This morning, I watched a documentary about Thomas Sankara called Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man. Sankara was the President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. He was raised by a pious Catholic family. As a young man, he joined the military, where he rose through the ranks. In the early 80s, his best friend, Blaise Compaore, staged a coup and put Sankara in charge. After the revolution began to fail, Blaise staged another coup and had Sankara killed.
Sankara was, among other things, pro-women. He wanted to give every woman in Burkina Faso a job. During his regime, men began taking on some of the household duties. He also appointed women to top government roles. I did a little extra research, and found out that he even outlawed female circumcision. As a feminist, I couldn't help but like some of this stuff.
Although he wasn't a perfect leader, I like that he wasn't afraid to tell the truth, and fight those who were oppressing Africans. I feel like he is a great leader, the kind who I wish someone would do a biopic on. It seems like every time they cover an African leader, it's someone horrible. Sankara wasn't perfect either, but sometimes I wonder if the few biopics covering African leaders make Americans think that all African leadership is incompetent or evil.
The other thing that surprised me was how attractive I found Sankara. The pictures I found online of him don't quite do him justice. As I was watching the documentary, I was struck by what an attractive man he was. I don't usually think of political leaders as attractive (other than maybe Obama), but Sankara definitely was.
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Highlife
Today, in my African history class, we did something really cool: we learned about music. Specifically, we concentrated on Highlife music, which can still be found today in Ghana and other parts of West Africa.
Highlife music grew because of a growing population in West Africa's cities, where multiple rural music styles and Ghanaian dance music mixed with Western, European music. During the second World War, U.S. servicemen (mostly African American), brought jazz, which was also incorporated into this kind of music. Mostly, they're sung in the local lingua franca, the same language that is used for conducting business affairs. A lot of this music was popular in clubs, which were expensive to get into.
There are two types of early Highlife music. One is the "lower class" version, called Palm Wine music or Guitarband Highlife. It's main instrument in the guitar, and usually performed in smaller place. It's lyrics tend to be more political, which is why I would be interested in learning more about it. After Ghana gained independence in 1957, Highlife music went out of style, only to reemerge in the 1970s, and since then it's evolved and changed.
After hearing this in class, of course, I knew I needed to go look for this sort of thing. YouTube and Google and whatnot haven't yielded much, at least not based on the musicians and bands that I noted in class. I found some E.T.Mensah, who is suppose to be the ultimate Highlife musician, but the stuff I found online wasn't as good as to whatever it was that the teacher played in class.
Luckily, I found this, which is delightful, but it's unclear to me who created this or what the songs are.
Also, I found these songs online, and I'm liking these too.
In my search, I came across World Passport, a blog that posts podcasts of this and other non-Western music. I haven't listen to any of them yet, but I think I'm going to have to.
One of the connections my teacher mentioned was Latin Jazz. She said that a lot of African music went over with slaves to the Caribbean and influenced music there, then returned in its new form to Africa to influence Highlife. Somehow, that seems perfectly right. And, I have to say, the music did remind me a little of that sort of thing, and made me think of Watermelon Man, which I'm enamored of.
I'm in love with labels like Putumayo, if only because they make it easier for me to access music like this, which I think is really fascinating to learn about.My friend Owen told me that he once took a class on world music, and I have to say, that sounds like something I would like, even though I don't really know much about music in terms of theory. I just like music in a quantitative sense: when I hear something, I know if I like it or not.
Highlife music grew because of a growing population in West Africa's cities, where multiple rural music styles and Ghanaian dance music mixed with Western, European music. During the second World War, U.S. servicemen (mostly African American), brought jazz, which was also incorporated into this kind of music. Mostly, they're sung in the local lingua franca, the same language that is used for conducting business affairs. A lot of this music was popular in clubs, which were expensive to get into.
There are two types of early Highlife music. One is the "lower class" version, called Palm Wine music or Guitarband Highlife. It's main instrument in the guitar, and usually performed in smaller place. It's lyrics tend to be more political, which is why I would be interested in learning more about it. After Ghana gained independence in 1957, Highlife music went out of style, only to reemerge in the 1970s, and since then it's evolved and changed.
After hearing this in class, of course, I knew I needed to go look for this sort of thing. YouTube and Google and whatnot haven't yielded much, at least not based on the musicians and bands that I noted in class. I found some E.T.Mensah, who is suppose to be the ultimate Highlife musician, but the stuff I found online wasn't as good as to whatever it was that the teacher played in class.
Luckily, I found this, which is delightful, but it's unclear to me who created this or what the songs are.
Also, I found these songs online, and I'm liking these too.
In my search, I came across World Passport, a blog that posts podcasts of this and other non-Western music. I haven't listen to any of them yet, but I think I'm going to have to.
One of the connections my teacher mentioned was Latin Jazz. She said that a lot of African music went over with slaves to the Caribbean and influenced music there, then returned in its new form to Africa to influence Highlife. Somehow, that seems perfectly right. And, I have to say, the music did remind me a little of that sort of thing, and made me think of Watermelon Man, which I'm enamored of.
I'm in love with labels like Putumayo, if only because they make it easier for me to access music like this, which I think is really fascinating to learn about.My friend Owen told me that he once took a class on world music, and I have to say, that sounds like something I would like, even though I don't really know much about music in terms of theory. I just like music in a quantitative sense: when I hear something, I know if I like it or not.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sango Malo: The Village Teacher
So, in class today we finished Sango Malo: The Village Teacher. The movie, created in 1990 in Cameroon, centers around two teachers, Sango and Malo, in a rural area. Sango, an older man, is the headmaster of the school, and represents the old, traditional ways of teaching that derive from colonial times. Malo, a recent graduate, is the new teacher the school hires, and he represents new ideas that change the village.
The film depicts, among other things, the power structures within the village. There is only one general store, so that shopkeeper controls much of the economic activity of the village. The priest and Sango influence the social and political debates of the village. At the top of it all is the chief, who decides how much people are taxed, what land they have access to, etc.
Sometimes I even manage to disappoint myself with my Western-centric viewing of films. At one point, the film cut to a man hanging from a tree. My first thought was "Oh my gosh, lynchings happen even here?" It turns out he wasn't lynched by certain powers in the village but had killed himself, which isn't any better, but I suspect I was not the only one in class who saw this and thought of the terrible American tradition of lynching "uppity" African Americans. On some level, it's a good thing I know that history, and don't deny it or apologize for it. On another hand, I may have internalized the idea that Africans are lynched and can't possibly commit suicide.
What bothered me most about the film was the representation of women. There were only a few women shown in the entire movie, and, as in most American films, they were simply characters who revolved around the men, when they showed up at all. One woman was shown as simply being the chief's property: she massaged his feet and, it was implied, slept with him. Sango's wife is shown briefly, always doing chores. One young woman dreams of leaving the village, and thankfully, refuses the gross come ons of the shopkeeper. Ngo is perhaps the most problematic of all the female characters. She marries Malo, but does not get a dowry for her marriage. Her father becomes so embarrassed by this that he commits suicide. What annoyed me was that Ngo had to get married at all, since she finished training as a teacher. What I wanted her to do was to observe the events in the village, and then go to another village to teach a hybrid form of education, one based on both Sango's and Malo's ideas.
I often feel like there are so many great examples of African art created by men that espouse such wonderful ideas, but almost always forget women. Women are never allowed to simply be, they must always be connected to a man.
The last thing that irks me is that we're suppose to write a paper on African education for this class. Last night I sat down and wrote an outline, after considering what I think is most important for an education system. I thought back to a young man I had known in high school who had a learning disability that had made reading difficult. He got angry when the school decided to cut certain vocational training. Back then, I couldn't help but think how necessary that was, since he was probably going to get a job as a construction worker and would need classes like woodshop, where they always built homes in the class. At the same time, I myself was obviously college-bound, and I wanted to be educated in a way that prepared me for that. I've always believed the best education system is the one that allows for the most versatility and provides opportunities for all, not just a few. This was what my outline is about. Today, the teacher talked about that. Now I'm wondering if I should maybe rework my outline.
The film depicts, among other things, the power structures within the village. There is only one general store, so that shopkeeper controls much of the economic activity of the village. The priest and Sango influence the social and political debates of the village. At the top of it all is the chief, who decides how much people are taxed, what land they have access to, etc.
Sometimes I even manage to disappoint myself with my Western-centric viewing of films. At one point, the film cut to a man hanging from a tree. My first thought was "Oh my gosh, lynchings happen even here?" It turns out he wasn't lynched by certain powers in the village but had killed himself, which isn't any better, but I suspect I was not the only one in class who saw this and thought of the terrible American tradition of lynching "uppity" African Americans. On some level, it's a good thing I know that history, and don't deny it or apologize for it. On another hand, I may have internalized the idea that Africans are lynched and can't possibly commit suicide.
What bothered me most about the film was the representation of women. There were only a few women shown in the entire movie, and, as in most American films, they were simply characters who revolved around the men, when they showed up at all. One woman was shown as simply being the chief's property: she massaged his feet and, it was implied, slept with him. Sango's wife is shown briefly, always doing chores. One young woman dreams of leaving the village, and thankfully, refuses the gross come ons of the shopkeeper. Ngo is perhaps the most problematic of all the female characters. She marries Malo, but does not get a dowry for her marriage. Her father becomes so embarrassed by this that he commits suicide. What annoyed me was that Ngo had to get married at all, since she finished training as a teacher. What I wanted her to do was to observe the events in the village, and then go to another village to teach a hybrid form of education, one based on both Sango's and Malo's ideas.
I often feel like there are so many great examples of African art created by men that espouse such wonderful ideas, but almost always forget women. Women are never allowed to simply be, they must always be connected to a man.
The last thing that irks me is that we're suppose to write a paper on African education for this class. Last night I sat down and wrote an outline, after considering what I think is most important for an education system. I thought back to a young man I had known in high school who had a learning disability that had made reading difficult. He got angry when the school decided to cut certain vocational training. Back then, I couldn't help but think how necessary that was, since he was probably going to get a job as a construction worker and would need classes like woodshop, where they always built homes in the class. At the same time, I myself was obviously college-bound, and I wanted to be educated in a way that prepared me for that. I've always believed the best education system is the one that allows for the most versatility and provides opportunities for all, not just a few. This was what my outline is about. Today, the teacher talked about that. Now I'm wondering if I should maybe rework my outline.
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