It used to be a common practice. In my formative stage as a kid, watching interesting movies scripted by religious farmers to win souls and damn certain practices considered bad in their religious books and philosophy of living life.
OSBC is one of my favorite television channels on weekdays because they never failed to air this type, especially on Sundays.
A white skin Jesus trampling a black skin devil in his shrine. It used to be exhilarating watching the grotesque-dressed witch in their ugly makeup burning at the mention of a certain name that is Above all other names.
I and many others were just kids, being exposed to entertaining indoctrination that will scar our mental processing skills and self-esteem in the future to come.
Media plays an important role in the cultural formation, perception of Self, and outlook in life. Used as a weapon, it can obscure and destroy, making a thoughtless zombie out of the masses.
You wonder if it’s been used as a weapon?
80% of what I know about my culture, its designs, and the workings of my people were through the entertainment arm of the media. And what does the media has to say about our culture? Barbaric, demonic, and absolute trash, but in an entertaining way that either makes you laugh into an unconscious cage of regression or subtle encouraging pat that makes you forget as in the case of a rat gnawing a person’s finger while it blows soothing air on the arm. How convenient is it that everything considered evil, bad, and regressive has a bearing on our culture by popular media presentation?
‘Legend of the seeker, Vikings, Merlin’ are a few of the many Western projections and acknowledgment of their cultural background amidst bad and entertaining evil but in a warm positive light that many after watching these movies either wish to be a witch or possess certain abilities they were taunted for in the movies.
Not saying that being a witch or wizard is good nor saying it is bad, just that there is something we missed, messed up, and imbibe into our definition and view of what they are or used to be which hinders our current perception of light and darkness.
There is not one culture without an iota of evil making up their practice and ways of life. It is relative for a logical mind to ask about the intention of someone that highlights the perceived evil side of a group culture while aggressively downplaying the positive sides of it.
There have been many narratives damning Africa and depicting them as scums on the face of the earth because of their practice that many regarded as barbaric and senseless.
Like human sacrificial rituals for a god and twins killing out of ignorance. Even though King Eyo Honesty II of the old Calabar canvass rigorously against the killings of twins in Calabar and human ritual killings, Mary Slessor was credited with abolishing it by popular media narratives; A distasteful affair If you were to ask me.
I wonder if we are educated or have just been led around by the idea of being educated, learned, and exposed by a standard that was created in the first instance to have us shackled to the idea of modern-day slavery going by the narration handled down on to us by people that claimed and profess humanity as a watchword while they slave and subject many to gross inhumane treatment all in the name of saving us from eternal damnation.
© Olaoye Sheu Ibrahim is a writer, a Journalist in training, and a practicing tailor.
He is currently undergoing his Higher National Diploma program at the Federal Polytechnic Offa.
@OlaoyeSheuibrahim3@gmail.com
