind of mannerisms that can be linked more to the bestial than to the human.
In the process, we watch as they form relationships, how they express themselves and each person’s individuality unfolds; their talents and weaknesses, the differences among them and how this in itself holds some lessons about human nature.
Undoubtedly, reality programmes like BBA are short cut to fame and fortune and many young men and women have gone ahead to achieve greater things, capitalising on the popularity garnered from such programmes. However, we cannot sacrifice African values, decorum and morality on the altar of fame. Surely, there are several dignified ways of winning prizes and fame.
Watching the programme however, one is supposed to learn some lessons of life: who are your friends and what do they do when you are not with them? What do they say about you? Or do you want to rephrase Shakespeare in Macbeth and say there is no art of seeing the mind’s construction on the face? In a way, Big Brother gives a comprehensive opportunity to study humanity!
No doubt many people watched it for its entertainment value but also specialists like sociologists, social anthropologists, psychologists, media practitioners, parents, politicians, etc took more than a passing interest in the happenings of the house and who would emerge winner. The last Big Brother Africa4 Revolution winner did emerge in a tense final moment on the 6th of December, 2009; and good enough, the winner is such a deserving, talented, humble and ‘swaggalicious’ Kevin Pam from Jos Nigeria who indeed was ‘Jostified’.
Big Brother Africa4 (also known as Big Brother Africa: The Revolution) was the fourth series of the Big Brother Africa reality television series produced by Endemol. The series began on September 6, 2009, and aired for 91 days, ending on December 6, 2009 on M-Net. Nigerian television star, IK Osakioduwa was the new host for the series. It was a show followed by millions across Anglophone Africa, making it one of the most viewed television programmes across the continent.
But a few questions keep needling: Was the show supposed to carry any moral lesson for our continent? Didn’t the winner have to reflect any values? Shouldn’t something edifying have come out at the end? I ask these questions not as a spoilsport but just as an “observer”. In sports, science, technology, music, literature, and other activities that showcase our continent, we have yardsticks in arriving at the (best) winner. Should BBA not have at least some criteria for voting? Values, after all do matter in reality shows. Even the Jerry Springer Show does not allow the explicit exposure of pudenda!
THE game is gone, the talk is finished and the service is unavailable. Since it is gone, we must all focus on its impact and the lessons learnt especially from the show that drove the hearts of millions, young and old, from all over the continent glued to their television sets for three months.
Not many see Big Brother Africa’s noble agenda of tearing down borders in bringing twenty five of Africa’s young people together and promoting an intercultural spirit of working together as exhibited in the weekly tasks housemates were given to kill the boredom that comes with living in a confined space. Instead, the excessive drinking [usually from generous rewards of alcohol after a task is won], swearing and sexual hedonism are getting some to ask if these are the 21st Century values African youngsters should espouse.
More importantly, a lot of people still think that BBA is a big mockery of African culture and tradition. Since the inmates are Africans, they should have been projecting the African cultural heritage.