Palavras-chave: Soft Power, Cinema, Neocolonialism, Diversity, Rhetorical Listening, Afrofuturism
By exploring the Western cinematic frames and political responses and representation of ‘less progressive,’ comparatively dissenting yet democratically and culturally backed policies and traditions proposed and enforced in African countries like Ghana, this article discusses the boundaries or lack thereof, of arguably neocolonialist narratives and ‘so power’ manifestations carried by many western countries into the smaller and economically less intimidating allies across the globe. The inquiry exposes inconsistencies in what counts for diverse and democratic actions based on how well they align with specific ideologies and perspectives that often seem representative of widely, yet not unanimously, accepted opinions in primarily Western countries. In what amounts to a neo/re-colonisation effort, ‘ally’ countries are threatened with economic sanctions for their resistance to duplicate what counts for di-verse actions in other cultural contexts- a blatant contradiction to the ideals of diversity. Western foreign policy initiatives and media coverage in and about comparatively smaller ally countries seemed geared toward encouraging a wider subscription to Western viewpoints with growing popularity, irrespective of how antithetical or defiant they might be of the cultures to which these messages are directed. In pursuit of broader conceptualizations of rhetorical listening and diversity that do not dismiss difference in favor of the homogeneity of perspectives, this inquiry draws on noons from Martin Heidegger’s ‘What are Poets for” and considers a case study from Ghana to explore widely unpopular and largely unconsidered viewpoints on the global stage about sexual ethics legislation. This article asserts that acknowledging and accepting different cultural logics and orientations is inherent to the pursuit of diversity, and allyship should not justify imposition of foreign values on communities that would rather live on their own. More importantly, it establishes the need to invest in Ghanaian and African content creation, storytelling and ‘poets’ by Heidegger’s definition to create what Chinua Achebe describes as a balance of stories on the global stage.
PT
Andrew Okai é Graduate Instructor of Record no Departamento de Inglês da Clemson University e estudante de doutorado na área de Retórica, Comunicação e Design de Informação (Ph.D.). Ele possui bacharelado em Ciência da Computação pela Universidade de Ciência e Tecnologia Kwame Nkrumah, Gana, e mestrado em Estratégia de Marca e Mídia pela East Tennessee State University. Sua formação profissional é em Tecnologia da Informação e Mídia e Comunicações, com experiência em administração de sistemas, produção de vídeos, marketing digital e estratégia de marca e storytelling. Andrew acredita firmemente na capacidade persuasiva do cinema para comunicar mensagens críticas e promover mudanças sociais tangíveis e explora formas de alavancar o cinema na promoção da cultura e das perspectivas africanas num cenário global. As suas atuais atividades e interesses de investigação incluem produção e retórica cinematográfica, narrativa de marcas, afrocentricidade, afrofuturismo, cinema africano, retórica digital e visual, estudos de media e teorias de comunicação mediática. O trabalho de Andrew traça os fundamentos da produção cinematográfica e de outras formas de narrativa visual na teoria retórica. Seu trabalho procura traduzir alguns de seus insights para a tela e observar diferenças nas respostas do público. Ao implementar seu conhecimento retórico e teórico do cinema na tela, Andrew dirigiu dois curtas-metragens oficialmente selecionados para festivais de cinema realizados nos Estados Unidos. Ele escreveu e dirigiu 'Crush.ed', que foi selecionado e ganhou um prêmio do público no East Tennessee Film Nights em 2022. Ele também escreveu e dirigiu 'From The White Walls', que ganhou uma seleção oficial para 2024' O Festival de Cinema Africano (TAFF).
EN
Andrew Okai is a Graduate Instructor of Record in the English Department at Clemson University and a doctoral student in the Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design Ph.D. program. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and an M.A. in Brand and Media Strategy from East Tennessee State University. His professional background is in Information Technology and Media and Communications, with experience in systems administration, video production, digital marketing, and brand strategy and storytelling. Andrew firmly believes in film's persuasive ability to communicate critical messaging and enact tangible social change and explores ways to leverage film in promoting African culture and perspectives on a global stage. His current pursuits and research interests include film production and rhetoric, brand storytelling, Afrocentricity, Afrofuturism, African cinema, digital and visual rhetoric, media studies, and media communication theories. Andrew’s work traces the foundations of film production and other forms of visual storytelling in rhetorical theory. It looks to translate some of his insights onto the screen and observe differences in audience responses. In implementing his rhetorical and theoretical knowledge of film on screen, Andrew has directed two short films officially selected for Film Festivals hosted in the United States. He wrote and directed ‘Crush.ed’, which was selected for and won an audience award at the East Tennessee Film Nights in 2022. He also wrote and directed ‘From The White Walls,’ which has earned an official selection to the 2024 ‘The African Film Festival (TAFF).