Monday 21 March 2011

Vioja Mahakamani

Vioja Mahakamani is an entertainment program which runs on KBC on Wednesdays at 7:45Pm (prime time),when every viewer is still stuck to their screens.It focuses on interpreting the Kenyan civil and criminal law system. Vioja has been on air for the last three decades. The actors use different accents of well known vernaculars to maintain the comical grip. . It happening in a courtroom, every practice of a courtroom is clearly adhered to. There is a magistrate; there are secretaries and a clerk.
This is a kiswahili comedy set in a court whereby the lawbreakers are ignorant of the law and are put on their defense as justice has to be served.
As the name suggests, this program feature recurring characters placed in humorous situations for example Olexanda, Makokha, Tobias Lijodi, Ondiek Nyuka-Kwota and the magistrate. The characters perfectly fit into their shoes and this would be because they are veterans in the industry.
The Vioja Mahakamani programme is related to real-life situations and the judgements to the accused are also based on “Kenya Legal Law,". Vioja Mahakamani was introduced to educate the public on Kenya’s laws on various issues. The laws quoted in the programme are real and are applied in our law courts.
The target audience for this programme is purely the middle class living in urban areas and rural areas too.
The programme according to me is stereotypical, in that Olexanda is a Maasai who is so ignorant and would not mind grazing his animals in city centre. Ondiek is a Luo who has self pride and must tell the court that he has three wives one in Kileleshwa, another one in Karen and so on. This tells us how the Kenyan people view others stereotypically.
The camera angles used are the basic ones Close ups, mid shots and long shots because of the setting in the courtroom.
The producer of the programme has maintained his way of producing because basically nothing has changed since time immemorial.

Mary

Machachari

Macchari is a local program that airs on citizen TV on Saturday between 7:30 and 8:00 pm Since its start there have been questions of whether it is a children program or not. In one of the ways to try and make it a children program the producer uses children as the main characters. These include Govi, Baha, Almasi Stella and Joy.however there are older characters who are either parents teachers or friends of the characters.
  
   children programs use so much fantasy.They do not use real characters but have the options of animations and puppets.Even where there are real characters animations are included.This is not so in Machachari. At all times the characters are real doing real things and visiting real places. In this regard it is there questionable how childish it  is. There mode of presentation in such programs include use of songs poetry and other creative works of art.Machachari uses dialogue all the time and only use song when introducing the characters.In terms of language however the program become relevant to the children. They use slang and simple English which is popular to all school going kids.

  Thematically it adresses issues that are relevant to children and parents/adults. For examle the responsibility of parents to their children,relationships between the young especially when they are approaching the adolescent stage and their every day life. In one of the episodes for instance there was a parents day in the school where the kids go to.Stella's mother seemed like she wouldn't attend and every one was concerned of how stella would feel.Baha's mother kept reminding Cinderella Stella's mother that that was her responsibility and she has to cop with.

  In most cases advertisements that come in between programs can be used to determine the target audience of the program. At every break of this program they advertise Ribena
 ,Blue band ,washing soap and soft drinks.Alcohol ads on the other hand are avoided. This shows that the target audience are both adults and children. 7:30 pm is also a time where both parents and children are at home and probably watching TV.

It can therefore be argued that as much as it is popular with the kids entertaining and educating them it is also meant to teach parents more about their kids and how to manage them.


Ann

Monday 7 March 2011

A CASE STUDY OF MAKUTANO JUNCTION
by John Kyalo Makutano Junction is one of the many televion dramas that have flooded our Film Industry.This programme which aired on Citizen television every wednesday is a very nice one since it addreses most of the issues we find in our societies. In my study,I took a closer look at the episode on Wednesday the 26th of January 2011.In this episode the main teaching as provided by the NGO that sponsored the production of the programe was that, people could use gmail to chat with their friends and even air their opinions in radio stations as we see with the community radio.Victor Gatonye-the director of the programme- tries to bring out this message through a dramatic story which touches most of the aspects of society.He deals with son and step-father relationship where Joseph is rejected by his son,there is also the aspect of tribalism where Josiah gets a job in the water plant just because Joseph cant work with a person of another tribe and considering that he,Josiah is not a professional in that field.There is also the aspect of money whereby you find that money makes people stop thinking of their source.This comes out clearly when Anna is given money ,she just jumps up to hug Josiah despite the fact that she was not happy with the criteria used for Josiah to get the job.We also meet the women gossips in salons something that brings it to the people hence identifying with it.Irony as an aspect of drama has n ot been left behind since we find Mohammed first despising Ojiambo's water supply business but later meeting him in need of his services.I would like to comment it as a nice Kenyan productio n with a well packaged drama but a few aspects should be noted for example the community radio station looks too artificial,it looks more of a drama or theatre setting,a more real setting should be considered.

Churchil live

That Churchill is one of the funniest guys in Kenya is certainly not to be doubted. What with everyone that can access television tuning on to  his show giving quality competition to Papa shirandula. their tuning in does not go unrewarded. it is in this show that we laugh and get entertained but at the same time get an opportunity to reflect on those issues that make or break us appreciating our culture through comedy.

Thursday,s show was one of its kind.Imagine those kinds of celebrities in one show;Lenny Juma who has had the privilege of acting along Angelina Jolie,Regina Re ,Anthony Mwangi, Ainea who has been in about four Hollywood movies and the famous thanks to tausi, Ken Ambani.

Basically it was film night, main concern being the Kenyan film industry that does not do as well as expected. The celebrities however were for the view that it can do even lot better than the famous Nolly wood. The jokes make us laugh owing their advantage to the fact that they are based on current issues in the country. Eric Omondi's jokes based on difference between kenyan dance moves and the European makes us aware of our different cultures that define us. The joke about Gormahia that they should share resources- when a goal is scored on the left it should be scored subsequently on the right by the opposing team. If this had happened there wouldnt have been fighting that disrupted the game game between Gor and Poster Rangers. In a subtle and comic way the need to equally share resources to avoid wrangles in the country is addressed.

With all this success however this episode does not miss its low points. The end result looks like the program was rushed. the editing is done in such a way that they quickly cut into the next guest or speaker or activity before the first is complete.The guests do not get a chance to explain their views before the next question is thrown at them or the next guest is talked to. Its hard to believe the fact that  Lenny talked of acting with Angelina in Tom rider yet we didnt see even a clip of it. Now do you blame this on limited time or luck of preparation based on the assumption that we like Churchill live all the same. This can be improved by inviting just enough guests that can fit within the allocated time comfortably.   I also have a problem with Churchill's common phrase "we celebrate you", With all due respect to them how do we celebrate people people we hardly know of unless they come on such programes.
All the same it is a great programe ideal in breaking the monotony of terrible comedies we are often subjected to.

Ann

PAPA SHIRANDULA

Papa shirandula is a local series aired by citizen on Thursday at 7;40 Papa shirandula is among the local series that talk about the local common  life.

THEMES
Papa talk of various themes that  affect "our" own  life

1. RELATIONSHIPS
Talking of relationship the producer of papa has gone a mile in bringing out what realy hapen to the cheating couples,like in the last episode there was this part that papa was arguing with Willbroda on his extra marital affair and it kind of worked.

2.PROMISCUOUS
Papa has more than one wife and he does not tell Wilbroda.

3.EMPLOYMENT

There are two guys who try to bring the issue of unemployment that is Jalango and Otoyo while papa and the others talk of there working experience.

PRODUCTION
Papa is based on low budget that is in term of the working personnel the costuming the props and other paraphernalia that entails production.

PERFORMANCE 
Performance is not that in to professionalism , most of them try to be naturalist of which does not really work.

COSTUME 
The use of costume works for some characters  but for some  it doesn't , like the costume of Jalango and Otoyo they exaggerated and thus look like clowns.

LANGUAGE 
The use of Swahili language works for this local program  since it the common  language spoken by Kenyans.


                                                                            MWANGI.

Papa shirandula


Papa shirandula is a television serial that is aired on Citizen Television every Thursday. It is about papa whom to his wife is a company manager but we the audiences know better that he works as a day watchman. papa tries to keep this as his top secret to his wife Wilbroda.
The director of Papa Shirandula according to me interrogates lots of things in this programme. for example
  
Stereotypes
  • papa is a Luhya and in sour society stereotypically Luhyas are known to be watchmen that is why the director used papa as a watchman to bring it out perfectly. It is also said that Luhyas have high sexual vitality that is why a luhya who lives away from his wife will always marry a second one and thta is why papa has three wives one in town and two in the village.
  • Mama Nyagothie is papas' landlady, as usual the society believes that the best custodians of money in Kenya are the Kikuyus. the director brought it out well.
  • Wilbroda is a luo, and as it is known Luos always want the best things in life.We the audience know Papa as a watcman who lives in debts and paid peanuts, but when you check out his house, it is furnished thanks to his Luo wife.Though she is illiterate, she tries speaking English words that are not even there just to bring out the Luo in her. Stereotypically, personally i think Wilbroda is still sticking around Papa because she believes he is a manager and has money.
  Themes
The themes interrogated in this programme are those that its viewers can identify with. for example the theme of employer employee relationship, where Papa the watchman and Juma Andreson his boss are close in that Anderson confides in Papa.  Another theme is poverty where Jalang'o and Otoyo do not have jobs, they live in the slum where their makeshift house burns down and they have nowhere to go to except to Papa Shirandulas' who is their brother in-law. Family issues is another theme brought out here where Papa lies to his family that he is a company manager when he knows very well that he is a guard in a company, that is why they constantly fight because Papa is always broke. His wife believes he earns alot of money therefore she wants to live large. Amina the tea girl has family issues whereby her husband works in Dubai but does not support her that is why she is always complaining about her marriage. All themes interrogated in this programme are those that people can identify with and that is why this programme goes on air at 7:40 when eneryone is at home.

Costumes
The costumier of the programme tries to use costume to develop the storyin that each character is dressed to suit their character or to pass across message.
Papa Shirandula  : In the morning papa goes to work dressed in a suit and not just a monkey suit but a real suit and a tie, this proves to his "dumb" wife that he is a manager, but sincerely speaking which manager in this country goes to work riding a bicycle? this proves to the audience that Wilbroda is really ignorant and "dumb" On his way to work, Papa changes from his suit to his guard uniform, this passes  across a message that that is where he belongs in the society and not where his wife thinks. During family functions Papa dresses so expensively that at some point his village neighbours and friends propose to him to vie as a member of parliament, just because he dresses expensively. This tells us that our people in the grassroots vote for politicians not because of what they can do but because of who they are in the society-rich.
Wilbroda : According to me, she dresses so badly, but the costumier had reasons why they did so, to bring out her ignorance. According to her she has a manager for a husband but her dress code is pathetic. A managers' wife shops in malls and not such cheap clothes from gikomba. 
Mama Nyaguthie : She is the landlady but her costume/clothes do not match her character, maybe the costumier wanted to bring out the fact that when someone lives in Kawangware you don’t look too expensive than the rest of the dwellers. another reason could be a stereotype that Kikuyus are kind of mean to themselves even when they have they do not want to use.
Juma Anderson : he is Papa's boss  and the clothes we expect him to put on as the boss are exactly what he has, this is used to bring out his role as the manager.

Lighting
During production of the programme, lighting is used basically for illumination, and not to bring out meaning. They programe is basically shot using natural light because they are either in the house, in the office or outside. The director should think of shooting the programme at night, because we always watch "during the day" episodes, this will bring out the use of high key and low key lighting which will make them kind of creative and professional in their work.
Camera angles, movements and shots
The programme is basically story based and not technical because the camera movements used are the basic ones, pan and tilt. High and low angles are rarely used but point of view and eyelevel point of view. In the same programme, we rarely see the use of establishing shots, but the use of close ups, medium long shots and long shots are common. 

Failures of Papa Shirandula
  •  Lack of creativity in using camera angles and lighting to give meaning.
  •  Use of certain characters who exaggerate their roles for example Jalang’o and Otoyo

Strengths
  •  The programme interrogates issues happening in the society today.
  • It brings out the stereotypes experienced in our ethnic communities
  • It shows how people from different ethnic groups live together as brothers and how they help each other in times of need. 
 Mary

Sunday 6 March 2011

Papa Shirandula, a case study

Since the mid 2000s, a formidable amount of Kenyan television content has graced our television sets. This phenomenon can be said to have a been a little overdue but the gesture was and still is a welcome phenomenon on us the audience. But reason can still be due to the fact that the Kenyan government gazetted a policy for the amount of local content to be aired in Kenyan Television, the explanation for the surge of "local" content as they are synonymously referred to. For this reason we shall try to highlight a critique of one of these Kenyan productions; Papa Shirandula.


Papa Shirandula is a Kenyan based television production airing on Citizen Television Thursday nights at 7:40pm. It is a Citizen production maybe airing from the fact that it needs to satisfy the minimum amount of Kenyan content in Kenyan Television broadcasts. Papa Shirandula is one of those productions that can be referred to as a television drama and also qualifying as a series, which is it needs to air for a period not less that six months which it does.

The production
The production is a low budget affair in that not much of the much money is needed to incept and maintain the running of the programme. This factor is a satisfactory progress in the Kenyan television and film scene because, it ensures that money does not necessarily have to be the most determinant factor in a television production. Also, it can be assumed that since it is a low budget production, many of the technical personnel double up as many other things in the same production.

The Timing
The timing is superbly orchestrated. Papa Shirandula is set at a time when most families are either on the dinner table or are just about to. Because of this, it is perceived that numerous numbers of people are watching television or tuned in at just about this time, and hence they are able to reach out to the numbers.

The Themes and Language
Themes illustrated in Papa Shirandula are easily identifiable within the context of the typical struggling Kenyan family. The money factor is the dominant theme with it cutting across the other themes such as corruption, family disputes, relationships and even education. Such themes are what are making this programme popular with the average Kenyan audience.The language is common swahili which certainly over three quarters of the Kenyan Population are associated with.

The performance
The performers used in Papa Shirandula are not necessarily vastly experienced in performance. This is because high level actors and actresses would milk the production dry, and also because it gives a chance to aspiring performers who are given parts. So, Papa can be said to offer a chance to up coming performers in the television dramas.

The Misgivings
Papa Shirandula has its fair share of misgivings. The first notable is the artistry in the television drama in terms of film language. Maybe since it it a low budget production, the technical crew may not be extremely inclined into the art of film making, the reason the film content is flat. Only given shots are used and lack of timing hence making it sometimes boring to watch. Also, there is evidence of a badly written script or not a non existence one for that matter. It seems that the storyline is priory set, but the lines are conceived when the performers are on camera. This phenomenon sometimes is not the best since a performer might try to showcase his/her idea of the concept being highlighted in the drama, hence the performers may offer divergent views in relation to what the director may have had in mind. The costuming is also over-exaggerated by some of the characters such as Otoyo and Jalang'o.

But Papa is a clear case of an attempt of the Kenyan television and film industry to offer something which is uniquely Kenyan. If our Western film mentality is put down just a little bit, then in deed we shall look at our productions more differently. This is an introductory part, we shall start to look at papa episode by episode to see if it truly satisfies our western conventions of television drama. so what is your take on this matter?

                                                                                                                                 Pany