Big Brother Africa: How Multichoice/dstv Is Under-developing Africa -................

President Barack Obama recently decried the “change in culture” that has altered what he called the view of the American Dream. He took a swipe at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for being the poster boy and girl respectively of this damaging culture.

Relieving the good old days, he said “There was not that window into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Kids weren’t monitoring every day what Kim Kardashian was wearing, or where Kanye West was going on vacation”.

He could as well have been speaking for Nigerians, nay Africans. The African society is increasingly under assault as we make advances in modernity. This is fueled by the increasingly corrupt pop culture which is heavily influenced by the mass media. The pervasiveness of these collection of ideas can be seen all around as it permeates the everyday lives of the society. It has brought with it a certain superficiality, consumerism and sensationalism.

This can be seen in that decadent show that seems to have captured the imagination of not just the young but also the elderly. The exhibition of licentiousness going on in that house of shame called Big Brother Africa is more than a source of concern, it is the repudiation of morality and sanity in the name of modernity and it is being thumbed in our noses by Multichoice; an agency of western imperialism.

Reality television shows present unscripted situations, peopled by unprofessional actors, depending on the genre. But what does the Big brother genre of reality television want to impart to Africans?

The answer is perversion. The show has unleashed perversion at a level that will be very difficult to erase. It is damaging the scant morality we still subscribe to in a terribly debased world.

Big Brother was popularized by George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. But this is not the Big Brother he was talking about when he wrote that book. The term “Big Brother” was the lexicon for abuse of government power, particularly in respect to civil liberties, often specifically related to mass surveillance.

Every year, Multi Choice unleashes this vile content on the continent into millions of homes. But it must be seen for what it is; a slow destruction of societal values.

Reality television shows have a powerful hypnotic effect on viewers. But while reality television may seem like a harmless form of entertainment on the surface, the damage being done is so subtle but yet very powerful.

Why on earth will people be enticed to watch lewdness in the guise of education? What is the difference between this show and p0rnography? The vilest and the vainest are put on display in the guise of promoting Africa.