By Christabel Adomakokye
“The first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. to write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art”, this beautiful quote is attributed to Chuck Palahniuk, an American Novelist and Journalist.
I cannot agree more with Mr. Chuck Palahniuk because what he said is pure and profound.
In Ghana, however, the heart of the arts and culture is the audiovisual (AV) sector, especially the film industry.
Even though in Ghana, we do not have statistics to appraise the contribution of the local film industry, other jurisdictions such as Hollywood in the United States of America and Bollywood in India and even Nollywood in Nigeria have contributed so much to the development of their economies.
According to a data released by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in September, 2016, the film and TV industry supports 1.9 million jobs in the U.S. and generates $121 billion in wages, including $50 billion in wages for jobs directly related to the industry.
Those figures include nearly 305,000 jobs in the core business of producing, marketing, manufacturing and distributing motion pictures and television shows.
“These are high-quality jobs,” the MPAA said adding “with a heavily unionized workforce and an average salary of $92,000 – 79% higher than the average salary nationwide.
California leads the nation with 191,399 workers directly employed in the industry – of which 136,906 are production-related jobs. All together, they generated nearly $19.89 billion in wages.
New York is second with 89,920 direct jobs – including 53,630 production jobs – generating $10.42 billion in wages. Texas is third with 39,315 direct jobs, 9,914 production jobs and $1.77 billion in wages, followed by Florida with 28,990 direct jobs, 10,191 production jobs and $1.77 billion in wages.
Georgia is fifth with $25,708 direct jobs, 9,187 production jobs and, like Texas and Florida, $1.77 billion in wages – which indicates that the wages reported are estimates rather than exact numbers.
Regrettably, same cannot be said of the film industry in the country, as it appears major stakeholders in the sector have paid no heed to prop it up into existence to help reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
I prefer to limit my discussion to the film industry, because that is where I belong to, and as such have an impeccable insight into what pertains there.
If I consider what the film industry is doing in America, India, China, South Africa and even neighboring Nigeria, my heart bleeds with pain.
It is sad to state that in Ghana, the film Industry has been left on the shoulders of a few private individuals. It is my honest opinion that the government of Ghana’s inaction and silence is becoming too LOUD to be ignored.
It is an open secret that as a country, Ghana has a film bill before Parliament, but alas, it had not captured the lost film theaters and exhibition centers.
A film bill that is silent on the national asset like the film industry corporation premises that was leased to foreigners for ten years without any revenue deducted from the leasing money to support the industry.
Indeed, I cannot understand how a film bill can be written without a film production and marketing strategy and procedure.
The film marketers, who have really helped the industry, especially since the collapse of the cinema halls and theaters, have not even been recognized in the said bill.
While foreigners have taken over the industry; pirates are having a field’s day pirating our products with impunity.
They have been emboldened because they are powerful as against the genuine players of the industry who are like orphans, without governmental support.
Our television stations don’t care about local content. Foreign telenovelas have taken over the TV screens to the extent that they are being translated and shown in the Akan language. If this is not a sure way to kill the local film industry, then I don’t know what it is?
In my candid opinion, I don’t think this situation can be allowed in any country that is serious to help its local film industry to grow and prosper.
The only way to avoid a bleak future for the film industry is for the government of Ghana to retrace its steps back to where the first republic, under Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah left the film industry in 1966.
The state support and active participation is needed now, if not, I fear the tiny shoulders of the few individuals who are now carrying the industry and gradually losing their capitals will break down and smash the industry to its collapse in the near future.
Without professing to be a prophet of doom; I urge government and all stakeholders to come on board to help rejuvenate the industry, which has the capacity to employ over 50 percent of the teaming unemployed youth of this country.
The post DARK DAYS OF THE GHANA FILM INDUSTRY appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.
By Christabel Adomakokye “The first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. to write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art”, this beautiful quote is attributed to Chuck Palahniuk, an American Novelist and Journalist. I […]
The post DARK DAYS OF THE GHANA FILM INDUSTRY appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.
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