Back
in my days in the primary and Junior secondary school, I learnt that culture is
the way a group of people live, in that everything about them and everything
they do gets to speak for them. So the clothes people wear, the food they eat,
the language they speak, their music and dances all get to tell you the
particular group of people you are engaging.
Modernisation
has made it easier for cultures to travel from one place to the other. Due to modernisation,
people have been influenced by cultures of places they have never even visited
in their lifetime. The fact of the matter is that the image one portrays to the
outside world is what is perceived to be associated with the people of the
person’s land; well, sometimes these perceptions become erroneous.
In
our world today, Literature, fashion, music and films seem to be the most
sought after avenue for a nation to sell its culture to the outside world. It is
no secret that much as every country endeavours to associate itself with
sports, the ninety minutes or so activities that get to be displayed on the
pitches do little justice in portraying cultures. The arts however relay the
history, present and even sometimes the future of a group of people that is in
a way captivating and sometimes arouses debates.
Through
movies I can say I have learnt a lot about India, China, Korea, America,
Nigeria, and South Africa even though I’ve never been there before. And even
though I’m aware some of these information may not be that true, I’m also
convinced there is a fair portrayal of the cultures of these regions. Listening
to the music of South Africa, and the various American music genres have also
opened my mind to cultures of these regions.
Having
brought all these realisations to book, the question that baffles me is what
Ghana has done so far in selling our culture to the outside world? Just as
Angelique Kidjo, Manu Dibango, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Freddy Meiway, Yvonne
Chaka Chaka, Lucky Dube, Fela Kuti and others put their countries on the world
map, over the years, the likes of writers such as Efua T. Sutherland, Ayi Kwei
Armah, Ama Ata Aidoo, Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, Musicians such as Mac Tontoh, Pat
Thomas, Kojo Antwi, Amandzeba, Samini, Fuse ODG, designers such as Bee Arthur,
Ozwald Boateng, Kofi Ansah, and film makers such as Kwaw Ansah, Leila Djansi,
Shirley Frimpong-Manso have also managed to give a fair portrayal of Ghana to
the outside world.
This
however does not shadow the fact that most Ghanaian musicians and film makers
of late do little to portray the true Ghanaian in their works. Western rhythms infused
into our songs have taken a toll on that of Ghanaian origin. Most filmmakers
have also resorted to ‘stealing’ Hollywood and sometimes Bollywood stories, and
hardly make it Ghanaian. Ghanaian musicians have resorted to all sorts of western
genre of music and even sometimes the Nigerian style, and bring out music
videos that sometimes are not even recorded in Ghana and have nothing to offer
the Ghanaian.
Just
this week I heard the English songwriter and singer Ed Sheeran had released a
video to a song that seemed to have been given an Akan title 'Bibia Be Ye Yie' (to wit ' Everything will be Alright'). Out of curiosity,
I decided to check it out. And boy, was I not impressed? I mean right from the
music to the video, it was Ghanaian.
This was a work by a European for
Ghanaians. Till now, I still can’t find the right words to describe what I heard
and saw. The music itself is right on point with original Ghanaian rhythm, and
the video is one that really makes one proud to be Ghanaian. As it turns out Ed
Sheeran just happens to be a better sales man for Ghana than even most of our
so called homebred artistes. I just hope our artistes have watched and
listened, and have taken cue on how to make it Ghanaian and better.
