Sean Jacobs's Blog, page 472

5 New Films to Watch, N°26

Kicking off this week and running until the 26th of May, the fifth edition of Festival Cinéma Arabe will take place in The Netherlands (in the cities of Rotterdam, Den Haag, Maastricht, Den Bosch and Utrecht). With more than 30 feature films, documentaries and short films by international filmmakers with an Arab background, the festival presents an overview of contemporary film production from countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, but also Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, etc. The festival hopes to portray “the current developments in the Arab world” so there’s no way of getting around films and documentaries “clarify(ing) what the demonstrations and revolutions have meant for the people there and how the Arab Spring has brought about undeniable change”, as the programme has it. A second theme running through the festival’s schedule is the perception in the West about the Arab world, and vice versa. The festival has an impressive line-up. Below are some films set in North Africa — a selection of those we haven’t mentioned here on the blog before:

Dance of Outlaws is a documentary by Mohamed El-Aboudi about the Moroccan woman Hind (22) who is raped at the age of fifteen and cast out by her ashamed family because she has lost her value as a marriageable virgin. Without documents, which her family refuses to give her back, she has no rights, cannot get a legal job or even arrange an identity for her daughter. The only possibility to keep her head above water is to work as a traditional wedding dancer and in prostitution.

An sililar theme returns in Malak. In his new film Abdeslam Kelai tells the story of the 17-year old Malak who discovers she is pregnant. Although she knows better, she hopes the father of the child will marry her, but instead runs off. Fearing her family’s reaction, she decides to leave her native town Larache and settle in Tangiers.

Hidden Beauties is set in Tunisia, December 2010: Zaineb is a young woman, engaged to a French-Tunisian contractor, whose mother wants her to wear a veil. Her friend Aisha works in a bakery where her boss wants her to remove her veil “to make her look more attractive”. The two young women refuse to be dictated by the men in their surroundings. Each in their own way they fight for their individual freedom, while around them the rumbling and the tension of the revolution can be clearly felt. Director Nouri Bouzid filmed Hidden Beauties during the uprisings in Tunisia.

In It Was Better Tomorrow Hinde Boujemaa shows a post-revolutionary Tunisia through the eyes of a homeless single mother searching for a better life. The day after Ben Ali steps down, Aida Kaabi is evicted from her house as she is behind in her payments. The camera follows her, roaming through the streets, hunting for a job and a roof above her head for her and her children.

And Die Welt is the debut of Dutch-Tunisian director Alex Pitstra. We follow Abdallah, a DVD salesman from Tunis. After meeting the Dutch tourist Anna, he starts dreaming of a better life in Die Welt, as his father always calls Europe. Will he be able to make the crossing with her, or will he have to flee his country in another way? Does he even want to go? The film is based on Pitstra’s own observations in Tunisia, the land of his father, which he was unfamiliar with for the first 25 years of his life. The director will attend the screening of Die Welt on Saturday 11 May. On the 12th of May he will join the talk ‘Intercultural Cinema’.

All details of the festival here.

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Published on May 09, 2013 10:30

The Relationship between Visual and Text

While we seem to spend an enormous amount of virtual space at AIAC critiquing the ways that Africa and Africans are represented, we do so because we believe that it is possible to subvert expectations, to create images that shatter myths and ideology and that make people think about why they are surprised by particular representations. It is exciting, therefore, that the journal Cultural Anthropology has used ‘Corpus: Mining the Body’, a photographic essay of West African mine workers by Danny Hoffman to kick off a conversation about visual ethnography and the visual as story telling medium, all things we are into here at AIAC.

This photo essay of mineworkers on the Sierra Leone/Liberia Border is accompanied by a written essay, citing the meaning and purpose of the images and setting them in context. Its focus, Hoffman argues, is to evoke the power of the visual to do what text cannot and to show “the materiality of West African diamond mining as labor.” Much of this meaning though cannot be easily understood without Hoffman’s written reflections.

This relationship between visual and text, ethnography and photography is beautifully taken up in Zeynep Gürsel’s accompanying response essay. The photo essay’s story-telling power about labor and bodies is provocatively articulated in Hoffman’s and Gürsel’s, as well as Alan Klima’s reflections as part of Cultural Anthropology’s forum. I am more concerned with the story we see about West Africa than about laboring bodies. These photographs — individually or as a group — will inevitably circulate with or without the text and frequently be viewed without the accompanying essay being read.

What then can the photographs tell us about Sierra Leone and Liberian mineworkers or about mining in West Africa? The photos, though beautiful — or perhaps because they are so beautiful — juxtapose hard male black bodies (often partial and truncated) against soft, yielding, red/yellow soil in a way that makes me unable to think of anything but all those critiques of the exploitation of black masculinity in the interest of Euro-American conquest, sexual and otherwise, and of the feminization of Africa waiting to be penetrated by (now) an increasing and diverse number of saviors/visitors.

It is particularly surprising that the photos bear no context or framing without the written text. This produces the kind of flattening out of all of Africa and of all Africans so present in the many problematic tropes representing the continent; a flattening out that homogenizes and de-historizes African specificities and particularities. We know how incredibly difficult it is to create new images when expectations overwhelm most viewers/readers. I myself am clearly unable to see these images as other than troubling representations of black bodies. This is perhaps unfair, but I am looking for something in them that would shift my perspective, not just about embodied labor, but about African labor and African bodies.

I am always hopeful that just such shifting of perspective about images of Africans is possible. I have had with me now for more than 10 years a postcard from a photographic exhibit by Mimi Chakarova of a young black South African man holding a large silver pistol.

I first saw this black and white image soon after my brother was shot in a car high jacking in Johannesburg. The man is sitting on a high bar stool on dirt ground outside the kind of shack that, given the repetition of such images, effectively marks the place as South Africa, leaning back cradling the weapon in two hands and looking impassively at the photographer. The only menacing thing in the picture is the gun itself and one can easily imagine it being lifted and pointed and in a matter of milliseconds fired, because that is all it takes. Yet the separation of the person from the weapon is clear in this image. (A not inconsequential representation in light of current debates about gun control in the US.) This is a portrait of a South African man that is complex, situated and allows for the possibility of a conversation about why he might have that gun, what he has or will do with it. A conversation that has nothing to do with the ubiquitous image of black-man-with-gun required to illustrate any political event on the continent. In fact in some ways the gun becomes irrelevant in having to consider the role this young man might envisage for himself in the South Africa of the early 2000s, why he is OK with posing for the photographer, what he is saying to her as he looks directly into the camera. While I clearly had a personal response to this image, I believe that it an example of how a still photograph can be ethnographic in ways that I struggle to find in ‘Corpus: Mining the Body’.

Please join the conversations about images that change our perspectives here and/or at the Cultural Anthropology forum.

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Published on May 09, 2013 05:00

People in glass houses: South Africa’s news media and editorial independence

Late on Monday, the South African Mail & Guardian ran an online feature contrasting how local newspapers have been covering what’s become known as “Guptagate”, the unimaginative shorthand for the bi-national diplomatic and national security scandal unfolding around the Guptas, a wealthy South African family of Indian heritage, and their outsize influence over the country’s senior government officials, particularly Jacob Zuma, president of the country and the governing ANC. The purpose of the feature, one gathers from the nut graf and captions, is to illustrate that all but one newspaper—The New Age, a daily owned by members of the Gupta family—have been covering the story extensively from a week ago when it first broke. Such reviews of a peer’s coverage are an exceedingly rare practice in South African news media, and this instance particularly highlights the too-infrequently discussed issue of media ownership and its influence on commercial editorial decisions.

Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily

At the heart of the scandal is how the Gupta family, it would seem, used their connections at the Indian High Commission and their influence over South African government officials to obtain permission to land a plane full of over 200 wedding guests at an air force base on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Pretoria, last Monday, in breach of established diplomatic and national security procedures. The guests, skirting paying customs and excise duties, were then escorted by police (or cars decked out to look like police vehicles) to a faux-Vegas holiday resort, Sun City (yes, that resort), where some among them allegedly refused service from the resort’s black staff members and sexually harassed others. Amid the fall out, government ministers went hoarse, professing that they had no involvement whatsoever in any aspect of the whole arrangement. Yet some among them saw no conflict in attending the lavish wedding anyway. Atul Gupta, chairman of TNA Media (the company that owns The New Age), entered the fray when he expressed surprise at the fuss and said South Africa should be grateful for the investment the enterprising family brings to the country.

The bottom line here is: no matter your editorial values, the story was newsworthy. And despite the “Gupta fatigue” now setting in, the story will be newsworthy for some time to come as the inter-ministerial team set up to look into the matter is due to report in a few days.

But curiously, as the Mail & Guardian feature illustrated on Monday, The New Age initially ignored, then underreported (and possibly skewed the reporting of) the story.

This, of course, in its own right, is a mini scandal within a scandal.

It asks whether the editorial team of The New Age, led by veteran editor Moegsien Williams, has acted in accordance with the South African press code. Section 4.1 of the code, revised recently following heavy criticism of media practices in the country, states that “the press shall not allow commercial, political, personal or other non-professional considerations to influence or slant reporting. Conflicts of interest must be avoided, as well as arrangements or practices that could lead audiences to doubt the press’s independence and professionalism.”

From this it looks like a case can be made to say that the editorial team and journalists of The New Age allowed commercial, and likely personal and political, considerations influence how they reported on “Guptagate”. Williams has ways to reasonably defend this accusation, but how the paper went about covering the story certainly has been distinguishably anomalous.

A curious case of selective peer review?

Equally curious, though, is the rarity of reviews of a peer’s coverage like Mail & Guardian’s of The New Age’s “Guptagate” coverage—and that’s not because the news organizations seldom get it wrong. Before The New Age came along, these reviews were reserved mainly for the SABC, the public broadcaster picked on by other news organizations for cowing to political influence and being besieged by endless infighting.

There are obviously some exceptions, sort of. One occasion in recent history that comes to mind is when the Sunday paper, City Press, and Mail & Guardian awkwardly contradicted each other (and Mail & Guardian itself) over whether Zuma had, as his spokesman claimed, a mortgage on his Nkandla homestead. “Zuma has no bond,” the former ran as the Sunday lead. A few days later, the latter ran a story with the headline: “Zuma does have a bond – for R900,000”. A day later, FNB, the bank said to have given Zuma the mortgage, told Mail & Guardian that it couldn’t have because Zuma’s Nkandla homestead was built on communal land. Zuma’s spokesman, however, maintained that there was a bond, leaving the public thoroughly confused and likely misinformed.

But it wasn’t that Mail & Guardian took outright issue with City Press’s reporting of this aspect of a larger on-going story dubbed, surprise, surprise, “Nkandlagate”. One was building on the work of the other and they were both feeling their way mutually along a story that probably, with the benefit of hindsight, hit the pages a little undercooked.

And digital-only upstart Daily Maverick [disclosure: I used to work for Daily Maverick] has in the past taken on the weekly Sunday Times and the Daily Sun tabloid a few times for their reportage.

You could argue that peer review should be left to bodies appointed to fulfill this role formally, namely the Press Council and the SA National Editors’ Forum. Fair enough. You could argue, too, that the offences of the SABC and The New Age have been so exceptionally egregious that they warranted a deviation from the normal practice among peers. Certainly with the SABC you’d have a strong case to make in that respect.

His master’s voice, too

However, what drives other news organizations to look critically and frequently at the SABC and The New Age is the issue of undue outside influence affecting editorial decisions. At the SABC, that undue influence appears to be ANC politics and at The New Age it appears to be the interests of the Gupta family.

But are these other news organizations themselves free of such undue influence?

Let’s tally up the ownership numbers. As much as 90% of the country’s media titles are owned by four companies: Caxton, Independent Newspapers, Times Media Group (formerly Avusa) and Naspers through its subsidiary Media24. Recent transactions at two of these companies, Independent Newspapers and Times Media Group [disclosure: I have book deal pending with the a Times Media Group publishing house], have increased their local ownership, resolving a long-standing imbroglio over excessive foreign interests in the country’s print media.

In addition, these companies themselves are under the control of a handful of media barons, including Terry Moolman, the controlling shareholder of Caxton; Naspers chief executive Koos Bekker, “the Rupert Murdoch of South Africa”; and now Iqbal Survé, whose Sekunjalo Group recently signed an agreement to acquire Independent Newspapers. Times Media Group is slightly more diversified in terms of ownership.

The Mail & Guardian is owned by M&G Media, whose majority shareholder is Zimbabwean-born businessman Trevor Ncube. [Disclosure: I have an irregular blog on M&G's Thought Leader platform.]

This in itself is no smoking gun. But, as Rhodes University media professor Jane Duncan points out regularly, such a concentration of ownership of titles and media companies is often considered socially detrimental, “as it can lead to a reduction in the plurality of media outlets and diversity of opinion, the homogenization of media content, the prioritization of the views of an elite minority, and the dominance of commercial interests over the public interest; all these negative effects can result in a poorly informed public … Furthermore, if media owners do attempt to censor editorial content, then the risks of a misinformed public are profound,whereas the existence of a plurality of ownership mitigates this risk.”

Speak softly and carry a big stick

The New Age has been subject to scrutiny from its peers from the time it arrived on the scene in 2010, with the relationship between the newspaper’s main shareholders, the Gupta family, and Zuma forming the basis of the scrutiny. Each of the editors that have taken the helm at The New Age (Williams is the fourth in three years) have, feeling the scrutiny, declared publicly their commitment to editorial independence.

The paper itself has been mired in controversy over the massive amounts of funding government departments and public entities have steered its way in the form of advertising and sponsorships of the business breakfasts it holds, particularly when the paper’s readership numbers are unknown.

These are certainly questions worthy of being posed. But because of the modes by which power is wielded, brashly and ostentatiously when first attained then, as the holder matures, cloaked by gaining influence enough to divert scrutiny and get what you want more “softly”, little is being asked of effects of media concentration on the editorial decisions of the country’s other newspaper titles. If anything, some questions are beginning to be asked of the new kid on the block, Survé, and his intentions with Independent Newspapers.

“Survé was given the benefit of the doubt when he was announced as the leading candidate to buy the large newspaper group, but it is impossible to take a view on his purchase if we don’t know who is involved or how it is being funded,” Wits University journalism and media studies professor Anton Harber wrote on his blog.” [Disclosure: I have an ebook contract with Mampoer Shorts, which was founded by Harber and others.] “The purchase of one of the country’s biggest newspaper groups is of huge public interest, and cannot be done in such secrecy. Survé owes it to his staff, his readers and the general public to open up.”

Survé contacted Harber after the blog was posted to say that he was only able to release the details of the transaction after shareholder approval.

Writing on her blog, media commentator Gill Moodie said, “Many journalists are worried about his (Survé’s) close ties to the top leadership of the ANC. And, as this Business Report story told us today, there is no charter for editorial independence at Independent Newspapers.”

Moodie notes that as far as she is aware, no other big media house has such a charter for editorial independence. Instead, as with Independent Newspapers, editorial independence is written into contracts of the editors of each title, if at all.

If you’re not looking for it, you won’t find it

Moodie also points out that conflicts between management and editors have a long history in South Africa and it’s often left up to the individual editors, should they have the backbone, to push back—a difficult task when your job and livelihood are on the line in an industry controlled by so few owners.

This isn’t to say that editors always toe the company line, but the position is precarious and, in terms of editorial independence, untenable.

In 1999, for example, Financial Mail editor Peter Bruce, currently editor and publisher of sister publication Business Day, received a public reprimand from Cyril Ramaphosa, who is presently the ANC deputy president, for an editorial that endorsed former Transkei general Bantu Holomisa (for president) and his United Democratic Movement ahead of the national general election that year. At the time, however, Ramaphosa was chairman of Johnnic and Times Media Limited (now Times Media Limited), which owned half of Bruce’s employer, the Financial Mail.

Bruce stood his ground, but he recalls over a decade later how “unpleasant” it was taking such calls from Ramaphosa and has described the fall out from the endorsement as “the most harrowing two months of my professional life”.

And this Sunday, 12 May, marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of the art review in City Press (owned by Media24, a subsidiary of Bekker’s Naspers) that set the newspaper on a collision course with the ANC and its alliance partners, who demanded that the paper’s editor, Ferial Haffajee, remove the picture that accompanied the review from its website. That picture, naturally, was of ‘The Spear’, Brett Murray’s now-infamous painting that depicted president Jacob Zuma genitals exposed, and the ensuing brouhaha was in some circles called, you guessed it, “Speargate”.

Bruce, believing that Haffajee should have never put the picture up in the first place let alone declared defiantly in her column that “the spear of the nation stays up”, wrote, “With hindsight, as I am sure she will find, it was not worth it. You survive. Time passes. Nothing changes. The Holomisa thing will make it into my obituary, if anyone bothers to write one. The president’s penis will be in hers.”

“In my humble opinion, Bekker would be within his rights to ask his editor to remove the threat to the wider business, though it would do his image as an amiable publishing wizard little good.”

Bruce’s alarming comments barely raised an eyebrow among his peers, at least not publicly. And Haffajee did eventually remove the picture from the website, a decision she later admitted regretting.

So how does the pressure Bruce and Haffajee faced differ from that which Williams is presently under at The New Age amid “Guptagate”? And is it difficult to imagine that other non-professional considerations have affected other editorial decisions at newspapers in this country, contrary to the values of the press code and to the press’s stated goal of enabling citizens to make informed judgements on the issues of the day?

Not very and not difficult at all, are the answers.

Yet only the editorial independence of certain media houses, those ostensibly linked to political power, like the SABC, TNA Media and now, apparently, Independent Newspapers, come under peer scrutiny. This begs the question: how have editors and journalists at commercial media houses come to understand the definition of “the forces that shape society”, as described by the press code, which enjoins them to scrutinize such forces independently? It would seem that to them, private commercial interests that aren’t overtly tied to political interests are outside their purview, as deeply disturbing as that thought might be.

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Published on May 08, 2013 00:00

Grime artist Chronik and Noisey’s “Deepest Darkest” Africa

Guest Post by Jack Van Cooten

Those who have an interest in UK grime music may have stumbled across Chronik’s latest offering “Deepest Darkest”. The video, released via Noisey last week, was filmed in Ghana earlier this year and is staged in the fictional nation ‘The Democratic Republic of ‘Uduno’’, which is assumed to be the DRC, based on the map at the beginning of the video. Whilst VICE, who curate Noisey, aren’t exactly well-known for their diligent and impartial reporting style when it comes to foreign affairs, this seems to have taken them to new levels of sensationalism.

It features Chronik as a heavily armed rebel leader who is reported to be the “new face of terror in Africa” (by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1978; not sure who fact-checked that one). At one point, the camouflage-clad leader ominously claims

All those who do not comply to my rules and regulations will meet the full force of my entire army. We will go anywhere we have to go, and crush anyone we have to crush. We will destroy your livestock. We will destroy any means you have of survival. Slew dem, slew dem, slew dem.

Whilst grime is no stranger to hyperbolically violent videos and lyrics, this is perhaps the most extreme example that I can recollect. It explicitly glorifies African conflict and capitalizes on the fear and violence that it entails. Complete with the usual Heart of Darkness discourses, many of the scenes involve terrified villagers running away from Chronik and his gun-wielding soldiers. As if this wasn’t ridiculous enough, the rapper from Stratford also appears to have developed a bizarre affinity with a crocodile, which he sits on throughout the video as he spouts his dire lyrics.

Aside from the almost humorously ignorant visuals, the lyrics are nothing more than a series of consecutive menacing and aimless threats, devoid of substance, direction or flow.

I would like to think that Chronik is presenting some kind of clever critique of the way that the media represents Africans and African conflict as savage and barbaric, and that it’s just too clever a metaphor for me to understand. Yeah, it’s probably that.

* Jack Van Cooten is a Geography undergraduate at the University of Sheffield, keen traveler and music enthusiast. He runs the Banana Hill music events in Sheffield.

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Published on May 07, 2013 06:00

African Perspectives in Comics and Animation: The Agbaje Brothers

And now for something completely different: Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with John and Charles Agbaje, the two brothers behind The Elite Comics & Art Studio at Central City Tower. Their now concluded and wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of an 11-minute pilot episode of Spider Stories, the duo’s new ‘action cartoon set in a[n] African inspired fantasy world,’ has been the subject of growing buzz in a variety of internet circles. Through Spider Stories, the two Nigerian-American brothers hope to bring a unique African cultural perspective to the universal narratives found in cartoons, comics and animation – a world where such perspectives have been defined primarily in terms of their glaring absence. According to the synopsis provided on their Kickstarter page, the series tells the tale of Princess Zahara ‘who is thrown into hiding after the royal family is overthrown by a corrupt neighboring kingdom. While traveling with a misfit caravan of merchants she meets a wandering drummer griot who introduces her to the spirit world. Armed with a mystical staff, the fearless princess embarks on quest to reconnect with the spirits, reunite her homeland, and reclaim the throne.’ Influenced by both Nigerian folktales and modern animated fantasy epics such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem alike, Spider Stories promises to be a unique and interesting project worth following.

Prior to Spider Stories, John and Charles Agbaje honed their skills as artists and storytellers with their first graphic novel, Project Zero (available to read online here). An innovative take on a classic sci-fi narrative, Project Zero follows the story of a group of orphans who fell from the sky and discover that they have the ability to manipulate the world around them. Their special talents soon lead them to be recruited to fight in an ongoing war, but the orphans quickly realize that their powers are changing the world around them in more ways than one. If their first graphic novel is any indication, we are in for a treat with the eventual release Spider Stories.

And with that, let us jump right into our interview with John and Charles Agbaje, which will hopefully provide readers with a better sense of who the Agbaje brothers are and what to expect from Spider Stories…

First off, tell us a bit more about yourselves: your personal backgrounds/stories, where you grew up, do you have day jobs, how you got involved in the world of art and comics, your upbringing and connection to Nigeria, etc.

John: I’m John, the older brother and serve as primarily the visual director and business mind of the duo. Currently, I’m getting my MBA at Harvard, but I worked in the consulting world in DC and studied at Wharton undergrad as well.

Charles: My name is Charles. I do most of the writing and creative development. I’m getting a Master’s at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication after graduating from Northwestern University’s film program.

John: There isn’t a turning point that got us into animation and storytelling, it’s more that we never grew out of it. Our parents would also tell us folktales from Nigeria as children and many are likely how we got interested and that has been kept up through reading, watching movies, and trying our hands at the creative process.

Are you the children of Nigerian immigrants to the US (i.e. first generation Americans)? If so, what was this experience like for you and how has this experience of being an intermediary between two worlds, so to speak, affected your work and worldviews?

John: Yes, both of our parents moved to US from Nigeria in the 1970s. Growing up in America in an immigrant household certainly broadens your perspective on the world. You have a direct exposure to a culture that is different from many of your peers or the mainstream experience in terms of big things like values and tradition, as well as smaller nuances like food and music. It is a bit of a stretch to say that we are “intermediaries” between these two experiences, but we are certainly able to appreciate the differences more because of how we were raised.

This dovetails into our mission for Spider Stories. We’d like to share some of our “African” experience, that is so different from what you usually see depicted in the media, with the US and the rest of the world.

What were some of your favorite TV shows, cartoons, comics, movies, and video games growing up? What favorites have been added to this list since growing up?

John: Easily, my favorite movie is The Lion King. It was fun and exciting, but also one of the first films I saw that dealt with deeper themes of responsibility, guilt, and wasn’t afraid to go dark with a powerful message. Beyond that, the artwork was beautiful.

Charles: But probably the series that really kicked us off into this love for cartoons was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There was just something about it that was perfect for it’s time. It’s kind of a ridiculous concept, but its fun to watch, has great action and, especially with more recent iterations, deals a lot with themes of brotherhood and family.

John: That is really the trend as far as the content we enjoy: distinct visuals with some emotional depth. We could go on for days about our favorite films: Star Wars, The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and so on. In terms of television, what comes to mind are shows such as Batman: The Animated Series, Samurai Jack, Avatar: The Last Airbender and just about anything that made it’s way onto Toonami. As we’ve grown up, that trend has continued with shows such as LOST, The Legend of Korra, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Young Justice. Now we’ve also been impressed by the comic book movie movement in the past decade.

Charles: In terms of video games, just their ability to totally immerse an audience in another world that is so rich and sure of itself is amazing. Like the Mario, Zelda or Fire Emblem franchises.

John Agbaje, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” creator Bryan Konietzko, and Charles Ibidapo Agbaje

Explain your creative process – how you come to develop an idea and then the process of turning that idea into a story, series, character, comic, graphic novel, etc. Also, what’s it like working with your brother? Have the two of you two always worked as a team like this?

Charles: Yes we have. Ever since we were five years old or so, we would find these shows that we were big fans of. Instead of taking that excitement and doing fanart or fanfiction, we would use it as inspiration for original worlds. Over time, the two of us would challenge each other to really find what was special in our original work, push the characters, and take it somewhere new and removed from where we started.

John: This brainstorming process has refined our storytelling sensibilities now that we’re older. Something that happens as part of our lives can get woven into whatever story we are developing.

Charles: In terms of actual work, we tend to develop the broad story concept together, then I will write the scripts and outline key moments, while John does the illustration and character designs, playing to both of our strengths.

It seems clear that much of the impetus behind making something like Spider Stories is to be found in the fact that there are essentially no representations of Africa and African characters in the realm of comics, cartoons and animation (and those representations that do exist tend to be extremely problematic). Can you tell us a little bit more about your motivation behind making an African fantasy tale like Spider Stories? What problems do you see within the genre/world/realm that you are trying to make Spider Stories a part of? How do you see Spider Stories eventually addressing some of these problems? What are some of the major influences you drew on when developing this concept? What are some of the most important messages you are trying to convey through this project?

Charles: Spider Stories started as a school project when I was at Northwestern. I created a series of digital murals that were an adaptation of an existing Anansi the Spider story. As time went on, we realized that we could really develop it into something unique and special, and as of about this time last year, it has been our main focus.

John: Indeed. To date, much of the world’s perception of Africa is tainted by images of poverty, disease and corruption. Growing up in an African household in the US, my brother and I experienced a different side of the continent: one of culture, laughter, and meaningful lessons. We intend Spider Stories to present that side of the continent as it’s virtually absent from mainstream media.

Charles: Images in the media have meaningful impacts on identity and perception, especially when they send the same message over and over. I think there’s something about our characters that’s striking because they break that mold. It can really be a starting point for people to start to take a second look and expand their minds as to what’s possible.

John: Our goal is to add positive images for African and non-African children to identify with as they are forming judgments about the world. It definitely has the potential for generational impact, but right now we’re focused on just telling a great story. The hope is that down the road people will see Africa as just as nuanced and exciting as anywhere else in the world, and will be encouraged to learn more and engage however they can.

spider-stories Are there any sorts of Nigerian (or more generally, African) media that have inspired you in your own work (TV shows, movies, books, art, websites/web series, animation, etc)? Are there any examples of media being produced by other Africans (either on the continent or in the Diaspora) now or in the past that excites you? If so, can you tell us a little about one or two of these, what appeals to you about them, and how this may or may not influence your own work?

John: The most exciting media project coming out of the Nigeria for me right now is the film adaptation of Chimimanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun. From the novel we already know that the story is excellent and the production quality looks phenomenal as well. Films like this can really change people’s thoughts about what is possible in African media. These are universal human stories coming out of Africa. They are not “niche” or “targeted” and that is what excites me the most: that it is not just by Africans for Africans, but really by Africans for the world.

Can you give us some specific examples of how Spider Stories adapts certain Nigerian and West African folktales? You mention Anansi the Spider and the Tortoise briefly on your Kickstarter page, but do you think you can give us a bit more detail? How easy was it for you reconcile these influences with the other Western and Asian influences like Zelda and Avatar: the Last Airbender?

Charles: Spider Stories is a totally original fantasy story. That said we do take influences from history, folktales, mythology, modern media content and our own life experiences. At the core, the story is about the characters and the struggles they face. With that focus, reconciling everything else comes naturally. Wherever we find inspiration that can give the story some depth or style, we work it in and make it our own.

So specifically there is a character based off of Anansi as you mentioned, but here he’s represented as an Ancient Spirit that guides our heroes. Going forward, you’ll see characters that take qualities from all over. We’re doing research everywhere from Africana libraries to Netflix. We’re looking forward to playing with all these resources and creating something unique.

Finally, what do you think the future holds for you guys and Central City Tower?

Right now our focus is on developing Spider Stories to the best of our abilities. Our vision is to reach a wide audience whether through television or digital media. We hope to develop a suite of content that really resonates with people around the world and exposes them to new stories.

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Published on May 07, 2013 00:00

The case of Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu

Last Friday, May 3, was World Press Freedom Day. Perhaps you may have missed it? On one hand, the Press Freedom Day parades, or sales, are far and few between. On the other hand, even the press doesn’t seem to care much about its colleagues’ freedom and well-being. Take the case of Ethiopian journalist, Reeyot Alemu. On Friday, Alemu was awarded, in absentia, the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2013. Due to prior commitments and scheduling conflicts, Alemu couldn’t attend. Reeyot Alemu is a guest of the Ethiopian government, which convicted her, two years ago, of terrorism. The terrorism of writing, of critique, and of asking questions and seeking the truth: it’s the holy trinity of the barrel of the pen.

Alemu is an editor and columnist at Feteh, an independent weekly in Ethiopia, that was shut down by the government in 2012. Alemu reported critically on the fundraising methods used for a big dam project. Perhaps it was her scathing analysis, perhaps it was her comparison of Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi to Muammar Gaddafi, and perhaps it was none of these that landed her in jail. She was already a marked woman. Alemu knew this and kept on writing.

In June 2011 she was arrested. In January 2012, Alemu was sentenced to 14 years, and sent to the notorious Kaliti Prison, the ‘Robben Island’ of Ethiopia. Since then, Alemu has faced constant intimidation, threats of solitary confinement, and deteriorating health. In August 2012, two charges were dropped, and her sentence was ‘reduced’ to five years. The intimidation and threats continued, as did the deterioration of her health. In January 2013, her final appeal was denied.

In 2012, International Women’s Media Foundation gave Reeyot Alemu the Courage in Journalism Award. At the ceremony, via a smuggled, handwritten note, Alemu explained:

I believe that I must contribute something to bring a better future… I knew that I would pay the price for my courage and I was ready to accept that price. Because journalism is a profession that I am willing to devote myself to. I know for EPRDF, journalists must be only propaganda machines for the ruling party. But for me, journalists are the voices of the voiceless. That’s why I wrote many articles which reveal the truth of the oppressed ones.

In the award ceremony this Friday, Reeyot Alemu again asked, again via note: “Who will expose the unpleasant truths of those in power if not journalists?”

So, where have the journalists been in the case of Reeyot Alemu? Largely absent. Bloggers, such as Rosebell Kagumire, have written. Journalist advocacy organizations, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Africa-focused venues, most notably Pambazuka, have followed the case, off and on. Outside of the usual suspects, the mainstream press has been remarkably silent about one of their own. The Daily Beast had a moving piece; Women’s Wear Daily covered Alemu’s ‘fearlessness’ in the context of last year’s IWMF awards. The Guardian reprinted a piece from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and even that was a more general piece that only referenced Alemu in passing.

What is the threshold here for ‘news’? What exactly is all the news that’s fit to print, or read? Clearly international recognition counts for nothing. Clearly courage means nothing. And meanwhile Reeyot Alemu sits in the terrible conditions of Kaliti Prison, while the rest of the world, that trusts the news media to report on ‘far-off places’, goes on about its business, listening distractedly to “Freedom’s just another word…”

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Published on May 06, 2013 12:30

Is Italy Ready for an African-born Government Minister?

Two months after the recent elections, Italy has a new government. And Cécile Kyenge, 48 years old, an eye surgeon and Congo-born Italian citizen, is the new Minister for Integration in the cabinet of Prime Minister Enrico Letta. As spokesperson of the network “Primo marzo”, an advocacy movement for immigrants rights, Ms. Kyenge has led campaigns against racism and discrimination, and she is an expert on immigration policies. As the new minister appointed to facilitate the integration of second and third generations immigrants, the main focus of her work will be the approval of a citizenship bill to allow children born in Italy, regardless the nationality of their parents, to become Italian according to the principle of the ius soli.

The Washington Post referred to her designation as “a giant step forward for racial integration in a country that has long been ill at ease with its growing immigrant classes”.

But in the last week there have been several clues that Italy may not be ready for an African-born minister.

The first clue appeared last Sunday, during the official oath ceremony, when the general secretary to the presidency of the Italian Republic hesitated before calling the name of the new minister of integration: “what is the right pronunciation of Kyenge?”, he whispered to his assistant during the ceremony:

The second clue emerged the day after Prime Minister Enrico Letta announced the composition of his cabinet: how should journalists define the nationality of Kyenge? Is she Italian? Or Congolese? Is she African? Is it politically correct to call her “black” or would “coloured” be more appropriate? Most of the headlines on the national newspapers’ frontpages referred to Kyenge as “the first Italian coloured minister“, rejecting the word “black” as not politically correct. But the minister herself intervened in a press conference saying she’s “Italian-Congolese” and “proud to be black”, asking the press not to employ the term “coloured”.

The third clue comes from less unexpected sources: the designation of Cécile Kyenge as a minister didn’t quite get the appraisal of the extreme right movements.

ABC news writes that “Cécile Kyenge’s appointment as Italy’s first black Cabinet minister has instead exposed the nation’s ugly race problem, a blight that flares regularly on the soccer pitch with racist taunts and in the diatribes of xenophobic politicians — but has now raised its head at the center of political life”.

Public insults came from Mario Borghezio, a deputy of the European Parliament and member of the Lega Nord party, a movement claiming the supremacy of people born in Italy. Borghezio is well known for his shameless attitude of insulting foreigners with his words and his actions. Kyenge has been described by Borghezio as a potential danger because of her intentions to “impose tribal traditions” from her native Congo on Italy.” He also said this was a “bonga bonga government” while some far-right websites have referred to her with names such as “Congolese monkey” and other epithets. The insults were followed by a petition to dismiss Borghezio from the EU parliament which has reached over 70,000 signatures so far and, also reported by the Guardian, equal opportunities minister Josefa Idem has ordered an investigation by the National Anti-Discrimination Office.

I have asked Jean Claude Mbédé, a journalist living in Italy, exiled from Cameroon five years ago, and founder and editor of the website Afrikatialia.it, some comments about the expectations (second generation) immigrants have about the job of the new minister.

Mr Mbédé, you met the minister in person when she was spokesperson of the network Primo Marzo. Do you think she could work on integration and the citizen law in this government, which is still linked to Silvio Berlusconi’s coalition, with his “dauphin” Mr. Angelino Alfano as Interior Minister?

Jean Claude Mbédé: As a political refugee, I have been fascinated by Kyenge’s sense of the “common interest” and by her sensitivity, which I believe is due to her job as a doctor. Whenever I hear her speak, I do not feel a partisan position. For the new Minister for Integration, the “mixité” isn’t a vain word, neither a mistake of history against Italy. She never talks about “integration” as a matter concerning just immigrants, because to have a peaceful society we must build a society of mutual understanding, between Italians and foreigners. These convictions brought Kyenge to accept the assignment of the ministry as a pioneer in the Italian government.

About the presence of representatives of the Right party positions in the government, I don’t believe that issues related to citizenship would be fundamental for the maintenance of this government. If the government will fail it won’t be because of the citizenship bill. It seems to me that the members of Berlusconi’s party know the significance of this issue in the programmatic policy line of the (left-leaning) Democratic Party.

Concerning the insults Ms. Kyenge has received from both politicians and racist websites, do you think the institution she represents could weaken racist behaviour in Italy?

Mbédé: Cécile arrived in Italy in 1983, before Mario Balotelli began to be insulted near Bergamo. So, long before that — when being “Black” was almost weird. She studied and despite everything she graduated, got married, and she is Italian. According to me, she is perfectly aware of the reality. She wasn’t forced to join politics, she has her own vision, her ideas and, importantly, she knows how to fight a battle — that is the reason why she’s admired by Italians and foreigners. Her nomination is stronger and more symbolic than the insults. Those who insult have already lost. What happened today, we could expect it, but it allows Italy to “take the temperature of its own being”. In this nomination I see many good things. The first lesson is that there’s a better Italy who welcomed her very positively, especially President Napolitano. This nomination allowed Italy to enter the short list of “great nations”. There are so many advantages that will cloud those insults, which I believe are isolated.

If the government fails, the nomination of Cécile Kyenge as minister of integration will remain the most important historical fact. The prime minister Enrico Letta has entered into history. Future generations will recognize it.

Many Italian newspapers used titles as “the first coloured minister” when Ms. Kyenge was appointed as a minister of Letta’s cabinet. What do you believe the Italian press does wrong in relating to topics such as integration, immigration, etc?

Mbédé: The problem of Italy is the press — and I say this as a journalist. In Italy I’m usually invited as a guest on television programs just to tell my story as a poor immigrant escaped from my country. I’m a journalist and I would love to give my opinion on politics, football … but to deliver the news, media use an inappropriate vocabulary. Imagine if newspapers had just written “Here is the new Minister for Integration, Ms. Cécile Kyenge” as we did on Afrikitalia.it, without any other adjectives. Children don’t see the differences between black and white. Those who refuse the metissage live in the past. But we are in 2013.

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Published on May 06, 2013 03:21

Is Italy Ready for an African-born Minister?

Two months after the elections, Italy has a government. And Cécile Kyenge, 48 years old, an eye surgeon and Congo-born Italian citizen, is the new Minister for Integration in the cabinet of Prime Minister Enrico Letta. As spokesperson of the network “Primo marzo”, an advocacy movement for immigrants rights, Ms. Kyenge has led campaigns against racism and discrimination, and she is an expert on immigration policies. As the new minister appointed to facilitate the integration of second and third generations immigrants, the main focus of her work will be the approval of a citizenship bill to allow children born in Italy, regardless the nationality of their parents, to become Italian according to the principle of the ius soli.