It has been one year since I watched the movie “Mali: United by blood: Divided by greed” in the National Theatre. It is an East African soap opera produced by Alison Ngibuini, written by Damaris Irungu and delivered by Ali. The producers are Alison Ngibuini and Rio Alves. Mali
is a film based on an affluent and polygamous family. The father who is the head of the family is a misogynist and a dictator too. Greed for money, power, selfishness, success, love, and seduction makes the family involved in a conflict. The death of the patriarch, Mr G Mali escalates the rivalry between the two families because he did not leave his will behind. The family member’s spring is fighting for wealth ownership, deceit, and discovery of the family unrevealed secrets.
The characters one adopted when he or she was a child is what we refer to as restored behavior. It is “the training and practice, of learning appropriate culturally specific bits of behavior, of adjusting and performing one’s life roles concerning social and personal circumstances” (Schechter, 2002, p.28). According to Schechter, identity is one of the restored behaviors. Some of the performers are not malleable enough to play different roles because when they were children, they were accustomed to act in certain situations. We need to repudiate those restored behaviors because in acting one can be allocated any role. Admitting our personalities help in adjusting to any environment, we are exposed. Another restored behavior that Schechter talks about is performance. Most of the characters in a film do not reflect the reality. The actors try to justify some action to please and attract the audience. Some movie, for instance, contains too much fiction in them which is contrary to reality. The invention makes the audience to have illusions which are not practical in real life. Take for example in Mali, Usha is a spirit possessed woman and a troublemaker. Lulu Mali, on the other hand, wishes that Usha could be her mother. In a real life situation, no one would want to such kind of a parent to be in their lives.
Elements of a dramatic structure refer to as the formation of a film. In Mali, for instance, in Mali, Gregory Mali, the polygamous chauvinist, heads the family. He has two wives, Mabel, the first wife, and Usha, the second. Mabel is a religious while Usha, the troublemaker, is a wandering spirit. Usha has two sons, Richard and Arthur while Mabel has two daughters, Lulu and Nandi. A character is a personality in a film. All the family members in Mali have different personalities even though they share the same interest, that is, to own Mali’s wealth. The four children are friendly, and they are not interested in their parents entangles. Arthur loves Mabel; on the other hand, Lulu admires Usha to be her mother. A thought or a theme is the main idea in a story. In Mali, the film portrays the family as a theme. It depicts the unrevealed drama that happens in the families. Diction or a melody is a vocal expression in a movie. Lulu Mali in the Television program Mali is seen recording a track in a studio for a presentation.
A spectacle in a film is a presentation, a show a show or a performance. It can take different forms, like, music, poems, spoken word, motivational talks, preaching and mass education programs. In Mali, the Television program, Lulu Mali is an artist. She conducts several presentations for her songs. The kind of musical film increases the demand of the audience. An epic scale of spectacular representation unavailable in rival media products is one of the promises that have long been made by the would-be blockbuster. From the early 191Os, Italian epics such as The Fall of Troy. Cultural roots are customs belonging to a particular community. One of those forms of culture is polyandry. In Mali, Gregory is married to two wives as outlined in most African families. He is a wealthy and a harsh man. Polygamous marriages in African society were recognized by the wealth they owned. Today, some religions like Islamic endorses polygamy and even in some counties, the constitution authorizes it. Besides, the initial decision lies on the man; if he chooses to marry many wives, then he is good to go.
Most times, spectacle in a film is made to contribute to strengthening up the theme. The main message in the story might not relate to the show as it is taken as a minor section. Take for example, in Mali’s performance; Lulu’s show is no way equated to polygamy. It is just a small portion to pull and excite the audience. In short, spectacles in any film are made to entertain the audience. Events in a scene are memorable even though they scrutinize how media dominate society.
The targeted audience means the particular group of people to which the film is directed. These are people who are significantly affected by the issues in the play. In Mali, the targeted group is the polygamous marriage. In the film, Gregory has two wives, and this is actual evidence of a polygamous marriage. The film clearly shows how battles in most of these marriages unfold. Greed for money, power, and ownership are the most issues that bring wrangles in families.
When executing a film, actors can be allocated a different role to play. One can act as a house help, a mother or a neighbor. These personas require different personalities, and the actors are supposed to be adjustable enough to switch from one role to another in case of any adjustment. It only needs one to adapt and drop all their restored behaviors because they strongly affect the performance’s results. Adaption makes one have enough confidence when performing and this contributes to the success of the film or play. Besides, it is necessary for the roles in a movie to match the reality; to reflect what happens in our society and offer solutions. It is because what is presented in most plays is what everyone wishes to do and some people end up experimenting with the unrealities.
Most of the issues and characters portrayed in movies, films or even Television programs reflect what happens in our society. Aspects like polygamy and domestic violence are most common in relationships. Failure to find proper ways of solving them, our families will continue to experience more wrangles. Marriage being a threatening subject in the community can create pressing disputes when not addressed satisfactorily. It is because of love, greed for money and power considering every member of the family craves to gain something. The society needs to come up with appropriate measures of addressing the menace for people to live in a truce.
Works Cited
Burges. Zingaro gives a new meaning of the term, “Horse Opera.” Spectacle (winter, 1998); 31
Eugenio Barba. A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology.
Fried-Tanzer, Hannah, "The Modern Opinions Regarding Polygamy of Married Men and Women in Dakar" (2013). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1680. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/16ah Fried-Tanzer
King, Geoff (2000) Spectacular Narratives: Hollywood in the Age if the Blockbuster, London and New York: I. B. Tauris
Richard Schechter, R (2002) Performance Studies: An Introduction. London: Routledge.
Sandford, M.R (1995) Happenings and Other Acts, London: Routledge.
Tj Dawe. The theatre is mutating.
