Ghanaian films are diluting our culture – NAFTI lecturer

A lecturer at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), says modern-day movies are diluting our culture.

Jim Awindor expressed worry that current filmmakers producing movies do so without consideration for the cultural values of Ghana.

According to him, being a nation made up of different cultural frameworks makes this problematic because it means filmmakers have to make conscious efforts to do mindful of what they represent.

“Most of them do not do the films justice because their mindset is on commercialization,” the lecturer noted in an interview with Hitz @ 1.

Jim shares that many negative impacts of films on our culture go unnoticed due to their comedic nature.

A current shift in the perception of the Twi language is an example he cites. Mr Awindor has noticed that many local dialect films have resulted in an opinion of Twi as a “language of insult.”

“Any film that you see, there are lots of insults. Lots of disrespect to women, to elderly people and all that,” he said.

He reiterated that being conscious of how films influence our opinions is a crucial step in avoiding misrepresentations of our cultures and values.

Veteran actress, producer and director, Juliet Asante also commenting on the issue asserts that films do impact our culture, but we have to look at whether the impact is negative or positive.

The actress shared that her concern is not if we are influenced by local or foreign films, but rather how this happens.

“It should be a conscious activity,” she said.

She warns that Ghanaians should be aware of these influences and make sure that no one is being taken advantage of.

Juliet Asante was of the view that once we are aware of how films affect our culture, we can decide how to move forward.

One suggestion provided by Asante is that the impact of the local film industry on sub-region should be examined.

“That’s where I think that, as a country, we are slacking. We need to look at how we can strengthen the industry so that we can have the impact we want,” she said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Selali Ayitey-Wallace