To air or not to air: Is film board going overboard?

What we watch controls social behaviour, some believe — from television shows and music videos to films. This has often led to attempts at regulating such content. GEORGE D. MWENDWA looks at whether the policing concerns on film, shows and music videos are valid.

A tough debate on which shows shouldn’t be on the airwaves and which ones should go on has been a bitter contention in the country. 

Such contradictory arguments bring out the scientific detective in most of us; do the conspiracies and intrigues in such shows influence the viewers’ beliefs or values and behaviour in the real world? If so, what kinds of beliefs or values and behaviour are influenced?

Many individuals and special-interest groups in the country have been for the idea that we should ban or restrict movies, television shows, music, and books they consider to be amoral.

Generally, entertainment elsewhere in the world has also received backlash whenever it crosses certain lines, where to some they are termed immoral while others just find them okay. But is this material really damaging to society?

What about the married, 40-year-old accountant who gets into his car and turns on explicit hip-hop music? Or the quiet, straight A student who never misses the 11am soap? Or the college student who can narrate “Game Of Thrones” frame by frame? Maybe, just maybe their behaviour is not dictated by the values expressed in their chosen entertainment.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE

Martha Wangari (not her real name), a single mum living in Imara Daima, expressed her concern on current shows on both television and radio.

Working in a hotel in the city has kept her out of the house for the most crucial hours in her two sons' lives, leaving them to learn and emulate from the entertainment celebrities they see on television with no one to guide them on what is right or wrong in what they are watching except for the house help — who dances along with the teenage audiences in the late night weekend shows as the children look on and join in.

However much these shows have age restriction, and parental guidance advised on them, most parents, like Martha, fear that they might not be home at all times to ensure that they restrict their children adequately.

A call made live on NTV’s "The Trend with Amina Abdi" to Dr Ezekiel Mutua, the CEO of the Kenya Film Classification Board, became a bitter exchange between him and Sauti Sol, following the release of their song "Melanin" that features Nigerian star Patoranking.

Despite being met with such love from people all over, it clearly didn’t rub Dr Mutua the right way and he strongly condemned ‘the moral decay’ in the video.

Sauti Sol argued that times have changed and there was nothing wrong with their content on our airwaves. They also added that it was up to parents to regulate what their children watch, claims that Dr Mutua dismissed insisting on adherence to the law while entertaining masses.

This was not the first time Sauti Sol had hit headlines for such reasons. Four years ago, their song "Nishike" was banned for exceeding the set laws of films in Kenya.

MORALITY

Before the celebrated band left the studio they raised a concern, which seemed to receive backing from Kenyans on Twitter, popularly known as KOT.

They expressed their dismay over international videos of the likes of Nicki Minaj which constantly play on our Kenyan stations uncensored by the same board.

They sought to understand whether it was sabotage of local content and art or just an innocent concern. Dr Mutua was, however, no longer on the line to answer to this burning question.

The example that most people in this time and age would relate to best would be the “Game Of Thrones” (GOT) bug that has bitten almost half of this generation.

Most of its scenes have sparked mixed reactions on social media internationally, some being termed as overboard and uncouth, while a parent who spoke anonymously said that today moral transgression automatically signifies high art.

Infanticide, incest, paedophilia, matricide, torture, rape, castration, cannibalism, mass murder, homosexuality — all are now commonly employed tropes meant to signify quality. It would be sad to our generation if they blindly emulate what they see on their screens.

In its first seasons, "Game of Thrones", with its literary pedigree, was unassailable: there was no level of degeneracy or debasement the audience wouldn’t stomach. This was the highest art that premium cable had to offer.

Then came two scenes that were not in the books: first, the rape of Sansa Stark, which caused thousands of fans, including a member of Congress, to erupt on Twitter.

“OK, I’m done with "Game of Thrones",” tweeted Senator Claire McCaskill, “Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable.”

“Game of Thrones: the show that made dragons, rape, and child prostitution fashionable,” wrote another.

Their biggest fear was if it was right for this to be fed to the public, and if it will promote moral decay or it is just entertainment.

Director Jeremy Podeswa, who directed the rape scene in GOT, said the show’s creators were responsive to the discussion, and there were a couple of things changed as a result.

Podeswa himself said that he found value in the audience challenging the “use of violence as a narrative tool, and the questionable nature of that”.

He however didn’t touch on the subject of its effect on the morality of the society and on everyone who gets to catch a glimpse of such scenes, a move that didn’t go very well with the female fans of GOT.

RULES ON CONTENT

A recent move by the Tanzanian Government left most people wondering whether it would be the right path for Kenya to take too.

Bongo star Diamond Platnumz and top song bird Nandy had some uncensored clips posted on social media, sending jitters among fans.

They were arrested later that evening and thereafter released with fines. Addressing the press after their release, they admitted that they had such huge following, not only in their country but also internationally, who might emulate their every move, meaning any misleading content on their sites could go a long way in tainting morality across the world.

The Tanzanian government has been strict on content the public creates and posts, a move that has been dismissed by some as deprivation of freedom.

Amara Suzanne, a city preacher and counsellor, believes that emphasising the dark side of humanity on television would destroy the ideals and values of the viewers, especially young adults, and that television shows should provide a positive, educational experience.

However, an opposing position from most entertainers holds that such comments are hyper reactive, that entertainment is entertainment and is not intended to be educational, and thus has no effect on viewers at all.

“Exposure to large amounts of specific content (such as violent, sexual) in television programs can influence a viewer’s beliefs or values and behaviour, in terms of perception bias desensitization, such that they feel it is no longer wrong, and finally imitation of that content, “ Amara adds.

Perhaps our greatest concerns should be what we, as individuals, allow ourselves to consume as entertainment both for us and people who look up to us. Like any art form, television and radio could be as much a reflection of the culture as a mover.