Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Media Revolution

Kudos to Citizen TV for kicking off a renaissance of Kenyan content on our TV screens. The other stations are paying attention and working hard to catch up! Several years ago, Carol & I ran a video production company and it was very difficult to sell local content to our TV stations then. They preferred cheap Hollywood (or Bollywood or Nollywood) re-runs.


The current situation is really a win-win-win though. We get (hopefully) more relevant TV programs, local production skills increase, more jobs are created in the sector, and TV stations can focus on their core business; transmission of programs and production of news shows.


Though we don’t watch much TV, we treat ourselves every week to my favorite program; Citizen’s ‘Mother In Law’ and Carol’s; NTV’s ‘Wash & Set’. We have also both enjoyed ‘Churchill Live’ another NTV show. Very glad to see Churchill, a Christian comedian, building a name across our country for clean comedy.


Media and the arts are such powerful tools. I believe the time has come for radical kingdom minded Christians to proactively engage them. As musicians, actors, dancers, DJ’s, writers, editors, graphic artists, event organizers, record label executives, TV producers, movie makers, media station owners etc. And not necessarily through ‘Christian media stations' or by producing ‘Christian programs’. But as undercover agents, in every media outlet, set quietly in place to win the battle for hearts and minds of our generation…


The current situation is a great opportunity for Christians to get in at the ground level and to set the agenda. Let’s produce creative & entertaining content that will promote healthy societal values.


And while I’m going on about media, two really great movies made by Christians that are ‘must watch’ (neither is local). One is ‘Faith Like Potatoes’ (www.faithlikepotatoes.com) shot in SA. And the other is ‘Amazing Grace’ (www.amazinggracemovie.com), about British MP Wilberforce, an amazing man who changed his generation.


Have a great week!

4 comments:

Jose said...

I love Papa Shirandula.I keep on flipping the remote because it lies on the same time with Churchil Live on NTV.

Unknown said...

Hi Pastor

I agree with you about the local TV revolution, which is moving steadily away from the Vioja Mahakamani and Vitimbi shows

however I have a little problem with the way they use alot of sheng', which creates viewers who think they know good Swahili, but in actual fact, know the corrupted one :). this is especially true for children who enjoy and can relate to programs like Tahidi High..

This has reached the point that we can no longer watch Swahili News because the language is too "hard" and we cannot understand what they are saying.. which brings the questions - what are we teaching our children? is it any wonder they keep failing in Swahili?

but, all in all, I think its a win-win situation.. people are now appreciating local talent, we now have new faces on the screens, there is production of local movies which are reaching the movie theatres...

Now, they should also learn about marketing and creating fanbases - going on roadshows, so that their DVDs and VCDs of the various seasons can be sold at reasonable prices for people to buy & collect.. just as we collect the whole 24, Prison Break,and other series...

Pst. M said...

Good stuff Shetland. You're clearly an entrepreneur! Hmm... I sometimes wonder ~ is sheng a corrupted version of Swahili or an advanced version of the same?

Barry said...

Hey Pastor M!

Thanks for commenting on my blog!

I've got a question I'd like to run past you, but your email address doesn't seem to be working. Do you think you could email me your correct one?

islaywombats@gmail.com

Thanks!