GHANA'S AFFAIR WITH SUPERSTITION

In the mid 50s and 60s, there arose a development transformation theory that said that Africa’s underdevelopment was as a result of Africans being ; clannish, superstitious religiously oriented among other factors.

This theory stated that there was the need for Africans to move away from this factors to achieve modern development, pointing the media as a key accelerator of change to these ill- factors.

The modernisation theory, as it was referred to was engineered to find ways of developing Africa into a modern society like Europe.

It has been decades, since this proposal was made, but the question is ” Are we superstitious?, Are we Clannish? Are the media doing their work as this theory proposed?” If the answers are in the negative, then, “ Why are we here?”.

This article will concentrate on superstition, one of the factors the theory recognised as an impediment to Africa’s growth and its effect on the general public with a look at Ghana’s movie industry.

The Ghanaian society has been described by some senior citizens as polarised and more superstitious than ever. Some have placed these superstitious tendencies on the door steps of our Art industry and the media as promoters.

The movie industry in this case , which is said to be gaining its feet, is said to be the accelerators of this opportunistic method of manipulating the minds of Ghanaians, aided by an unconscious media.

Arts, especially movies, have been described as an industry, meant to tell stories of people, change mindset for development and shape culture in general but unfortunately much can not be said of the Ghanaian movie industry.

Our movie industry is full with stories on witchcraft, derailing of traditional religion and consciously or unconsciously Christianity centred while ironically, we live in a circular state. “This is not to say in anyway that I am against Christianity”.

Our movie industry, lack adequate creativity, because it is strange that upon all the great stories of men and women in our nation and the numerous scandals and history of this country , there is no single movie to retell, one of these stories to our young ones to shape their lives. A creative Producer would have made lot of millions with “ the cocaine saga” that hit the country, if the same saga had happened in the U.S.A

In Ghana today, the advent of some Nigerian film Producers, Directors and Script writers injected into our industry to savage the then dead industry, had not done much as to shaping and motivating young ones but rather sought to push an agenda ( consciously or unconsciously) of ‘superstition’ in the society. Stories on witchcraft, cultist, tragedy has become the order of the day.

Nowadays, some people look suspicious when they receive gifts or money from neighbours because of the kind of stories the industry is feeding them. Now, every unfortunate incident in our society is blamed on the suspicion and superstition of witchcraft and traditional priests.

Some of these stories on witchcraft, which at the climax of the story introduces a pastor, who literally cast demons and curses are indeed worrying and it seems there is no regulators in the movie industry to check this.

These type of movies which can not be described as “horror” have been condemned by some section of the Nigerian public, where it generated from, yet Ghanaians have no clue of it effect of undermining the social and cultural development of this country.

Comparing our industry to some American, Western and even South African movies, shows clear evidence of creativity deficiency in our industry.

There are several stories about great citizens of the U.S.A. in their movie industry that retells the story of these people to their young ones as well as the whole world like the movie “ The Pursuit of Happyness” which was a story of how a determine but financially broke young American worked his way to the top of the financial ladder of that country. This was able to motivate the young ones to aim and work hard for future success.

Some, have blamed the thread in our industry as a result of inadequate financial support, over clouded inadequate expertise in animation or imagery work and grounded creative technical support.

Yes! The movie industry can always blame their flaws on some of these impediments factors but the question is “ Is these the only type of fiction stories, script writers and directors can offer to Ghanaians?”

If, there is a body with the mandate of regulating our movies industry, then it is time they take a critical look at the developing epic episode which has a potential of infecting the psyche of this country.