By the pen of Gitau Wa Kung'u.
Movies are dear to a large population, especially young people. However, different people have different tastes of movies. Some like comedy, others like romance movies, action, thriller movies, horror, adventure, sci-fiction, supernatural etc. Just like the other media, films/movies have the main content delivered through audio-visual technology.
They are produced to send a message: to criticize, to motivate, to demonize, to ridicule, to question the target members, social behaviour or morals and ethical perspectives in the society. They are just as entertaining as they are inspirational for different social groups and societies.
Now, every piece of art influences the social behaviour, trifles belief systems, perception of things, dressing code, language, morals etc in their audience. It's said what we see or hear influences how we think and behave to an extent. Thus, some are rated to be viewed by adults only. Those under this category have erotic, pornographic and violent content unsuitable for viewing by children. Yet the children can access them on YouTube or in those video rooms in the streets and villages. Now, how has violent content in movies influenced and affected the morality and behaviour of our young people? How can we correct this?
I remember those days when I was a young boy. I used to go to video shows to watch Jackie Chan, Rambo, Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo movies. In fact, most of my peers and I would refuse to give the church offerings to save for the movies later after church. Others would go to movies instead of congregating with the faithful. Now, every time I would get out of those movie places I would feel more courageous, strong and brave like Jackie Chan or Rambo. There was a time when mama whipped me mercilessly as she caught me destroying her banana trees in the name of practising karate and martial arts moves I had seen Bruce Lee or Van Damme use on the bad guy. Another time I rolled a newspaper cigarette to feel free and important like Dolph Lundgren. We used to make two groups and fight each other and if your group won, you were either treated with respect by the other or you bully them like the Black American ghetto gangs in American Hollywood movies did. Sometimes we went home with injuries and twisted limbs but the underground fights continued until one boy had his leg broken.
Early April this year, a nineteen years old young man shocked Kenyans when he surrendered to police with a basket containing the head of his grandmother. He had slaughtered his grandmother then surrendered just like, as he said, he had watched on an Indian movie! The character in the movie had killed his kin because he thought the kin a blockade to his success and peace of mind! What insanity! Astonishingly, our teenager was tested drug free. So the inspiration to kill his guardian and grandmother came from the movie he watched!
Now, some young people have killed the people cheating with their intimate partners on them because a main character in a movie did so. Others have gotten addicted to hard drugs because they wanted to copy their idol star character in a movie. Others have become alcoholic just because Jackie Chan was excellent fighter when drunk in the "Drunken Master" movie. It's funny still that youths have committed suicide just because they failed in their plans like the Yakuza mafia in the Japanese movies. Criminal gangs like Gaza have terrorised citizens, involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and making illegal boundaries of their operations that other gangs must keep off or die in similar manner to the "ku klax klan" or mafia in western movies.
Everybody has their problems and the "demons" they fight to live well. Unfortunately, many people are unable to counter and solve their problems and stress, depression catches up with them. Most of the depressed population harbour deep bitterness, even hatred towards the person or people whom they blame are part of the blockade to their success. Now, some cannot forgive others for wrongdoing them. Just because Rambo says, "God forgives but I don't!", before killing the bad guy in the movie, some young people have borrowed that only revenge or murder cancels out the wrongs if not correcting them and not forgiveness of the stronger.
Some influenced youths have borrowed from the popular Money Heist/Professor movie series to plot and carry out bank robberies like in the Chase bank robbery in 2019. Others have hacked government parastatals, school bank accounts, private companies bank accounts and successfully siphoned money, stolen or changed information on their central computer systems. Unfortunately, mistakes have always happened and they have been jailed or even killed in the line of duty.
Well, you see those guys who walk as if their shoes have balloon soles as their trousers sag and expose their inner wear to the world in the style of spoilt Black American youths yet our swaggering lads have never gone beyond even five hundred miles away from their place? What of the girls who wear stilleto heels to clubs and gotten their legs twisted and injured in the name of copying Angelina Jolie style? You must have heard your fellow Kenyan youth, especially ghetto lads mimicking the Black American language and foul slangs, haven't you?
Young people, it's true that what you watch might influence how you think, behave, make decisions and act subconsciously if not consciously even though you are just enjoying the entertainment. Take care of your freedom to information. Filter out films and movie series that inspire violence and inhumane, psychopath behaviour. Guard yourself accordingly.
Parents too must be stringent on the selection of films and movies their children watch and monitor their movements closely. You can only imagine what I could be now if mama tolerated mine going to those video shows only to come home feeling a bravado karate kid and destroying banana trees after smoking newspaper rolling then beating every boy or girl in my village and getting beaten and injured.
The government ought to regulate the kind of audio visual content in the film industry so that dangerous, violent movies don't reach our homes and movie show places.
✒️ Gitau Wa Kung'u.
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