Africa Film WebMeeting


Message from: Dan Henrich (african-cinema-conference@xc.org)
About: Re: Is the message corrupting the messenger

Fri, 5 Apr 1996 10:35:47 -0500


Originally from: DanHenrich@XC.Org (Dan Henrich)
Originally dated: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 10:35:47 -0500

In a message dated 96-04-04 10:53:49 EST, you write (about American films):

>Nobody makes serials
>about poverty, slums, ghettos etc.

This may not be true: Did you ever see an African-American sitcom comedy
with
the actor Redd Fox in it? It is probably 20 years old, though. It was set in
a junk yard where Fox was a very poor (and foul mouthed) man with his son. I
don't know how long it aired, but is was about poverty and the effects of
the
same. Also, there have been some inner-city sitcoms on related to the
African-American situation.

I have always felt that a sitcom for African distribution could be made
around specific locations that the common man visits. For example, in Egypt,
the 'ful' where the beans and tart cheese is sold each day; in Nairobi where
women from slums sell githeri & beans for a few shillings on the roadside;
in
India in the doorway of a tenement building, etc. Each of these could be
shot
in studio with an unchanging set. Using humor and the nitty gritty of poor
life could expose the viewers to a format well oriented to the 'edutainment'
format.

DanHenrich@xc.org



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