GreekChat.com Forums - Big Brother 5: Casting begins in February

Yes, Big Brother has even made it to Africa. I found this New York Times story on another listserv:

September 4, 2003

Reality TV Rivets Africa, to the Churches' Dismay
By MARC LACEY

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 31 — Nigerians howl at it. Botswanans scream at their screens. Ugandans watch it over cold Nile Beer, while some African politicians and clergy want the plug pulled on this continent-wide sensation.

It is "Big Brother Africa," the latest incarnation of the reality television show that started in Europe. An estimated 30 million Africans are watching, making it the most popular, and most controversial, show in Africa.

The show throws together strangers as housemates and then lets viewers watch their every move — and the sparks that fly. The African variety has plucked a dozen young professionals from countries all across this vast, diverse continent and moved them into a comfortable house in Johannesburg with an oversize Jacuzzi.

At the start of the show there was an amorous Ugandan law student. An argumentative Nigerian businessman. A saucy South African business consultant who flirted with a cocky Kenyan psychology student — and every other man in the house. The last one to survive 106 days in captivity wins $100,000.

Cameras catch their breakfast table belches, romantic liaisons and constant bickering and broadcast them to millions of homes and bars, and the contestants' interactions have become a Rorschach test of Africans' views of themselves.

"What is an African?" said Kole Omotoso, a Nigerian author who teaches drama at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and was hired as the show's cultural adviser. "This show is prompting Africans to debate that issue. It's also educating viewers on so many other different levels, even though it doesn't seem like educational television."

Not everyone is so sanguine.

Parliament in Malawi recently banned the show from its public station because of what lawmakers described as its corruptive nature. President Samuel Nujoma of Namibia ordered the government channel to broadcast educational programs, or anything other than a show he considers harmful to his countrymen.

Religious leaders have been vocal in denouncing "Big Brother Africa." They seem not a bit amused by all the kissing, and portions of "shower hour" during which the camera records the contestants scrubbing themselves, has been declared dangerously close to pornography.

In Uganda, where the show's followers — and detractors — are fanatical, the Rev. Timothy Sekyanzi of the Church of Jesus Christ has prayed publicly for the Ugandan housemate, Gaetano Kaggwa, 31, to be voted off. The minister said he wanted to spare children from watching him roll around under the covers with Abergail Plaatjes, 25, a vivacious, tattooed South African.

"We shall have saved them from being eaten up by immorality," Mr. Sekyanzi said.

But "Big Brother" defenders are many. Though it may be subtle, one theme they point to is democracy. The contestants are nominated for eviction by their housemates and then voted off by viewers on the Internet or by cellphone text messaging. The will of the people decides how the show unfolds.

During late-night discussions, some important topics arise. The housemates have discussed the problem of AIDS, even though viewers were left to wonder if Abby and Gae, the show's hottest couple, were using condoms.

Stereotypes are mentioned as is the racial mix of the house, which is mostly black but includes a white man and several people of mixed race. (ST's note -- haven't we discussed something like this? :p )

"Big Brother" fans say even the housemates' revelry may send an important message in this strife-torn continent. "The fact that 12 different people from so different backgrounds can live in the house together for so long should be a lesson," said Alex Holi, 21, the Kenyan housemate who was recently voted out. "Our leaders can learn from us."

That came from a man who slipped laxatives as a joke into the beef stew he prepared for his housemates. Big Brother, a voice that booms over speakers throughout the house, ordered him not to serve it.

Mr. Holi returned to Kenya as a celebrity. During a visit to an orphanage the other day, he found youngsters who knew of his every recent move, sometimes to his embarrassment.

"Some parts of it aren't right for children," said Mary Wanderi, who works at the Shelter Children's Home outside Nairobi. "We let them watch, but there are times when it gets uncomfortable. They all turn and look at me."

But Ms. Wanderi, thrilled to have a television star visiting, said she tries to use the show to teach right and wrong. "We teach them not to do everything they see on the screen," she said.

When housemates break the rules, they are sent to the "sin bin," a drab room where they are forced to perform chores. The housemates questioned Big Brother's authority at one point, amusing many viewers who have known authoritarianism all too well.

"I've watched it since Day 1," said Lupita Nyong'o, 20, a college student from Nairobi, as she ate lunch at a restaurant that keeps the show blaring nonstop. "They used to be total strangers. Now I feel like I'm part of their lives."

She and other die-hards can go on and on about the antics of the housemates. Shocking, isn't it, that Abby kissed Stefan, the white Namibian, and then let Bayo, the Nigerian, hold her bare breasts in the garden?

Ms. Nyong'o cried when Sammi, a Ghanaian radio disc jockey, was voted off. For her, he was the epitome of a gentleman. "We're all curious to see what other Africans are like," she said. "There are quiet ones, two-timers, all types."

From a business perspective, "Big Brother" has been a runaway success for M-Net and MultiChoice, which joined together in the early 1990's to offer satellite television in English across the continent.

Satellite dishes and cable subscriptions are up since the show began in late May, and cellphone usage is booming as well with text messages voting out contestants every week. A winner will be chosen on Sunday.

Only a tiny percentage of Africa's 900 million inhabitants — less than one in 20 — own television sets, but the reach of "Big Brother" is far greater than that. Viewers gather in bars, shopping malls or anywhere else the show is playing. Those without cable can catch 30 minutes of "Big Brother" highlights on local stations, which receive free daily summaries from M-Net.

"Big Brother" has made it clear that Africans want more television about themselves. Across the continent, shows like "Friends," "Jerry Springer" and "Beverly Hills 90210" dominate. In Kenya, Raphael Tuju, the information minister, recently gave all local stations until January to begin devoting at least 20 percent of their airtime to local shows.

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