In a tête-à-tête with a colleague entertainment journalist last weekend, we dissected on various issues which have bedevilled the Ghanaian Entertainment Industry. We talked extensively about movies and proliferation of awards here and there on the African continent.
I was particularly shocked when it came out that indeed all is not rosy in the make believe fraternity. Though we are in the third quarter of 2011, it appears that over 80 percent of movies produced this year inGhanaare either adopted or copied stories from mostly foreign productions.
Though this canker is unfortunate, it seems to have etched itself in the Ghana Movie Industry. This phenomenal of blindly copying has taken a new turn as most movie makers now sample three or more foreign movies and add them together to make them one complete Ghanaian movie. By so doing, scriptwriters’ jobs have been taken away from them. This has retarded the flow of creativity.
Sometimes I reminisce and miss the good old days when movies produced had no misgivings about them. Stories were told with so much maturity without anyone doubting the originality of the story. Several years ago, there weren’t any issues withAfricamovie makers plagiarising other people works. Even if there was any, I believed whoever the original storyteller was, was acknowledged.
However, new sets of film makers on the African continent are lazy. Bunch of lazy folks who disregard the need to be creative.
Let’s look at the new movie ‘Destiny’s Child’ which is on the editing bench. When GhanaCelebrities.Com revealed the movie titled ‘Destiny’s Child’ in a post, many tabloids as well as movie enthusiasts all over Africa slammed the production house for its lack of innovation in copying a brand which has already been established and known all over the world.
Whiles some questioned the choice of the title, others were of the opinion that, perhaps the storyline will be centred on the lifestyles of the former Destiny Child group members. Some members of the Destiny’s Child group broke away since they weren’t able to deal with the internal conflict that beleaguered the group which eventually led to the group’s split-off. Coincidentally, the plot of the movie appears to have certain resemblance with the group’s break up story.
Before they finally called it quit, the group were left with three members; Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Interestingly, the ‘Destiny’s Child’ movie is a story about three sisters; Chalyne [Helen Asante], Nana Akua [Nana Akua Addo] and Denise [Roselyn Ngissah] who loved music and began their musical career at young ages. They performed and danced at various venues inAccrato make a living.
They were signed on a record label after taking part in competition, though they didn’t win. Shortly, they were faced with several problems as to which of them; Nana Akua and Denise was the leader of the group. Just like the original Destiny’s Child, one member of the group moved away and was replaced by another member.
At this juncture, taking into consideration, the story of the group Destiny Child and the storyline of the movie, can we say it’s a clear case of brand thievery on the part of the Ghanaian movie maker; since the name; Destiny’s Child is an already established brand?
Though the American based R&B, Soul, Hip Hop and Pop group, Destiny’s Child might not be together as a group, I doubt if indeed, they are aware of a Ghanaian movie about them. Even if they are aware can they sue the Writer, Executive Producer as well as the production house responsible for the movie; Hau Of Kadewe Films?
If they couldn’t deal with their difference and allowed internal conflicts to break them apart, how will they come together to sue? Will they even waste their time on a poverty-stricken industry?
Indeed, brand thievery or plagiarism has been accepted and embraced in movie making on the African continent. It’s neitherGhananorNigeriathing; it’s a problem with Africans.
Africans like to plagiarist someone else work without giving credits. From where I’m standing, I don’t think it’s going to end anytime soon, if the original people don’t sue but then what is there inAfricato warrant such a move?
All the same, if you cannot tell your own story, I guess someone will tell it for you…GhanaCelebrities.Com in the weeks ahead will be interviewing the cast and crew of the upcoming Ghanaian movie ‘Destiny Child’ to look at the similarities if any and the distinctions between the story the movie tells and the Beyonce and co’s Destiny Child story.
We can’t wait to have the finished product to be able to look at it critically with our eagle eye. We heard it will be another African blockbuster though!
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