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| One of Kumawood’s numerous action films titled “Made in Agege” |
Like every man wakes up at dawn to think and plan his life and that of his family, I am awake brooding over Ghana’s “Kumawood”.
Undoubtedly, it is the most thriving amongst the two (Glamour and Kumasi movies) considering the patronage of their compact discs as compared to the glamour movies.
Some reasons given for the high patronage of Kumawood movies is the fact that their story lines reflect the true fabric of Ghana’s culture and that moral lessons are drawn from them.
However, are Kumawood movies a true reflection of Ghana’s culture and do they really teach moral lessons as they have been touted to be doing?
The insults
Kumawood movies as they are called are always riddled with insults and use of abusive language by various actors and actresses. There could be a whole scene where actors are seen insulting and using vulgar words at each other. Does that mean that the culture of insults is part of Ghana’s fabric? Yes, I agree that sometimes those scenes are just for comic reliefs but the kind of insults these actors rain on each other leaves much to be desired of Kumawood movies. Funny enough, these movies are mostly loved by the younger generation who are imbibed with insults from these movies which are supposed to be telling the Ghanaian story to the world.
The use of weird animations
In recent times, most movies produced by Kumawood movie producers feature the use of weird animated creatures which are supposed to tell a story. When in Ghana did anyone come across a Gorilla? But no, these movie producers include these weird animated creatures to tell what story to the world? Funny enough, these animations are not also done professionally hence betraying them anytime they are being featured in the movies. When did gorillas and other wild animals start chasing Ghanaians?
Action movies
There has been a new trend in Kumawood movies, which is the introduction of action movies. I believe in dynamism but the underlying fact is, which aspect of our story as a country do we see such “actions”? These action movies just betray the ignorance in the system. Sounds of punches and kicks thrown in these action movies are heard even before the punch or the kick lands on the other person. This apart from betraying ignorance tells of the fact that enough research does not go into them.
In telling our stories, it is prudent that we take diverse things into consideration. Yes, the insults mostly create humour but is that the kind of society we will want to live in and the kind of picture we will want to paint about our culture? The answer is and will certainly be no.
We are in an era of animations and adopting new trends is not a bad thing but when it is done unprofessionally and goes on to tell an unexisting story, that becomes a grave issue. Yes, animations could be used but they should really tell our story and reflect our culture and not that of other people.
The action movies that have the sound of punches and kicks been heard before the land should stop. The soldiers in Ghana do not even face any combat so which story that tells?
