MAKUTANO JUNCTION- PROGRAMME CRITIQUE BY CHRISTINE KASIVA
This critique is of a show that i highly value because of its in-depth teachings that it has.(I could not do a critique of each episode hence i decided to generalize all of the shows i watched.) It had been off-air for a while but now it is back. The setting is in a fictitious village called Makutano, this is a village where real things truly happen.
Duration
This program rules the airwaves from 7.35p.m to 8.05p.m on Saturdays on Citizen TV.
Target Audience
This soap drama series targets rural and peri-urban audiences.This is because their themes revolve around what people in the community deal with.For example greed,love-hate relationships,gossip,broken marriages,sex in teenagers and teaches people to be responsible good citizens.Their themes are brought out well in that it does not compromise the plot and the premise.
Main Character
In my opinion it was hard to know the main character even the protagonist and antagonist. This is because of the many support characters whom some of them overpower the main characters. Though the main characters are Red and Pipi. Red is a daughter of the local headmistress amd Pipi is in love with her.
Dialogue and Characterization.
The screenwriter of this series brought out the dialogue perfectly it is not like staccato or dry or plain. It has humor and replaces dialogue with actions where need be.To go hand in habd with the dialogue, the director chose people who could fit as the dialogue is. People who immediately got in to character and bring out the dialogue as expected. Though some of the actors sound as if they are reading from a acript while dialogue should be natural all the time.
Camera shots and movements.
The director did a good job on the shots. The close-ups are there to show the emotions of a person or their reaction to something. The panning of the camera is there to show emphasis and the establishing shots to show the setting of the place. Basically, the camera shots and movements are used well in this programme.
Conclusion
In my opinion i would rate the screenwriter a 9/10 because of the 4p's being clearly brought out except for the protagonistand. The themes are good for teaching,educating and as well as entertaining the audience.
Christine Kasiva 07-1546
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
mother in law
MOTHER IN-LAW
Saturday, May 22, 2010
mother in-law
MOTHER IN-LAW
I choose to critique The Kenyan soap/Drama entitled Mother in-law since it is of great interest to me and it displays what a typical family with the presence of a mother in-law could be like.
Background
This program is set in a Kenyan city or estate where a mother in-law resides with her sons and their wives.
It potrays the interferes of families by their mothers in law when they live together.
Duration of Airing
This program airs on CITIZEN TV on Sundays from 7:35pm to 8:15 pm immediately after the 7 o'clock news.
Target Audience
This soap targets the parents who have the habit of interfering with their children's marrital affairs and manipulating everyone who is brought in that family espessially the wives of their sons.
Main Characters
The main character is the mother in-law named Charity who takes an important role in the drama since all things evolve around her character and arguments with her daugthers in law.
Her husband Mwamba is cool and collected throughout and only talks when necessary and he cools things down when Charity has heated them up.
Alison is Charity's daughter in-law and she almost always disagrees with her mother in-law therefore causing chaos in the family.
Though we have other secondary and supportind characters like Swapo, Mustapha,Ras and Alison's two three sons we find that almost all the time things start with Alison and Charity.
The plot of these Drama flows well in that the premise is well maintained throughout the soap and it is used to achieve unity in families.
The flow is developed by the rising actions of the mother in-law(Charity) causing drama with the other family members who live with her in the same houise. She develops some problems when she pretends to be old enough and strong to have a say in her son's families since she is their mother forgetting that this people have their lifes to live.
She always has a hard time trying to sell her ideas to Mwamba who seems tgo be reasonable and not manipulative because he always fights for peace and what is right. This shows that the premise is well linked to the dramatic problem in order to acheive the desired outcome which according to me the writer has acheived because it warns mothers in-law who always want to rule their son's families even when they are away.
The opening of the soap is in a modern house in the city where Charity,Alison,Mwamba and their sons and their families are living. This potrays a modern family in our todays life which the sons have settled but their mothers still think that they can manipulate them in ruling their families.
Dialogue and Characterisation
The characterisation in this soap is well done since each character's personality is well displayed in their dialogue. These characters have dialogue that steers their personality and shows the theme of the drama.
The dialogue matches with each of the characters since in a normal typical Kenyan family, mothers in-law are always interefering with their son's marriages even when they are aware that that is a different home. Charity really brings out the character of a troublesome mother in law.
Camera shots and movements
The drama has made good use of camera shots to help the audience understand what is going on in the play. for example when they want to bring out the thought of one person,the close up shot has been used and when the whole family is present alot of wide and long shots have been used.
When creating a setting outside the house, long and establishing shots have been utilised thus giving us the feeling of trasition from a scene to the next.When characters are in debate and people like mustapha are busy in the kitchen moving from here to there, the following right and left has been used well to acheive the reality. The effects that have been used to bring believability in the drama have been well crafted and used.
To bring more touch to the locations, lighting has been well done to make transitions from a well or bright environment to a dull one. Also some dim lighting has been done to bring about a dull feeling in the drama.
In general this soap is a good production since the flow is well dedveloped by the characters and their dialogue in the rising of the complications in the drama.The picture of nosy mothers in-law have been brfought out in a dramatic way and it serves as a warning to them not to interefere with their children's marfital affairs as it will only cause disunity.
CALEB 08-0038
Posted by caleb at 7:52 AM 0 comments
Labels: mother inlaw, victor
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Saturday, May 22, 2010
mother in-law
MOTHER IN-LAW
I choose to critique The Kenyan soap/Drama entitled Mother in-law since it is of great interest to me and it displays what a typical family with the presence of a mother in-law could be like.
Background
This program is set in a Kenyan city or estate where a mother in-law resides with her sons and their wives.
It potrays the interferes of families by their mothers in law when they live together.
Duration of Airing
This program airs on CITIZEN TV on Sundays from 7:35pm to 8:15 pm immediately after the 7 o'clock news.
Target Audience
This soap targets the parents who have the habit of interfering with their children's marrital affairs and manipulating everyone who is brought in that family espessially the wives of their sons.
Main Characters
The main character is the mother in-law named Charity who takes an important role in the drama since all things evolve around her character and arguments with her daugthers in law.
Her husband Mwamba is cool and collected throughout and only talks when necessary and he cools things down when Charity has heated them up.
Alison is Charity's daughter in-law and she almost always disagrees with her mother in-law therefore causing chaos in the family.
Though we have other secondary and supportind characters like Swapo, Mustapha,Ras and Alison's two three sons we find that almost all the time things start with Alison and Charity.
The plot of these Drama flows well in that the premise is well maintained throughout the soap and it is used to achieve unity in families.
The flow is developed by the rising actions of the mother in-law(Charity) causing drama with the other family members who live with her in the same houise. She develops some problems when she pretends to be old enough and strong to have a say in her son's families since she is their mother forgetting that this people have their lifes to live.
She always has a hard time trying to sell her ideas to Mwamba who seems tgo be reasonable and not manipulative because he always fights for peace and what is right. This shows that the premise is well linked to the dramatic problem in order to acheive the desired outcome which according to me the writer has acheived because it warns mothers in-law who always want to rule their son's families even when they are away.
The opening of the soap is in a modern house in the city where Charity,Alison,Mwamba and their sons and their families are living. This potrays a modern family in our todays life which the sons have settled but their mothers still think that they can manipulate them in ruling their families.
Dialogue and Characterisation
The characterisation in this soap is well done since each character's personality is well displayed in their dialogue. These characters have dialogue that steers their personality and shows the theme of the drama.
The dialogue matches with each of the characters since in a normal typical Kenyan family, mothers in-law are always interefering with their son's marriages even when they are aware that that is a different home. Charity really brings out the character of a troublesome mother in law.
Camera shots and movements
The drama has made good use of camera shots to help the audience understand what is going on in the play. for example when they want to bring out the thought of one person,the close up shot has been used and when the whole family is present alot of wide and long shots have been used.
When creating a setting outside the house, long and establishing shots have been utilised thus giving us the feeling of trasition from a scene to the next.When characters are in debate and people like mustapha are busy in the kitchen moving from here to there, the following right and left has been used well to acheive the reality. The effects that have been used to bring believability in the drama have been well crafted and used.
To bring more touch to the locations, lighting has been well done to make transitions from a well or bright environment to a dull one. Also some dim lighting has been done to bring about a dull feeling in the drama.
In general this soap is a good production since the flow is well dedveloped by the characters and their dialogue in the rising of the complications in the drama.The picture of nosy mothers in-law have been brfought out in a dramatic way and it serves as a warning to them not to interefere with their children's marfital affairs as it will only cause disunity.
CALEB 08-0038
Posted by caleb at 7:52 AM 0 comments
Labels: mother inlaw, victor
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Mashirima's Tahidi High Crtique
Tahidi high- Episode 1
Condom saga
Eddie is found with condoms in his bag by his mother. His mother comes to school to report the issue to Mrs. Morgan.
Shish, is in a fix because everyone, even her own mother, thinks that she sleeps around. Her mother gives her contraceptives which really makes her feel untrustworthy. She meets Freddie in the gym and tells him about it, clearly seeking some sympathy. Freddie brushes her off.
Shish is in the ladies with Tanya and Becky. Both suspect Shish of having a hand in the condom saga. She shows them the contraceptives but they are also not sympathetic to the fact that not even her own mother trusts her. She drops the envelope that contains them as she leaves.
Eddie’s mother informs Mrs. Morgan of her problem but Morgan assures her that Eddie is a good boy and she should talk to him about it. She heads out and meets up with Eddie who explains to her that it was a prank. All is forgiven, but he still gets grounded.
The envelope containing the contraceptives is found by a worker who finds out they belong to Shish. She reports the matter to Mrs. Morgan. Mrs. Morgan calls Shish who explains where she got them. Her mother is called and the matter is settled.
The script is beautifully done since the dialogue itself shows that the writer put a lot of thought into it. The conflict rises progressively and it is finally cleared at the end. I was a bit confused though, that as much as Shish is the protagonist here, I felt some sympathy for her at the end. I stand to be corrected in this but; I think this is a mistake that the writer made.
Tahidi high- Episode 2
Rape saga
Allan is ignored by Azumi who suspects him of trying to rape her. Allan is sad because he knows that it was all a set-up by Shish and Freddie. Allan’s friends try to beg Azumi to listen to his side of the story before reporting the matter to Morgan.
Becky suspects Shish off having a hand in Azumi and Allan’s rape case. She follows her around and finally tells her of her suspicions. Shish ignores her and walks away.
Azumi is scared of Shish and she suspects her involvement in this. Shish uses this to her advantage by intimidating her. She is not able to do much since Becky comes in and tells her she should go to Morgan for her suspension letter. Shish leaves but promises to be back with revenge.
The problem with this episode is the fact that there was too much suspense in the script. It would take the viewer a lot of time before you would actually conclude that there was an attempted rape case. The writer did not share any secrets with the audience.
Tahidi high-Episode 3
Paraffin saga
Mrs. Nduati and Mama Jane are fighting over what sufuria should be used. Morgan appears and calls Mrs. Nduati to her office where she fires her.
Kibuja takes a bribe from Maryanne who reveals that he has taken many bribes from her before. She mentions the incident where she made him put paraffin in the boys food to keep their libidos down. Meanwhile, Melvin is listening in.
Melvin tells Joni about what he’s found out and they decide to confront Kibuja. He denies the allegation but Omosh believes the boys. He rushes to stop Mrs. Nduati from leaving; sure that Kibuja will be fired. He then rushes to tell Mrs. Morgan about the issue.
Melvin confronts Maryanne and catches her trying to bribe Kibuja into silence. He implies that he is going to report the issue to Mrs. Morgan.
This script touches on the exact life of a student in high school. Any high school student watching this understands that sometimes paraffin is put in food, to apparently lower student libidos. At least that’s what most of them suspect. It connects with the particular audience it is trying to reach, i.e. the high school student, or someone who has been in a Kenyan high school before.
The antagonist, Maryanne is found out and the audience is left with the implication that she and her accomplice will surely be punished. Overall, this was the best episode I watched.
Condom saga
Eddie is found with condoms in his bag by his mother. His mother comes to school to report the issue to Mrs. Morgan.
Shish, is in a fix because everyone, even her own mother, thinks that she sleeps around. Her mother gives her contraceptives which really makes her feel untrustworthy. She meets Freddie in the gym and tells him about it, clearly seeking some sympathy. Freddie brushes her off.
Shish is in the ladies with Tanya and Becky. Both suspect Shish of having a hand in the condom saga. She shows them the contraceptives but they are also not sympathetic to the fact that not even her own mother trusts her. She drops the envelope that contains them as she leaves.
Eddie’s mother informs Mrs. Morgan of her problem but Morgan assures her that Eddie is a good boy and she should talk to him about it. She heads out and meets up with Eddie who explains to her that it was a prank. All is forgiven, but he still gets grounded.
The envelope containing the contraceptives is found by a worker who finds out they belong to Shish. She reports the matter to Mrs. Morgan. Mrs. Morgan calls Shish who explains where she got them. Her mother is called and the matter is settled.
The script is beautifully done since the dialogue itself shows that the writer put a lot of thought into it. The conflict rises progressively and it is finally cleared at the end. I was a bit confused though, that as much as Shish is the protagonist here, I felt some sympathy for her at the end. I stand to be corrected in this but; I think this is a mistake that the writer made.
Tahidi high- Episode 2
Rape saga
Allan is ignored by Azumi who suspects him of trying to rape her. Allan is sad because he knows that it was all a set-up by Shish and Freddie. Allan’s friends try to beg Azumi to listen to his side of the story before reporting the matter to Morgan.
Becky suspects Shish off having a hand in Azumi and Allan’s rape case. She follows her around and finally tells her of her suspicions. Shish ignores her and walks away.
Azumi is scared of Shish and she suspects her involvement in this. Shish uses this to her advantage by intimidating her. She is not able to do much since Becky comes in and tells her she should go to Morgan for her suspension letter. Shish leaves but promises to be back with revenge.
The problem with this episode is the fact that there was too much suspense in the script. It would take the viewer a lot of time before you would actually conclude that there was an attempted rape case. The writer did not share any secrets with the audience.
Tahidi high-Episode 3
Paraffin saga
Mrs. Nduati and Mama Jane are fighting over what sufuria should be used. Morgan appears and calls Mrs. Nduati to her office where she fires her.
Kibuja takes a bribe from Maryanne who reveals that he has taken many bribes from her before. She mentions the incident where she made him put paraffin in the boys food to keep their libidos down. Meanwhile, Melvin is listening in.
Melvin tells Joni about what he’s found out and they decide to confront Kibuja. He denies the allegation but Omosh believes the boys. He rushes to stop Mrs. Nduati from leaving; sure that Kibuja will be fired. He then rushes to tell Mrs. Morgan about the issue.
Melvin confronts Maryanne and catches her trying to bribe Kibuja into silence. He implies that he is going to report the issue to Mrs. Morgan.
This script touches on the exact life of a student in high school. Any high school student watching this understands that sometimes paraffin is put in food, to apparently lower student libidos. At least that’s what most of them suspect. It connects with the particular audience it is trying to reach, i.e. the high school student, or someone who has been in a Kenyan high school before.
The antagonist, Maryanne is found out and the audience is left with the implication that she and her accomplice will surely be punished. Overall, this was the best episode I watched.
Programme Critique
All COM 364A members(except Dzame, Nyambura, trezer, Hellen, Hazel, Portia, Tyler, Sheila) must contact me not later than 24th May 2010 concerning their programme critique assignments. Failure to do so means lose of 20 marks from your final grade. If you posted the critique any where else, make sure you transfer it to the class blog not later than 24/05/10 noon.
Rosemary Kowuor
Rosemary Kowuor
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Class Update!
A few members of COM 364 and the lecturer will be away on a study tour of NTV. However, we will join the rest a few minutes into class time. Tomorrows class will focus on fleshing out dialogue for ACT III. I believe your ACTS I and II are in better shape now. Pick your scripts from Hellen Mayelle.
Work, in consultation, with your director and producer to develop your script to professional standards. As you always do, be masters of your destiny. Don't wait for anyone to learn.
By Mrs Kowuor
Work, in consultation, with your director and producer to develop your script to professional standards. As you always do, be masters of your destiny. Don't wait for anyone to learn.
By Mrs Kowuor
Thursday, April 8, 2010
NAIROBI LAW
Woman battered by her husband who ends up suing her for burning him with hot water.
Richards son joins his firm on internship. The good boy.
The camera is unsteady.
Poor sound effects during ruling, inappropriate…. Does not bring out the intensity of the matter.
Use of flash back and black and white scene.
Richards son joins his firm on internship. The good boy.
The camera is unsteady.
Poor sound effects during ruling, inappropriate…. Does not bring out the intensity of the matter.
Use of flash back and black and white scene.
NAIROBI LAW
Case on pornography.
Three clients accused in this case. One of the man’s sons was selling the tapes to his friends. Resulting in a ten year old boy masturbating. I don’t think the issues are given the kind of weight they deserve, some of the issues are weight and just brushed through.
Jabali’s father resurfaces and still wants his son.
Richard’s sons come to his office. His first born as usual is in trouble. Had been drinking and found himself in police custody. Family tension plays out again here.
At the same time Elsie is stressed and frustrated, the secretary offers her a drink. The two drink in the board room. Surely, you cannot tell me that they would be as foolish as not only to drink in the office but furthermore in the boardroom where the chances of being caught are so high.
Richard, confuses the smell of alcohol in the office with it being that his son was still drinking in his office. In anger he hits the boy
Three clients accused in this case. One of the man’s sons was selling the tapes to his friends. Resulting in a ten year old boy masturbating. I don’t think the issues are given the kind of weight they deserve, some of the issues are weight and just brushed through.
Jabali’s father resurfaces and still wants his son.
Richard’s sons come to his office. His first born as usual is in trouble. Had been drinking and found himself in police custody. Family tension plays out again here.
At the same time Elsie is stressed and frustrated, the secretary offers her a drink. The two drink in the board room. Surely, you cannot tell me that they would be as foolish as not only to drink in the office but furthermore in the boardroom where the chances of being caught are so high.
Richard, confuses the smell of alcohol in the office with it being that his son was still drinking in his office. In anger he hits the boy
NAIROBI LAW
Mob Justice case being handled by Richard and the new intern.
Use of music… cut between shots.
Use of close up shot, cross shot, poor zooming not smooth. Should have dollied instead.
Effect of double screen, not well exercised. The canting of the camera is not good. Camera is not steady, shaky scene with no particular effect. Choice of sound effects in this scene are poor. Gives off a comical nature, which in line with the story line did not seem like the intention.
Light imbalanced between scenes…. Some scenes are visibly much brighter than others and it does not seem to be serving a particular purpose.
Characterization of Jo as a gigolo is heightened. Elsie’s come off as a drama queen when she has a confrontation with Jo’s most recent relation. Her reaction border quite close to melodrama. Not good.
Use of music… cut between shots.
Use of close up shot, cross shot, poor zooming not smooth. Should have dollied instead.
Effect of double screen, not well exercised. The canting of the camera is not good. Camera is not steady, shaky scene with no particular effect. Choice of sound effects in this scene are poor. Gives off a comical nature, which in line with the story line did not seem like the intention.
Light imbalanced between scenes…. Some scenes are visibly much brighter than others and it does not seem to be serving a particular purpose.
Characterization of Jo as a gigolo is heightened. Elsie’s come off as a drama queen when she has a confrontation with Jo’s most recent relation. Her reaction border quite close to melodrama. Not good.
NAIROBI LAW
Episode where business looses biggest client. Not enough conflict brought out to show the intensity of the situation. So far worst court scene yet, the conflict and drama seems to have no concrete base. The conflict and how it is presented is wanting. Language of scene used is too intensely casual. Use of the term 30 bob by the judge..
It is evident that they do not have enough props… The use of KENPACK water bottles in the court room by the lawyers to hold their water…. Surely, not serious. Makes the scene look too random and not properly set up.
Elsie and Paul her ex and Jabali’s (her son) father, fight over son. Meeting in her office, this scene is terrible. Sound effects are bad and background music meant to add drama sounds like something from an old action movie.
It is evident that they do not have enough props… The use of KENPACK water bottles in the court room by the lawyers to hold their water…. Surely, not serious. Makes the scene look too random and not properly set up.
Elsie and Paul her ex and Jabali’s (her son) father, fight over son. Meeting in her office, this scene is terrible. Sound effects are bad and background music meant to add drama sounds like something from an old action movie.
NAIROBI LAW
Poor sound…. Popping of microphone. Movement and brushing picked up by microphone. Kissing culture on screen, rather too out there considering African culture in Kenya. Not appropriate in fact offensive. Background musical completely not applicable, poor choice of song.
Case of handicapped girl sexually exploited by her father for money.
Reference: to real life cases….. believable. Dialogue of the different characters is believable, young girl’s characterization good…. Comes out good. Broken English brings out the character well.
Poor court conflict…. Some case argument, highly immature do not bring out the context well.
Judges are few….. considering its Nairobi Law courts, you would expect more variation.
Elsie’s family issues come to play in this episode. Jabali’s father is bad in the picture.
Case of handicapped girl sexually exploited by her father for money.
Reference: to real life cases….. believable. Dialogue of the different characters is believable, young girl’s characterization good…. Comes out good. Broken English brings out the character well.
Poor court conflict…. Some case argument, highly immature do not bring out the context well.
Judges are few….. considering its Nairobi Law courts, you would expect more variation.
Elsie’s family issues come to play in this episode. Jabali’s father is bad in the picture.
NAIROBI LAW
First time watching the show. General comments:
Characters that stand out as main characters Elsie, Jo and Richard. All lawyers in a Law firm headed by Richard. The setting gives an impression that the Law firm is still new. The offices are cramped and small in terms of a law firm.
A lot of two shots are used and across the shoulder shots.
Presence of shadows that do not seem to serve a contextual purpose portray poor lighting.
First impression of story line- Not well researched, the supporting characters such as opposing council and judges do not come off as lawyers. From their mannerism to costume and even language.
In terms of language, it is possible that it was adapted for a specific target audience. However in contrast with similar Law based programming from the West, the professionalism of the characters is lost. Thus the quality of the story is brought down.
Characters that stand out as main characters Elsie, Jo and Richard. All lawyers in a Law firm headed by Richard. The setting gives an impression that the Law firm is still new. The offices are cramped and small in terms of a law firm.
A lot of two shots are used and across the shoulder shots.
Presence of shadows that do not seem to serve a contextual purpose portray poor lighting.
First impression of story line- Not well researched, the supporting characters such as opposing council and judges do not come off as lawyers. From their mannerism to costume and even language.
In terms of language, it is possible that it was adapted for a specific target audience. However in contrast with similar Law based programming from the West, the professionalism of the characters is lost. Thus the quality of the story is brought down.
NAIROBI LAW CRITIQUE
Target audience:Your average Kenya, who would not be keen on detail. But in that case the production offers little entertainment value.
Camera movements: Need to be smoother. They just below average. Not many movement are used however. Seems like they preferred editing effects.
Types of shots: Shots used are not well executed….. not centered on the talent…. Sometimes too much is cut off without reason. A lot of two shots are used and waist shots.
Editing effects:Fade in and fade out
Split screen used once TERRIBLE.
Camera movements: Need to be smoother. They just below average. Not many movement are used however. Seems like they preferred editing effects.
Types of shots: Shots used are not well executed….. not centered on the talent…. Sometimes too much is cut off without reason. A lot of two shots are used and waist shots.
Editing effects:Fade in and fade out
Split screen used once TERRIBLE.
NAIROBI LAW CRITIQUE
Opening Montage… Pictures of the characters in the program mini drama as their names pass by. End of Montage, picture of the Nairobi. They show us KICC, Nairobi Law Courts and Jomo Kenyatta’s statue.
Basic plot… Richard owns a Law firm. Elsie and Jo work for him. They have a “blonde” secretary, who is quiet vain yet sweet. Jo is immoral and unprofessional. Having relations with the firms intern plus a number of other women. Gigolo…. Richard has family issues, has a son who seems to be perfect, takes right after him a law student….. yet his first born is a wreck of an alcoholic. A complete disappointment to him. This brings tension home. He is married to a lovely glamorous wife… used to the good life and he works hard to provide that for her. Elsie is a young mother of one… a small boy. She parted ways with her boyfriend who left her when she was young and pregnant. She survives on her own to provide a good life for herself and her son. She is in a relationship when suddenly her babys father comes back into the picture wanting to be a part of his sons life. Elsie is furious and things take a turn….. she breaks it off with her boyfriend to focus on her job and keeping her son from his father. He’s coming back into the picture brings back such pain. Different plots brought together by one main plot. Flow of plot sometimes comes off as not smooth.
Dialogue: For the most part are short and involving. Others seem useless and unnecessary as they do not introduce anything that is not already obvious to the audience. Though for the most part the dialogue is done well.
Characterization: Three of the characters stand out as being believable. Richard, Elsie… The driver and secretary. The rest are wanting and more than not believable, somewhat irritating to watch. The worst characterization comes from the crowd in the court room… goodness, they look like people randomly stopped on the road and requested to come sit in to fill space. Almost no if no characterization is seem from the court observers.
Basic plot… Richard owns a Law firm. Elsie and Jo work for him. They have a “blonde” secretary, who is quiet vain yet sweet. Jo is immoral and unprofessional. Having relations with the firms intern plus a number of other women. Gigolo…. Richard has family issues, has a son who seems to be perfect, takes right after him a law student….. yet his first born is a wreck of an alcoholic. A complete disappointment to him. This brings tension home. He is married to a lovely glamorous wife… used to the good life and he works hard to provide that for her. Elsie is a young mother of one… a small boy. She parted ways with her boyfriend who left her when she was young and pregnant. She survives on her own to provide a good life for herself and her son. She is in a relationship when suddenly her babys father comes back into the picture wanting to be a part of his sons life. Elsie is furious and things take a turn….. she breaks it off with her boyfriend to focus on her job and keeping her son from his father. He’s coming back into the picture brings back such pain. Different plots brought together by one main plot. Flow of plot sometimes comes off as not smooth.
Dialogue: For the most part are short and involving. Others seem useless and unnecessary as they do not introduce anything that is not already obvious to the audience. Though for the most part the dialogue is done well.
Characterization: Three of the characters stand out as being believable. Richard, Elsie… The driver and secretary. The rest are wanting and more than not believable, somewhat irritating to watch. The worst characterization comes from the crowd in the court room… goodness, they look like people randomly stopped on the road and requested to come sit in to fill space. Almost no if no characterization is seem from the court observers.
programme critique
PROGRAMME CRITIQUE (INSPEKTA MWALA) NYAMBURA NGUMA
This is a hilarious weekly show that centres on the going-on’s at the Kona-Mbaya Police station and the escapades of the vertically-challenged Inspekta Mwala, his boss and his juniors. There is never a dull moment at this police station...From regular conmen, highway robbers to victims of love affairs gone-bad…they all end up at Kona Mbaya Police Station.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This show targets all kinds of audience as it is a comedy programme. There is no particular audience that would best enjoy it. Although, the audience has to be those that speak Kiswahili or ‘sheng’ an understand English.
PLOT AND OPENING MONTAGE
The opening montage of the series is very interesting. It has an up beat to it that introduces one to the action that is expected in the programme. As the opening montage is playing, some sort of a newspaper is shown with Inspekta Mwala’s name and face on it. They also show the faces of the other police officers and the kind of action they go through. It runs for about fifteen seconds before the programme begins.
The plot of the story is basically Inspekta Mwala and his officers trying to deal with the issues that arise at the police station. Whenever a crisis should come up, he and his junior officers always have to deal with it.
DIALOGUE AND CHARACTERISATION
The dialogue in the programme is quite interesting. It is in both English and Kiswahili. Sometimes they use ‘sheng’ to put a point across. They use English when they are at the station especially when victims come in with their problems. They also use it for official business such as when talking to their superiors. Kiswahili is used when they officers are communicating with each other when they have no work to do at the police station. Kiswahili is also used when a victim should walk in with a problem and they can only speak Kiswahili. ‘Sheng’ is used by the officers when they are going on missions to try and capture thieves, robbers or any kind of law breakers. They use this language because it is more familiar on the streets and will not identify them as police officers. Once they speak this language they are able to camouflage into the ‘scene’ without any problems.
Characterization of the programme was also done well. It is clear that the protagonist is or are the police officers. The antagonists are the problems they encounter as they try to go through solving cases they have been given in the station. Inspekta Mwala is the main character of the show. His height is the most interesting thing that causes irony. Considering that he has juniors who are taller than him it also causes the audience to find it humorous. The other characters each bring out their roles very well. For example Bokelo is one of the officers under the leadership of Mwala. He is always getting on his nerves because he never seems to be doing things the right way. He always makes mistakes once they are given work. Also is the character of Lavender. She is also an officer under Mwala. Her role mostly is to exude a serious hardworking female officer and that is what she shows exactly. The support characters are also very good actors. They include the law breakers or those associated to those that are law breakers. They portray mastery of content as they know their lines very well. It does not look like they had crammed their line but they made them part of them. Thus making the programme believable.
TYPES OF SHOTS
The types of shots used are many. The establishing shot movement is used mostly when the officers are to go on a mission. We are given this shot to show us exactly where the operation will take place. This shot is also used when they aere showing us the police station at Kona Mbaya. The extreme close-up shot is used a lot of times when they wan to show facial expressions. This shot is used on all the characters. Once it was used on Mwala when he was so angry with Bokelo. We could actually see his veins on his veins because he was angry and also his blood shot eyes. This shot is also used when they want to show the lawbreakers facial expressions when they want to go and commit a crime. This shot is very useful because it shows causes the audience to believe what is happening. It gives us a view of the non-verbal cues that makes a character sellable to the audience. Long-shots are used when Mwala is talking ti people taller than him to be able to get a full view of both of them. This shot is used when the two are standing. If the two should be seated in an office they use medium shots. The camera shots used seem to be white balanced.
CAMERA MOVEMENTS
The camera movements used are many. They include panning. This movement is used a lot when they are moving from one character to another whether it is pan right or left. The zoom movement is used in many scenes. Zoom in is used mostly when they want to show for example a victim crying. They zoom in to see the tears rolling down. The zoom out movement is used when they want to show a shot of the characters full body details. This shot is also used when the scene opens with the camera on a certain object and then move out to the exterior environment of the object. Tilt movement is used a lot. Tilt up is used when they want to especially give the audience an arial view, sort of the type that Mwala would have when he is looking at someone. This shot helps us to see how it feels to be in Mwala’s shoes and see the world from the perspective that he does. Tilt down is used when they want to give a view of others looking at Mwala. It is also used when they are showing for example the shoes that a prisoner is wearing.
EDITING EFFECTS
The show has some editing effects. For example the cut aways. This shot is used when they are moving from one shot to another. this is also used at the end of the show when they suddenly cut the show abruptly and the character generator comes on. They also edit the parts where the actors may make a mistake. This is known from the funny moments they put on Citizen after the show.
CLOSING MONTAGE
The closing montage is the same as the opening montage but this is used as the character generator is running.
CONCLUSION
The show is basically good but it could use a bit of improvements. This should be applied to the way they keep cutting the show and putting ads in the middle. This causes the audience to get bored of watching the channel and not following the programme. They also need to improve on the script because where it ends is usually very sudden. It leaves the audience wondering… it is something that the show should stop. They also need to get more officers involved as characters because it would make the show much mire interesting.
This is a hilarious weekly show that centres on the going-on’s at the Kona-Mbaya Police station and the escapades of the vertically-challenged Inspekta Mwala, his boss and his juniors. There is never a dull moment at this police station...From regular conmen, highway robbers to victims of love affairs gone-bad…they all end up at Kona Mbaya Police Station.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This show targets all kinds of audience as it is a comedy programme. There is no particular audience that would best enjoy it. Although, the audience has to be those that speak Kiswahili or ‘sheng’ an understand English.
PLOT AND OPENING MONTAGE
The opening montage of the series is very interesting. It has an up beat to it that introduces one to the action that is expected in the programme. As the opening montage is playing, some sort of a newspaper is shown with Inspekta Mwala’s name and face on it. They also show the faces of the other police officers and the kind of action they go through. It runs for about fifteen seconds before the programme begins.
The plot of the story is basically Inspekta Mwala and his officers trying to deal with the issues that arise at the police station. Whenever a crisis should come up, he and his junior officers always have to deal with it.
DIALOGUE AND CHARACTERISATION
The dialogue in the programme is quite interesting. It is in both English and Kiswahili. Sometimes they use ‘sheng’ to put a point across. They use English when they are at the station especially when victims come in with their problems. They also use it for official business such as when talking to their superiors. Kiswahili is used when they officers are communicating with each other when they have no work to do at the police station. Kiswahili is also used when a victim should walk in with a problem and they can only speak Kiswahili. ‘Sheng’ is used by the officers when they are going on missions to try and capture thieves, robbers or any kind of law breakers. They use this language because it is more familiar on the streets and will not identify them as police officers. Once they speak this language they are able to camouflage into the ‘scene’ without any problems.
Characterization of the programme was also done well. It is clear that the protagonist is or are the police officers. The antagonists are the problems they encounter as they try to go through solving cases they have been given in the station. Inspekta Mwala is the main character of the show. His height is the most interesting thing that causes irony. Considering that he has juniors who are taller than him it also causes the audience to find it humorous. The other characters each bring out their roles very well. For example Bokelo is one of the officers under the leadership of Mwala. He is always getting on his nerves because he never seems to be doing things the right way. He always makes mistakes once they are given work. Also is the character of Lavender. She is also an officer under Mwala. Her role mostly is to exude a serious hardworking female officer and that is what she shows exactly. The support characters are also very good actors. They include the law breakers or those associated to those that are law breakers. They portray mastery of content as they know their lines very well. It does not look like they had crammed their line but they made them part of them. Thus making the programme believable.
TYPES OF SHOTS
The types of shots used are many. The establishing shot movement is used mostly when the officers are to go on a mission. We are given this shot to show us exactly where the operation will take place. This shot is also used when they aere showing us the police station at Kona Mbaya. The extreme close-up shot is used a lot of times when they wan to show facial expressions. This shot is used on all the characters. Once it was used on Mwala when he was so angry with Bokelo. We could actually see his veins on his veins because he was angry and also his blood shot eyes. This shot is also used when they want to show the lawbreakers facial expressions when they want to go and commit a crime. This shot is very useful because it shows causes the audience to believe what is happening. It gives us a view of the non-verbal cues that makes a character sellable to the audience. Long-shots are used when Mwala is talking ti people taller than him to be able to get a full view of both of them. This shot is used when the two are standing. If the two should be seated in an office they use medium shots. The camera shots used seem to be white balanced.
CAMERA MOVEMENTS
The camera movements used are many. They include panning. This movement is used a lot when they are moving from one character to another whether it is pan right or left. The zoom movement is used in many scenes. Zoom in is used mostly when they want to show for example a victim crying. They zoom in to see the tears rolling down. The zoom out movement is used when they want to show a shot of the characters full body details. This shot is also used when the scene opens with the camera on a certain object and then move out to the exterior environment of the object. Tilt movement is used a lot. Tilt up is used when they want to especially give the audience an arial view, sort of the type that Mwala would have when he is looking at someone. This shot helps us to see how it feels to be in Mwala’s shoes and see the world from the perspective that he does. Tilt down is used when they want to give a view of others looking at Mwala. It is also used when they are showing for example the shoes that a prisoner is wearing.
EDITING EFFECTS
The show has some editing effects. For example the cut aways. This shot is used when they are moving from one shot to another. this is also used at the end of the show when they suddenly cut the show abruptly and the character generator comes on. They also edit the parts where the actors may make a mistake. This is known from the funny moments they put on Citizen after the show.
CLOSING MONTAGE
The closing montage is the same as the opening montage but this is used as the character generator is running.
CONCLUSION
The show is basically good but it could use a bit of improvements. This should be applied to the way they keep cutting the show and putting ads in the middle. This causes the audience to get bored of watching the channel and not following the programme. They also need to improve on the script because where it ends is usually very sudden. It leaves the audience wondering… it is something that the show should stop. They also need to get more officers involved as characters because it would make the show much mire interesting.
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
maryanne a student at tahidi high has an older boyfriend. she is brought to school by him and she lies it's her uncle. later that day omosh meets the man who brings an envelope to mary anne.
omosh opens the letter to fing alot of money. when maryanne comes to take her money from omosh. he gives half of what was in the envelope. mary anne discovers this and threatens omosh.
he is however given some money.
this goes on fro some time and the later miss morgan finds maryanne talking to her boyfriend at the carpark. when she is aked who he is she says her uncle. but when the money is reveled she has nothing to say.
most of the last scene was shot when the sun was too bright but the production was not affected since the camera was well set.
Hazel.
omosh opens the letter to fing alot of money. when maryanne comes to take her money from omosh. he gives half of what was in the envelope. mary anne discovers this and threatens omosh.
he is however given some money.
this goes on fro some time and the later miss morgan finds maryanne talking to her boyfriend at the carpark. when she is aked who he is she says her uncle. but when the money is reveled she has nothing to say.
most of the last scene was shot when the sun was too bright but the production was not affected since the camera was well set.
Hazel.
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
in this episode the parents are having a meeting with their children with theri results. omosh is Oj's uncle and goes to support him as well as to find out how he is doing in school. this is not good as Oj grades are not pleasing. omosh on the other hand tells the teacher that he will see to it that Oj's performs well.
shish then starts a rumour that ahe had seen julias mother kiss a teacher. julia hears this and by the time the mother gets to scchool she is vey annoyed. the mother tries to talk to her and julia slaps her. miss morgan sees this as well as other students. apparantly it was hard for julia to accept that her mother was leaving them.
production values were well used. camera angel: when julia slaps the mother, ther is a close up of the mother, which later cuts to a medium shot of students wha were hsocked then later a close up of miss morgan.
Hazel.
shish then starts a rumour that ahe had seen julias mother kiss a teacher. julia hears this and by the time the mother gets to scchool she is vey annoyed. the mother tries to talk to her and julia slaps her. miss morgan sees this as well as other students. apparantly it was hard for julia to accept that her mother was leaving them.
production values were well used. camera angel: when julia slaps the mother, ther is a close up of the mother, which later cuts to a medium shot of students wha were hsocked then later a close up of miss morgan.
Hazel.
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
the students have been moving from the geography class to the history class. this does not amused the geography teacher. he is annoyed when he goes to class and finds only three students.
when he goes to the staff room he meets the history teacher and accuses him of stealing students from his class. the history teacher could not say anything other than that he taught well and students had a right to choose what they wanted to learn.
the history students then go around asking the other students what the found amusing in geography. they try to incite them to quit and join history but none of the wants to.
after a long discussion with the teachers and students, the classes were balanced, the taechers were then relieved that the students had made a good choice.
canera angles were well used. the reaction of the geography teacher to an almost empty class was shows with a close up shot. as the teachers were arguing a medium shot was used. lighting was also well used.
Hazel...
when he goes to the staff room he meets the history teacher and accuses him of stealing students from his class. the history teacher could not say anything other than that he taught well and students had a right to choose what they wanted to learn.
the history students then go around asking the other students what the found amusing in geography. they try to incite them to quit and join history but none of the wants to.
after a long discussion with the teachers and students, the classes were balanced, the taechers were then relieved that the students had made a good choice.
canera angles were well used. the reaction of the geography teacher to an almost empty class was shows with a close up shot. as the teachers were arguing a medium shot was used. lighting was also well used.
Hazel...
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
in this episode mama jimmy the cateress has returned to work and hence Ngatia's wife who had been standing in for her has to leave.
mr. ngatia pleades with mama jimmy to let her continue working at the school. ngatia's wife is the seen to compete with mama jimmy so that does alot of work to defend her stay.
this matter is taken to miss morgan who asks ngatia's wife that her contract had ben terminated . she starts to pack when her husband comes in to hescort her to the gate. after a few minutes later omosh asks her not to leave since there was an opening because kibunja had been suspended again. she goes back happy to get another job.
the lighting was well used, camera angles and movements too.
hazel. :)
mr. ngatia pleades with mama jimmy to let her continue working at the school. ngatia's wife is the seen to compete with mama jimmy so that does alot of work to defend her stay.
this matter is taken to miss morgan who asks ngatia's wife that her contract had ben terminated . she starts to pack when her husband comes in to hescort her to the gate. after a few minutes later omosh asks her not to leave since there was an opening because kibunja had been suspended again. she goes back happy to get another job.
the lighting was well used, camera angles and movements too.
hazel. :)
Tahidi High critic -hazel
A student had put in paraffin in the food and paid kibunja to take the blame. kibunja is the sent home for some weeks and when he gets back, he asks for more money to stay silent.
the student(maryann) gives kibunja alot of money and when kibunja gos to brag abou tthe money to omosh , omosh vows to find out hwere the money is coming from. later omosh and some students find out what deal mary anne and kibunja had and vow to tell the authority the one responsible for putting paraffin in the food.
mary anne pleads with the students but they walk away. melvin then walks back and asks maryann why she did that. she blankly say that she was helping melvin out so that he does not make any other girl pregnant. this annoys melvin and walks away.
miss morgan is informed and gets them in the cat of exchanging money.
the camera movements amazed me most. whenever mary anne and kibunja met there was a
pans and zooms to make sure that noone was watching them. or to show that the place they were meeeting at was clear.
hazel...
the student(maryann) gives kibunja alot of money and when kibunja gos to brag abou tthe money to omosh , omosh vows to find out hwere the money is coming from. later omosh and some students find out what deal mary anne and kibunja had and vow to tell the authority the one responsible for putting paraffin in the food.
mary anne pleads with the students but they walk away. melvin then walks back and asks maryann why she did that. she blankly say that she was helping melvin out so that he does not make any other girl pregnant. this annoys melvin and walks away.
miss morgan is informed and gets them in the cat of exchanging money.
the camera movements amazed me most. whenever mary anne and kibunja met there was a
pans and zooms to make sure that noone was watching them. or to show that the place they were meeeting at was clear.
hazel...
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
the episode revolves around tony and his friend. they are close until he tries to make advances at her.
tony does this inoccently as adviced by Oj and fredy but the girl does not interprated it well. she thinks he wanted to rape her and even reports this to the deputy principal. shish asks the gril to go the gym with her, fredy and Oj. the plan is to make tony jealous so that he breaks his freindship with the girl.
when shish leaves the gym for some time, she gets tony ans tell him that the girl was at the gym with Oj and fredy and they were getting a little cozy. tony rushes to confirm this and when he gets to the door the noises being made at the gym annoys him making him not to enter. he concludes that the girl had slept with the two (oj and fredy) this makes him annoyed.
the production elements were well used. the lighting and sound particularly the noises oj and fredy made were very clear.
hazel :)
tony does this inoccently as adviced by Oj and fredy but the girl does not interprated it well. she thinks he wanted to rape her and even reports this to the deputy principal. shish asks the gril to go the gym with her, fredy and Oj. the plan is to make tony jealous so that he breaks his freindship with the girl.
when shish leaves the gym for some time, she gets tony ans tell him that the girl was at the gym with Oj and fredy and they were getting a little cozy. tony rushes to confirm this and when he gets to the door the noises being made at the gym annoys him making him not to enter. he concludes that the girl had slept with the two (oj and fredy) this makes him annoyed.
the production elements were well used. the lighting and sound particularly the noises oj and fredy made were very clear.
hazel :)
VIOJA MAHAKAMANI
The introduction of Vioja Mahakamani is catchy all the time I look at it. I might be biased but it’s true. In terms of modernity, I will agree with your thoughts that the producer has remained conservative when we would have wanted to see him move with the current. The same old introduction I would see back then is the same thing I see even now. It helps me to appreciate originality of work done by the crew, originality of the play against plagiarism and pride of culture.
Vioja Mahakamani is aired in KBC channel one every Wednesday after the 7pm news. It’s a convenient time to air it at that period because most people are still glued to their screens pondering the next move. Also for those heavy industrial workers, guys who have spend most of their time in the offices and ladies who couldn’t get that ‘boss-stress’ off, it’s a good programme to tickle their ribs and give them a reason to laugh.
The basic plot is not always set, meaning this time will have a different plot from next Wednesdays show. One plot which prevailed in the last show I watched was the kidnapping of people. This being the basic plot for that show, whatever the characters did on stage was supposed to sum up towards achieving that plot, to bring the kidnappers into book and take the right action against them. They even had to include a mzungu (white man) who despite not being very fluent in Swahili enhanced the thrilling plot. Every time he opened his mouth to talk, I opened my mouth to laugh.
The dialogue flows smoothly in an order. It happening in a courtroom, every protocol of a courtroom is clearly adhered to. There is a judge; there are secretaries and a clerk. The dialogue is usually short, humorous and full of message. There are no a lot of stage directions and there is no much of dialogue either… there is action though, remember its comedy. Though I would say that the play is in a way biased to Kenyans, it’s also produced for Kenyans. This is because the language they would use and the jokes they would make are only understood by Kenyans. They portray uneducated fellows in a courtroom.
The characters are well chosen and fairly fit into their shoes. I haven’t witnessed one time where by a character was trying to fit in his or her role on screen. The other thing which makes the characters relevant is their experience in the industry. They have been acting in the programme for as long as I can remember. Even some are now quitting the programme to act in Papa Shirandula at Citizen.
The target audience for this programme is purely the middle class living in urban areas and rural areas too. Well I have thought the same for long until I talked to some old people in Thika and they told me how much they love following the programme. I also talked to some of my fathers friends at a function in home and they said that despite them being professionals, it has been hard to detach form this local production. Kenyan is the target audience of this production.
Camera movements used here are dollying in and dollying out, panning, zooming in and out. There are also still shots and tilts. There is use of long shots, bust shots, close ups and orientation to the court surroundings by the camera movements. The judge will occasionally be brought close by use of medium shots and as a witness is given his or her side of the story, there will be a long shot showing what the accused is doing. In that silence, sometimes there is much action than in the dialogue itself.
About editing, I would want to recommend that the producer of the film embrace the upcoming styles and ideas of editing. This thing of cutting and wipes has been overstretched now and he should look for a new idea. However a wipe remains the best technique in editing, there are different versions of wiping and that can bring sensational effects in a screenplay. All in all I like the originality of Vioja Mahakamani.
Next, I will be trying to look into the play, Vitimbi which happens every Monday after 7pm news.
Vioja Mahakamani is aired in KBC channel one every Wednesday after the 7pm news. It’s a convenient time to air it at that period because most people are still glued to their screens pondering the next move. Also for those heavy industrial workers, guys who have spend most of their time in the offices and ladies who couldn’t get that ‘boss-stress’ off, it’s a good programme to tickle their ribs and give them a reason to laugh.
The basic plot is not always set, meaning this time will have a different plot from next Wednesdays show. One plot which prevailed in the last show I watched was the kidnapping of people. This being the basic plot for that show, whatever the characters did on stage was supposed to sum up towards achieving that plot, to bring the kidnappers into book and take the right action against them. They even had to include a mzungu (white man) who despite not being very fluent in Swahili enhanced the thrilling plot. Every time he opened his mouth to talk, I opened my mouth to laugh.
The dialogue flows smoothly in an order. It happening in a courtroom, every protocol of a courtroom is clearly adhered to. There is a judge; there are secretaries and a clerk. The dialogue is usually short, humorous and full of message. There are no a lot of stage directions and there is no much of dialogue either… there is action though, remember its comedy. Though I would say that the play is in a way biased to Kenyans, it’s also produced for Kenyans. This is because the language they would use and the jokes they would make are only understood by Kenyans. They portray uneducated fellows in a courtroom.
The characters are well chosen and fairly fit into their shoes. I haven’t witnessed one time where by a character was trying to fit in his or her role on screen. The other thing which makes the characters relevant is their experience in the industry. They have been acting in the programme for as long as I can remember. Even some are now quitting the programme to act in Papa Shirandula at Citizen.
The target audience for this programme is purely the middle class living in urban areas and rural areas too. Well I have thought the same for long until I talked to some old people in Thika and they told me how much they love following the programme. I also talked to some of my fathers friends at a function in home and they said that despite them being professionals, it has been hard to detach form this local production. Kenyan is the target audience of this production.
Camera movements used here are dollying in and dollying out, panning, zooming in and out. There are also still shots and tilts. There is use of long shots, bust shots, close ups and orientation to the court surroundings by the camera movements. The judge will occasionally be brought close by use of medium shots and as a witness is given his or her side of the story, there will be a long shot showing what the accused is doing. In that silence, sometimes there is much action than in the dialogue itself.
About editing, I would want to recommend that the producer of the film embrace the upcoming styles and ideas of editing. This thing of cutting and wipes has been overstretched now and he should look for a new idea. However a wipe remains the best technique in editing, there are different versions of wiping and that can bring sensational effects in a screenplay. All in all I like the originality of Vioja Mahakamani.
Next, I will be trying to look into the play, Vitimbi which happens every Monday after 7pm news.
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
the first scene opens with some from four boys were talking of how the had spent their holidays. fredy mentions of how he had gone to upcountry and had fun.
at some point they star talking about premarital sex and they all gang up aganist Melvin who had apparently made Stella their classmate pregnant some time back.
omosh is then called by miss morgan and she hands him a letter to give to fredy. omosh then goes back to work and reads it. he is shocked and when Ratai asks him what they will do about the matter omosh asks him to let the matter lay low and pretend that they do not know anything about it.
the letter is then delivered to fredy during class time by omosh. after class fredy reads the letter and faints. tanya reads it too and hides the letter to ovoid the matter spreading. by lunch time the news is all over school and as much as tanya tries to protect the letter from being read she is forced to remove it and hand it to the class.
everyone is shocked and fredy does not attend class that afternoon. he goes to the field and sits alone. omosh and ratai joi him later and fredy borrows omosh's phone so that he could talk to hi cousin. his cousin talks to him and fredy confirms that the girl he met in ucountry was really pregnant.
he does not know what to do. as he is walking around the school in the late afternoon, Omosh hand fredy the phone and frdy is told that the whole isue was a lie. he is happy and even hugs omosh. he runs away after handing the phone to omosh who was a t that time facing miss morgan. miss morgan demnds to know what was going on.
the stroy is well thought off. the audience has sympathized with fredy all along only to find out that the whole isssue was a lie.
thecamera movements and angles were well used. the lighting and sound was also perfectly used.
Hazel. 07-1144
at some point they star talking about premarital sex and they all gang up aganist Melvin who had apparently made Stella their classmate pregnant some time back.
omosh is then called by miss morgan and she hands him a letter to give to fredy. omosh then goes back to work and reads it. he is shocked and when Ratai asks him what they will do about the matter omosh asks him to let the matter lay low and pretend that they do not know anything about it.
the letter is then delivered to fredy during class time by omosh. after class fredy reads the letter and faints. tanya reads it too and hides the letter to ovoid the matter spreading. by lunch time the news is all over school and as much as tanya tries to protect the letter from being read she is forced to remove it and hand it to the class.
everyone is shocked and fredy does not attend class that afternoon. he goes to the field and sits alone. omosh and ratai joi him later and fredy borrows omosh's phone so that he could talk to hi cousin. his cousin talks to him and fredy confirms that the girl he met in ucountry was really pregnant.
he does not know what to do. as he is walking around the school in the late afternoon, Omosh hand fredy the phone and frdy is told that the whole isue was a lie. he is happy and even hugs omosh. he runs away after handing the phone to omosh who was a t that time facing miss morgan. miss morgan demnds to know what was going on.
the stroy is well thought off. the audience has sympathized with fredy all along only to find out that the whole isssue was a lie.
thecamera movements and angles were well used. the lighting and sound was also perfectly used.
Hazel. 07-1144
Tahidi High critic - Hazel
this episodes brings out the dangers of football gambling.
the story opens with Mr. Ngatia watching a football game at the computer lab. the students are standing outside waiting for the lab to be opened. students talking about a previous football game some even syaing that they will be having alot of money after the bets they had made.
miss Morgan finds them making noise and asks them to go to class but they explain to her that the computer lab had been locked. she tries calling Mr. Ngatia who does not hear the phone ring.
later she calls Omosh who has not yet reported to work. he had been beaten up for refusing to pay up a bet after a football game. he later gets to school limping. suddenly the students start fighting after one of them refuses to pay up a bet. miss morgan intercedes and sks them to see her at her office.
they all have different stories and they are sked to write essays on the game they had watched. some are asked to play football the whole day as one of the commontates on their game.
the episode is funny and i think the way the humour has been brought through the punshments is weeel thought of.
the camera movements and angles are well used. lighting as well as sound is okay.
Hazel Ngare.
the story opens with Mr. Ngatia watching a football game at the computer lab. the students are standing outside waiting for the lab to be opened. students talking about a previous football game some even syaing that they will be having alot of money after the bets they had made.
miss Morgan finds them making noise and asks them to go to class but they explain to her that the computer lab had been locked. she tries calling Mr. Ngatia who does not hear the phone ring.
later she calls Omosh who has not yet reported to work. he had been beaten up for refusing to pay up a bet after a football game. he later gets to school limping. suddenly the students start fighting after one of them refuses to pay up a bet. miss morgan intercedes and sks them to see her at her office.
they all have different stories and they are sked to write essays on the game they had watched. some are asked to play football the whole day as one of the commontates on their game.
the episode is funny and i think the way the humour has been brought through the punshments is weeel thought of.
the camera movements and angles are well used. lighting as well as sound is okay.
Hazel Ngare.
Tahidi High critic - Hazel Ngare
This episode's plot dwells on form one monolization. tahidi high has just had new group of form one students. the old students vow to monolize them as a ritual of welcoming them to school.
a group of boys ask the form ones to sweep a very dirty verandah using toothbrushes. this is not amusing to one supporting staff (kellen) and she condemns the behaviour but noone listens to her.
omosh is not bothered by this as he is being helped with his duties. the form one students are also asked to clean the verandah with the toothbrushes and a cup of water.
The story line was obvious and that's how the form ones ar etreated in many schools it really didi not move me because i was expecting all these wierd commands to happen.
the production valus were well brought out though. the lighting, camere movements and angles, sound and characterization.
a group of boys ask the form ones to sweep a very dirty verandah using toothbrushes. this is not amusing to one supporting staff (kellen) and she condemns the behaviour but noone listens to her.
omosh is not bothered by this as he is being helped with his duties. the form one students are also asked to clean the verandah with the toothbrushes and a cup of water.
The story line was obvious and that's how the form ones ar etreated in many schools it really didi not move me because i was expecting all these wierd commands to happen.
the production valus were well brought out though. the lighting, camere movements and angles, sound and characterization.
Tahidi High critic
the episode was basically on unfaithfulness in marriages and how it affects children.
The programme opened with OJ scribbling something in his book at the carpark when Fredy joins him later and asks if Oj had finished the history assignment. oj confirms to have finished and fredy is worried that he had not been able to finish. when asked why he explains to Oj how his parents started fighting the previous night and it was hence hard for him to concentate on his studies. just as they are talking Julia a fellow student is b roght to school by an older man and when she gets out OJ and Fredy follow her to confirm who the man is.
on the other hand, Mr. Ngatia and his wife are having similar problems. the wife is acussing him of cheating on her and she even goes to an extent of threatening Omosh to tell her who the woman was.
Ngatia goes to class and asks for those who did not do his assignment to step out. no one does and when he points to Sintayo another student she admits she had not done the assignment. sintayo is asked to wait for the teacher outside class.
mr. Ngatia later meets Sintayo outside the staffroom where she explains that she couldnt do her assignment because of the problems her parents were going through. apparently Sintayo's mother had left them because the father was cheating on her.
when the students were leaving school Julia sees Sintayo sad and when she found out the problem Julia offers to invite Sintayo at her home. julia walks to the carpark with Sintayo as She tells her that her boyfriend was picking her up.
a car pulls over and julia introduces her boyfriend to Sintayo only to finf out that it was Sintayo's father. she is left shocked and does not believe it. Sintayo just walks away.
the production was good, the lighting communicated the mood to the audience. sound quality was also good.
i enioyed the episode because the plot had flow and each turning point was well brought out. the cast really fit their characters well. the suspence at the end makes the whole story sink and the audience is really involved emotionally.
However, i would have changed the fact that Sintayo's father was dating a student in the same school as the duaghter. if he knew this then he wouldnt have been as shocked as he was when he saw his daughter.
The programme opened with OJ scribbling something in his book at the carpark when Fredy joins him later and asks if Oj had finished the history assignment. oj confirms to have finished and fredy is worried that he had not been able to finish. when asked why he explains to Oj how his parents started fighting the previous night and it was hence hard for him to concentate on his studies. just as they are talking Julia a fellow student is b roght to school by an older man and when she gets out OJ and Fredy follow her to confirm who the man is.
on the other hand, Mr. Ngatia and his wife are having similar problems. the wife is acussing him of cheating on her and she even goes to an extent of threatening Omosh to tell her who the woman was.
Ngatia goes to class and asks for those who did not do his assignment to step out. no one does and when he points to Sintayo another student she admits she had not done the assignment. sintayo is asked to wait for the teacher outside class.
mr. Ngatia later meets Sintayo outside the staffroom where she explains that she couldnt do her assignment because of the problems her parents were going through. apparently Sintayo's mother had left them because the father was cheating on her.
when the students were leaving school Julia sees Sintayo sad and when she found out the problem Julia offers to invite Sintayo at her home. julia walks to the carpark with Sintayo as She tells her that her boyfriend was picking her up.
a car pulls over and julia introduces her boyfriend to Sintayo only to finf out that it was Sintayo's father. she is left shocked and does not believe it. Sintayo just walks away.
the production was good, the lighting communicated the mood to the audience. sound quality was also good.
i enioyed the episode because the plot had flow and each turning point was well brought out. the cast really fit their characters well. the suspence at the end makes the whole story sink and the audience is really involved emotionally.
However, i would have changed the fact that Sintayo's father was dating a student in the same school as the duaghter. if he knew this then he wouldnt have been as shocked as he was when he saw his daughter.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
SIRI by TREZER OGUDA
.....Still on Characterization, there are people who play support roles. They include ;
Moffat and his wife Joy(at one point, they are used to push foward the issue of couples testing for HIV in order to know themselves and protect unborn children.
Martha, who is, Isaiah the preacher's wife. She is used to show how unreasonable her husband can be in various issues such as family planning, education, and issue of women working like men to fend for their family.
other tea pickers also help advance the plot and make the dialogue interesting. Tea pickers and people who work in the estate are also used to show people's character. For instance, we get to know of Mr. Majani's cruelty and harrassment thtough the workers' dialogue as they pick tea, as they have a break or when walking home from work.
Others characters are used to show how women suffer in the hands of husbands who are drunks and who gamble all the money meant for the family in order to satisfy their drug needs.
Generally, I think the producer got very good actors who 'get into' their roles and bring them out so well that a viewer can relate to their situations due to their believability.
To make the plot more cohesive, i would make sure there is a person who distictly plays the role of protagonist.
DIALOGUE
Dialogue in SIRI basically flows really well. the characters are well chosen, fit into their roles, and so the dialogue does not come out fake/ acted out but believable. There is a mix of English and Swahili languages being used and this kind of creates the separaton line between the haves and the have-nots. English is a preserve of the likes of Mr. Majani and family, a few administrative workers and the pastor. The other characters mostly use Swahili and corrupted Swahili(sheng).
From the character's dialogue we get to know secrets and some of the characters' past experiences. Dialogue also helps the viewer know other characters' character.
I would not change anything about dialogue in SIRI. I am comfortable and think the fact that there was someone assigned the post of 'dialogue director' really helped put the programmme above quite a number of local productions.
Moffat and his wife Joy(at one point, they are used to push foward the issue of couples testing for HIV in order to know themselves and protect unborn children.
Martha, who is, Isaiah the preacher's wife. She is used to show how unreasonable her husband can be in various issues such as family planning, education, and issue of women working like men to fend for their family.
other tea pickers also help advance the plot and make the dialogue interesting. Tea pickers and people who work in the estate are also used to show people's character. For instance, we get to know of Mr. Majani's cruelty and harrassment thtough the workers' dialogue as they pick tea, as they have a break or when walking home from work.
Others characters are used to show how women suffer in the hands of husbands who are drunks and who gamble all the money meant for the family in order to satisfy their drug needs.
Generally, I think the producer got very good actors who 'get into' their roles and bring them out so well that a viewer can relate to their situations due to their believability.
To make the plot more cohesive, i would make sure there is a person who distictly plays the role of protagonist.
DIALOGUE
Dialogue in SIRI basically flows really well. the characters are well chosen, fit into their roles, and so the dialogue does not come out fake/ acted out but believable. There is a mix of English and Swahili languages being used and this kind of creates the separaton line between the haves and the have-nots. English is a preserve of the likes of Mr. Majani and family, a few administrative workers and the pastor. The other characters mostly use Swahili and corrupted Swahili(sheng).
From the character's dialogue we get to know secrets and some of the characters' past experiences. Dialogue also helps the viewer know other characters' character.
I would not change anything about dialogue in SIRI. I am comfortable and think the fact that there was someone assigned the post of 'dialogue director' really helped put the programmme above quite a number of local productions.
Tahidi High Review
09/03/10This was the first episode of Tahidi High or of any Kenyan television show I have yet seen. I enjoyed the program and could clearly see that it was created, written, cast, shot and produced by a solid production team. In this episode, many of the high school student’s parents are coming to school to speak with the teacher about their recent academic performance. The character OJ is unhappy with his exam results and Omosh, his uncle urges him to up his grades. In a seemingly separate story line, Julia’s mother, who has been away from home a long time, returns to check on Julia’s grades. Another student claims she saw one of her teachers kissing her mother and Julia is very unhappy. She watches as her mother and her teacher talk in the class room and afterward, Julia slaps her mother. The principle witnesses this and the three discuss the issue in her office. Julia’s mother is getting a divorce and it is difficult for the whole family. I thought the script was well done. It avoided overly cliché lines, even when dealing with cliché plot points and did not seem overly preachy or didactic when dealing with preachy and didactic issues. The target audience is well rounded as the show can be enjoyed by all ages but is geared towards high school students themselves. Camera shots in this episode were well done and the locations used were appropriate. I enjoyed the repeating shot of a student or teacher listening in to the grade reports and slowly tiptoeing away. This was useful to both characterization and overall aesthetic.
16/03/10
This episode focused on the risk involved in sexual activity. A student named Freddy receives a letter during a class discussion on the dangers of sex. Suspense is built quite well in this episode as the letter passes through several teachers and students who react to the letter though its contents are not revealed until later. Freddy has made a girl in the school pregnant and worried he may have HIV/AIDS. Much suspense builds but eventually the students find out that the girl was only playing a cruel joke on them. The episode did a good job building intrigue and created many problems for the main character, Freddy, but the end result left much to be desired. It was an unrealistic joke and a strange way to end such a serious episode. The cast was good and though not entirely realistic, well done and professional.
23/03/10
In this episode of Tahidi High, the business studies teacher is jealous of another teacher who is getting better results. In class, he raises the pass mark to 80%, which alarms the students who have not been paying attention. One character named Joni (?) finds the exam on a desk and takes it. It was placed purposefully by the teacher earlier. He shows friends who show other friends and soon the whole class skips lunch in order to memorize the answers. Omosh finds out and tells the principle. When the class sits down to take the class, they find not a business studies paper but a physics test. There were several good camera angles in this episode. When the student is wondering whether to take the exam he finds on the desk. The camera zooms in on the paper and the student’s face. Later, the scene in the library where the three boys and three girls are sitting across the room is expert. This episode really showed off the great casting in the show. The reactions of all background characters are very good. I wish I knew Kiswahili so I could understand the apparently very funny dialogue of Omosh and other characters in the show but it is still easy to follow.
30/03/10
This episode of Tahidi High revolved around the theme of fighting. Boys in the school had bet on a football match the night before and when one student joked about not paying, a fight broke out. Meanwhile, Omosh was late to school after apparently being beaten by someone or something. I was unable to find a translation as he was speaking in Kiswahili so I lost a bit of the plot, but suffice to say it had something to do with the overall theme. Another teacher, one who was late to get to class (which led to the students being locked out of the room and being idle when the fight earlier broke out), then gives a very well scripted speech to the class about the situation and does his best to let the students pass. The script of this episode was very well done and the plot appropriately complicated. Camera angles, especially close ups to create a sense of quite and obliviousness while the teacher watched football alone in the computer lab, and the shot trailing Omosh as he limped to school, were well thought through.
-Tyler Martindale
SIRI critique by TREZER OGUDA
As mentioned in an earlier post, i dont see a clear overall protagonist but as the programme continues, i can identify roles of different characters...
Mr. Majani represents the antagonist, by virtue of the fact that the meagre pay he gives to the workers does little to suppliment their needs, leave alone helping them to achieve their dreams.
Different characters are used to create conflict in the plot... for instance,
Isaiah, is a man of God whose religion is very strict and sometimes rubs people the wrong way, even his wife and chilren. He does not believe in family planning; once when his daughter was enrolled in school he insisted on her wearing the church apparel as opposed to the uniform. this brought alot of conflict. He believes strongly that if you do not follow his religion then u are a pagan(kafiri).
Another person who creates conflict is Tom, an administrator in Majani tea farm. despite having a wife he is always preying on younger women. He is already eyeing anew arrival, the pastor's daughter, whose character is also quetioned going by the view that pastor's kids are always good.
Bob, Mr.Majani's son, also brings conflict to the plot. He represents children who wish to live their lives independent of their parents' interference he is always at loggerheads with his mum over choice of a girlfriend who comes from a lesser status, and his dad over the fact that he does not want to go back to England to study.
Rumina, the late Jack's wife represents the stigmatised HIV positive people in the society, somehow rumour has it that she is HIV positive and so many people sideline her... this creates alot of conflict and drama in majani tea estate.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
Mr. Majani represents the antagonist, by virtue of the fact that the meagre pay he gives to the workers does little to suppliment their needs, leave alone helping them to achieve their dreams.
Different characters are used to create conflict in the plot... for instance,
Isaiah, is a man of God whose religion is very strict and sometimes rubs people the wrong way, even his wife and chilren. He does not believe in family planning; once when his daughter was enrolled in school he insisted on her wearing the church apparel as opposed to the uniform. this brought alot of conflict. He believes strongly that if you do not follow his religion then u are a pagan(kafiri).
Another person who creates conflict is Tom, an administrator in Majani tea farm. despite having a wife he is always preying on younger women. He is already eyeing anew arrival, the pastor's daughter, whose character is also quetioned going by the view that pastor's kids are always good.
Bob, Mr.Majani's son, also brings conflict to the plot. He represents children who wish to live their lives independent of their parents' interference he is always at loggerheads with his mum over choice of a girlfriend who comes from a lesser status, and his dad over the fact that he does not want to go back to England to study.
Rumina, the late Jack's wife represents the stigmatised HIV positive people in the society, somehow rumour has it that she is HIV positive and so many people sideline her... this creates alot of conflict and drama in majani tea estate.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
SIRI critique by TREZER OGUDA
The first episode does a good job of introducing the concept of SIRI( A SECRET). when the programme was ending, a guy called Jack(is deceased), says that in Majani tea Estate everyone has dreams which they wish to fullfil in life. however, one way or another, everyone has a secret, hence SIRI, the title. He seems to imply that secrets can cause problems and can hinder one from achieving their dreams. the character Jack died from HIV, and the only one who knows is his friend Moffat. Jack made Moffat promise never to tell anyone and so Moffat lives with Jack's secret regardless of the fact that Jack left behind a pregnant wife and two other children...
there is use of flashback to show the viewer what preceeded the actions of different characters on the first episode.
From the first episode of this season's run of SIRI, i dont get a clear overall protagonist. I feel like there are different protagonists. everyone in the programme is trying to achieve something in his life, for most people, it is success and to rid themselves of poverty. they call Mr. Majani 'pharaoh', owing to his cruel nature(unyanyasaji);
SIRI is also a kind of informative/ sensitization show. At the end of each episode, there is an 'advice', mostly regarding HIV/AIDS issues.
there is use of flashback to show the viewer what preceeded the actions of different characters on the first episode.
From the first episode of this season's run of SIRI, i dont get a clear overall protagonist. I feel like there are different protagonists. everyone in the programme is trying to achieve something in his life, for most people, it is success and to rid themselves of poverty. they call Mr. Majani 'pharaoh', owing to his cruel nature(unyanyasaji);
SIRI is also a kind of informative/ sensitization show. At the end of each episode, there is an 'advice', mostly regarding HIV/AIDS issues.
programme critique- SIRI by TREZER OGUDA
I find siri to be one of the best produced local programmes...from the theme to the camera shots and basically the programmes direction.
The programme starts with its African signature tune( while tune is playing, there is a person signalling silence,as in putting a finger on his lips- this means keep the secret a secret,dont tell) then comes the opening montage which is usually a re-run of selected scenes from the previous episodes.
SIRI is set up at the rural area, specifically majani tea estate. majani farm is owned by Mr. Majani who has a wife and a son. other characters are tea pickers and people who earn their living within the tea estate. Be it the accountants or the watchman at the gate.
The programme starts with its African signature tune( while tune is playing, there is a person signalling silence,as in putting a finger on his lips- this means keep the secret a secret,dont tell) then comes the opening montage which is usually a re-run of selected scenes from the previous episodes.
SIRI is set up at the rural area, specifically majani tea estate. majani farm is owned by Mr. Majani who has a wife and a son. other characters are tea pickers and people who earn their living within the tea estate. Be it the accountants or the watchman at the gate.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
PROGRAMME CRITIQUE
Tahidi High
Citizen television
25-1-2010
The programmme premise was sex among the youth. According to the programme pemarital sex is caused by lazy parents who do not supervise and communicate their children and lack of supervision and from the school.
The programme montage was a virtual classroom.
The transition from one scene to the next was the image super music then dialogue.
The plot unfolded as someone put a condom in Eddies bag. The midpoint was when Shish is discovered to have birth control pills. She was given the pills by her mother who suspected that she is sexually active.
The themes that were brought out include
HIV/AIDS
Teens are not ready for the consequences of sex
Lack of communication between parents and their children
Teen pregnancy
There were several adverts that were aired.
I did not feel that they complemented the programme.
These were
Omo
Always
Eno
Blue triangle cement
Mpesa safaricom
Jik
Safaricom super ongea
The always advert was incorporated in the script. The characters strongly endorsed the product.
Citizen television
25-1-2010
The programmme premise was sex among the youth. According to the programme pemarital sex is caused by lazy parents who do not supervise and communicate their children and lack of supervision and from the school.
The programme montage was a virtual classroom.
The transition from one scene to the next was the image super music then dialogue.
The plot unfolded as someone put a condom in Eddies bag. The midpoint was when Shish is discovered to have birth control pills. She was given the pills by her mother who suspected that she is sexually active.
The themes that were brought out include
HIV/AIDS
Teens are not ready for the consequences of sex
Lack of communication between parents and their children
Teen pregnancy
There were several adverts that were aired.
I did not feel that they complemented the programme.
These were
Omo
Always
Eno
Blue triangle cement
Mpesa safaricom
Jik
Safaricom super ongea
The always advert was incorporated in the script. The characters strongly endorsed the product.
television movie critique
TELEVISION MOVIE EVALUATION- SELFISH
Selfish is a modern Kenyan Drama about modern Kenyan women. It’s a drama that runs for 65 minutes and it has been produced by JITU film. Selfish has been directed by Hawa Essuman. It follows the lives of two women, Angela, an advertising executive, and Mercy, a part time model. Both fall pregnant and choose different paths: One to keep the baby, the other abortion. Are Angela and Mercy really selfish or is it the people who influence their decision?
Angela who decides to keep the baby has supportive friends and family but she is not a happy lady. We see from the movie that even after she gives birth, she feels that her baby loves everyone else apart from her. She feels that she gave up her career to be a mother but she doesn’t enjoy any bit of it.
On the other hand, Mercy is pressurized by her boyfriend to have an abortion although she wanted to keep the baby. We see that she is emotionally disturbed after her abortion. A good case is when she has gone to buy chapattis and sukuma wiki, she meets with a pregnant woman and starts feeling sorry for herself.
The story line is quite relevant especially in our Kenyan society. This is because young Kenyan girls are getting pregnant and they are normally forced to make decisions- whether to keep the baby or to have an abortion. Either way you have to deal with the consequences of your decision. However, I feel that the story has an abrupt ending. According to me, the story has no climax which is quite important in any production. Also, I feel that the script writer hasn’t created enough trouble for her characters. She hasn’t been a trouble maker for her characters.
The 4P's were brought out quite clearly. There were two protagonists in the story- Angela and Mercy. The premise is showing if modern Kenyan women are selfish when it comes to making decisions or is it the people who influence their decisions that are the selfish ones. The problem is how the two protagonists deal with the decisions that they make. The plot has been described in paragraph one, page one.
The main characters are: Angela Odundo and Mercy Ingige. The secondary characters are: Sam, Angela's mother and best friend and Mercy's boyfriend. The incidental characters are: The house maid, Mercy's father, Angela's parents in law.
The characters move the plot of the story forward as they are used to develop it.
They portray different character traits:
Angela is hardworking and determined to succeed and she even feels that by her getting a baby will just slow down her success as she will have to take a leave and she has just started off in her career. She is also honest as she tells her mother the truth about her being pregnant and the options she would like to take-key of these being abortion. Angela is also inconsiderate as she leaves for Zanzibar even without telling her husband where she has gone. She is always ever complaining despite her husband being ready to support her in every way. A good example is when Sam, her husband brings home groceries and she starts shouting and yelling at him for no apparent reason. However, Angela's best friend blames the mood swings on the pregnancy but she confronts Angela and lets her know that how she is treating her husband is not right.
Mercy is a soft spoken young girl and she allows her boy friend to make her decisions for her. She cannot stand firm for what she believes.
Sam is quite a funny character. He brings humor into the film. He cracks jokes that ease tension in the play. An example of humor is when he says that nowadays the pregnancy tests done at the hospitals can be done using someone else's urine instead of your own. He is also quite understanding and supportive of his wife when she is pregnant as he takes good care of her. Sam is also very responsible as he knows his duties as a husband.
Angela's mother and her parents in law are supportive and loving because when they discover that Angela is pregnant, they are ready to support the young family and even Sam's parents give them a house.
The dialogue used is effective as it depicts the traits of the characters. However, there should be titles when a character speaks in Kiswahili or Luo so that the audiences cannot be left behind.
The camera shots that are prominent are, Over the shoulder shots, Close ups, Medium Shots, Aerial Shot and Long shots. The transitions that were quite common are Cut, Fade Out to Black and Dissolve. However, some of the transitions were quite long- like the fade out to black. Camera movements that were used included the zoom although these zooms were not smooth and they were too fast Pan was also used to show the relationship between talent X and talent Y.
When portraying the flash backs, the director used black and white and we as the audience could easily tell that that scene was a flash back.
The montage was direct and simple and it lasted for 10seconds. However when they were introducing the characters, it reached a point when they were mixing the names of the characters and their pictures, therefore you couldn’t tell who was who. The music of the montage was relevant as it portrayed a somber atmosphere.
The lighting of the play was above average as it portrayed the mood of a particular scene. The picture quality was also good as you don’t have to strain to look at the pictures.
All in all, I enjoyed watching Selfish as it was a good production and I would recommend it to all audiences and especially young Kenyan females as many would identify with the two protagonists.
MUIRURI MUTHEGU PRISCILLA
08-0751
Selfish is a modern Kenyan Drama about modern Kenyan women. It’s a drama that runs for 65 minutes and it has been produced by JITU film. Selfish has been directed by Hawa Essuman. It follows the lives of two women, Angela, an advertising executive, and Mercy, a part time model. Both fall pregnant and choose different paths: One to keep the baby, the other abortion. Are Angela and Mercy really selfish or is it the people who influence their decision?
Angela who decides to keep the baby has supportive friends and family but she is not a happy lady. We see from the movie that even after she gives birth, she feels that her baby loves everyone else apart from her. She feels that she gave up her career to be a mother but she doesn’t enjoy any bit of it.
On the other hand, Mercy is pressurized by her boyfriend to have an abortion although she wanted to keep the baby. We see that she is emotionally disturbed after her abortion. A good case is when she has gone to buy chapattis and sukuma wiki, she meets with a pregnant woman and starts feeling sorry for herself.
The story line is quite relevant especially in our Kenyan society. This is because young Kenyan girls are getting pregnant and they are normally forced to make decisions- whether to keep the baby or to have an abortion. Either way you have to deal with the consequences of your decision. However, I feel that the story has an abrupt ending. According to me, the story has no climax which is quite important in any production. Also, I feel that the script writer hasn’t created enough trouble for her characters. She hasn’t been a trouble maker for her characters.
The 4P's were brought out quite clearly. There were two protagonists in the story- Angela and Mercy. The premise is showing if modern Kenyan women are selfish when it comes to making decisions or is it the people who influence their decisions that are the selfish ones. The problem is how the two protagonists deal with the decisions that they make. The plot has been described in paragraph one, page one.
The main characters are: Angela Odundo and Mercy Ingige. The secondary characters are: Sam, Angela's mother and best friend and Mercy's boyfriend. The incidental characters are: The house maid, Mercy's father, Angela's parents in law.
The characters move the plot of the story forward as they are used to develop it.
They portray different character traits:
Angela is hardworking and determined to succeed and she even feels that by her getting a baby will just slow down her success as she will have to take a leave and she has just started off in her career. She is also honest as she tells her mother the truth about her being pregnant and the options she would like to take-key of these being abortion. Angela is also inconsiderate as she leaves for Zanzibar even without telling her husband where she has gone. She is always ever complaining despite her husband being ready to support her in every way. A good example is when Sam, her husband brings home groceries and she starts shouting and yelling at him for no apparent reason. However, Angela's best friend blames the mood swings on the pregnancy but she confronts Angela and lets her know that how she is treating her husband is not right.
Mercy is a soft spoken young girl and she allows her boy friend to make her decisions for her. She cannot stand firm for what she believes.
Sam is quite a funny character. He brings humor into the film. He cracks jokes that ease tension in the play. An example of humor is when he says that nowadays the pregnancy tests done at the hospitals can be done using someone else's urine instead of your own. He is also quite understanding and supportive of his wife when she is pregnant as he takes good care of her. Sam is also very responsible as he knows his duties as a husband.
Angela's mother and her parents in law are supportive and loving because when they discover that Angela is pregnant, they are ready to support the young family and even Sam's parents give them a house.
The dialogue used is effective as it depicts the traits of the characters. However, there should be titles when a character speaks in Kiswahili or Luo so that the audiences cannot be left behind.
The camera shots that are prominent are, Over the shoulder shots, Close ups, Medium Shots, Aerial Shot and Long shots. The transitions that were quite common are Cut, Fade Out to Black and Dissolve. However, some of the transitions were quite long- like the fade out to black. Camera movements that were used included the zoom although these zooms were not smooth and they were too fast Pan was also used to show the relationship between talent X and talent Y.
When portraying the flash backs, the director used black and white and we as the audience could easily tell that that scene was a flash back.
The montage was direct and simple and it lasted for 10seconds. However when they were introducing the characters, it reached a point when they were mixing the names of the characters and their pictures, therefore you couldn’t tell who was who. The music of the montage was relevant as it portrayed a somber atmosphere.
The lighting of the play was above average as it portrayed the mood of a particular scene. The picture quality was also good as you don’t have to strain to look at the pictures.
All in all, I enjoyed watching Selfish as it was a good production and I would recommend it to all audiences and especially young Kenyan females as many would identify with the two protagonists.
MUIRURI MUTHEGU PRISCILLA
08-0751
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
I know things can get rather tricky after a long time and one might start running out of creative ideas to sustain a screen play or other but I have so much faith in Naomi Kamau's potential to take Mother-in law to hihger levels inspite of the long seasons it has ran. I am glad they are making very good use of the new media-especially the internet to collect viewrs' opinions and suggestion-they have a facebook page of which I am a fan, and the Citizen website offers a chance for comments to various programmes via links, etc. If we all(especially the COM364 class members of Daystar University-current and old) make use of these media to give helpful comments and suggestions for improvement of our local programmes, I am hopeful that local television and film productions in Kenya, East Africa and Africa stands a great chance of leading the international market in its own way. Like I mentioned earlier, we must tell our stories in our own way, and this way we will impact our society positively.
My last words on Mother-in law: I so love this programme, and to all those involved in it at various levels, I say "kipindi yenu iko sawa. keep it up, up, up, and further up!!
Love, Helene Mayele
My last words on Mother-in law: I so love this programme, and to all those involved in it at various levels, I say "kipindi yenu iko sawa. keep it up, up, up, and further up!!
Love, Helene Mayele
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
On a somewhat negative note, I have noticed that some story lines are left hanging and are we the viewers who never get to know what happened after since the next episode might highlight something different. A case in point is when the baby Jay had gotten lost and it looked like he had fallen into a pit or something. During the next episode we were not shown what happened to him. There's also the case of Jack, Alison's husband who is said to have gone to Juba but very little is said, let alone shown of him. Personally I wonder how he is and what he is doing there really. More over, Alison seems to be getting rare in the picture these days. Why? The viewer is then left in total suspension which most likely never gets answered. He or she is left with only one choice-go with the flow.
This hurt continuity in the show and portrays lack of consistence in scripting hence showing a big weakness on the script writer, director and producer's side. I also believe that that it's a minus on the actors/actresses side as well since they are the spine of the drama, they need to easily identify inconsistencies.
My advice to them again is that they should show change and or disappearance of a character more professionally. That is, concoct something inline with the current storyline or just take them to another location but keep us updated on how they're doing either through shots of them there or through dialogues of friends and family, etc. I liked Jack for having come out of his mum's spell and started seeing things from Alison (his wife's) point of view but now he is missing in action and no body will tell me where the husband to my favorite actress Alison (Naomi Kamau)-the iron lady is.
Another thing I noticed recently and I don't like is that now some of the characters are beginning to talk and sound like Mother-in law herself. For example, on Sunday 28th March 2010, Sandra and Charlie's trend of speech/dialogue and facial expressions seemed typical of Charity-the way she says things in one's face sarcastically and walks away, I saw this with those two. I think this is killing it. Each character aught to be unique in his or her own way and not a duplicate of another especially the protagonist!
This hurt continuity in the show and portrays lack of consistence in scripting hence showing a big weakness on the script writer, director and producer's side. I also believe that that it's a minus on the actors/actresses side as well since they are the spine of the drama, they need to easily identify inconsistencies.
My advice to them again is that they should show change and or disappearance of a character more professionally. That is, concoct something inline with the current storyline or just take them to another location but keep us updated on how they're doing either through shots of them there or through dialogues of friends and family, etc. I liked Jack for having come out of his mum's spell and started seeing things from Alison (his wife's) point of view but now he is missing in action and no body will tell me where the husband to my favorite actress Alison (Naomi Kamau)-the iron lady is.
Another thing I noticed recently and I don't like is that now some of the characters are beginning to talk and sound like Mother-in law herself. For example, on Sunday 28th March 2010, Sandra and Charlie's trend of speech/dialogue and facial expressions seemed typical of Charity-the way she says things in one's face sarcastically and walks away, I saw this with those two. I think this is killing it. Each character aught to be unique in his or her own way and not a duplicate of another especially the protagonist!
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
I forgot to mention support characters with outstanding roles in the Drama Mother-in law when I discussed briefly the Actors and Actresses. Some of these characters are Swapo, Mike and Ras Mundu; the conversations the three have are quite exciting. They give the show more flavor and build-up.
Then there is also the sisters, Angie and Tina. These are examples of feminine perfection, a sight for sore eyes!(All the ladies say yeah!) Their skimpy dressing and the chick-fights they often have are reasons to keep watching Mother-in law.
These characters and the lead characters as well as the story makes us grip onto the show. The story has a unique premise that sets it apart and unlike what am used to, the protagonist is the 'bad' one-mother-in law/Charity, not the usual sweet suffering one I know. I like the way the script is written and developed. Once, Mother-in law even went to America (USA) and came back with an accent and attitude all packaged in one,; then another time she is in the local church choir busy preparing for a singing competition yet her voice is....you know! On another occasion, she claims to be deaf but when her husband Mwamba tricks her saying he has lots of money kept away in the bank, she quickly responds....that is mother-in law for you, huh! One in a million isn't she?
Then there is also the sisters, Angie and Tina. These are examples of feminine perfection, a sight for sore eyes!(All the ladies say yeah!) Their skimpy dressing and the chick-fights they often have are reasons to keep watching Mother-in law.
These characters and the lead characters as well as the story makes us grip onto the show. The story has a unique premise that sets it apart and unlike what am used to, the protagonist is the 'bad' one-mother-in law/Charity, not the usual sweet suffering one I know. I like the way the script is written and developed. Once, Mother-in law even went to America (USA) and came back with an accent and attitude all packaged in one,; then another time she is in the local church choir busy preparing for a singing competition yet her voice is....you know! On another occasion, she claims to be deaf but when her husband Mwamba tricks her saying he has lots of money kept away in the bank, she quickly responds....that is mother-in law for you, huh! One in a million isn't she?
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
The duration-30minutes to me is also appropriate when speaking as a producer or director, or a person somewhere in that area. This is because I believe it will give viewers reason to tune in to the next episode-they say too much of anything is bad, also, the short time allows for long term running of the production which equals to more advertisements of sponsors and consequently more money for the show. However as an ordinary viewer, I find the 30minutes too short for me to get the real taste of the story, just when I'm beginning to enjoy the story is when they decide to cut living me in utter suspense. Then the next Sunday I find myself skipping all other plans to catch Mother-in law at 7:30pm. If the producers' intention is like mine above, it has worked on.
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
There is always conflict and more conflict in the Mwando family house. The 30minutes episodes every Sunday end with huge suspense or at the peak of a conflict always ignited by the Mother-in law. She (Mother-in law) is the villain in the drama and yet seems to get away with it. Her son's especially Robert love her to death even when they clearly know she is on the wrong, they side with her than with their wives. No wonder the fact that all of them live together in one huge house as one family. Something the daughters-in law detest.
On the technical side, I like the opening montage of the drama series-the establishment shot of the main house of this family. Then, everything else seems to take place inside the house and sometimes around the house. Very few scenes are shot out of the house. A lot of close-up shots are often used in this show to show the emotions on their the actor's faces-since there's always tension in the house. For example there is this episode where the three daughter's in law were caught up in a myriad; Lisa had just come into the country with her husband Robert when her mother-in law spread rumors about Celina's miscarriage to her. Charity said that Celina had lost the baby because she had had too many abortions previously. Mother-in law spread this around and soon Celina hears about it in the neighborhood that it was Lisa who had said the things against her. Celina furiously attacks Lisa, finds Lisa seated with Alison. Lisa told her it was their mother-in law who had told her and spread the rumors not her(Lisa). The three ladies head off to face their mother-in law. After the close ups of their facial expressions after confronting Charity, a closeup of Charity seems to reveal her shame and embarrassment when all of a sudden she does her trade mark wicked smile and asks, "so you people want to beat me?" and then, "What if I told you (to Alison) that she (Lisa) told me that you often sneak out in trousers late in the night after we've all slept to go and dance? Is it because your husband is not here?" Shock on Alison who turns with all fury to face the now numb Lisa, a close up of mother-in law then shows her wicked victory smile again. How wonderful... I loved this particular episode, the shots, action and entire production was wow! Long shots are also used frequently to give us full view of the actor/actresses environment.
On the technical side, I like the opening montage of the drama series-the establishment shot of the main house of this family. Then, everything else seems to take place inside the house and sometimes around the house. Very few scenes are shot out of the house. A lot of close-up shots are often used in this show to show the emotions on their the actor's faces-since there's always tension in the house. For example there is this episode where the three daughter's in law were caught up in a myriad; Lisa had just come into the country with her husband Robert when her mother-in law spread rumors about Celina's miscarriage to her. Charity said that Celina had lost the baby because she had had too many abortions previously. Mother-in law spread this around and soon Celina hears about it in the neighborhood that it was Lisa who had said the things against her. Celina furiously attacks Lisa, finds Lisa seated with Alison. Lisa told her it was their mother-in law who had told her and spread the rumors not her(Lisa). The three ladies head off to face their mother-in law. After the close ups of their facial expressions after confronting Charity, a closeup of Charity seems to reveal her shame and embarrassment when all of a sudden she does her trade mark wicked smile and asks, "so you people want to beat me?" and then, "What if I told you (to Alison) that she (Lisa) told me that you often sneak out in trousers late in the night after we've all slept to go and dance? Is it because your husband is not here?" Shock on Alison who turns with all fury to face the now numb Lisa, a close up of mother-in law then shows her wicked victory smile again. How wonderful... I loved this particular episode, the shots, action and entire production was wow! Long shots are also used frequently to give us full view of the actor/actresses environment.
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
Now let's take a look at the three brothers Jack, Charlie and Robert. Initially, it was only Jack and Charlie in the picture; two brothers constantly at war with each other, Jack being the successful & ambitious businessman and Charlie on the other hand a drunkard and an underachiever-basically the proverbial black sheep of the family.
However, lately Charlie seems to have 'grown up' and is refreshing his life. I wonder if Jack's long business trip to Juba, South Sudan has something to do with this change in his brother's life. This rejuvenation in Charlie's life seems to be undergoing trials-another brother Robert jetted into the country from USA after so many years of disappearance of the family picture. Recently, thier mother-Charity or Mother-in law caused a stir between the men when she gave Robert the unfinished house which had apparently been given to Charlie by their dad-Mwando sometime back. Now there's more friction between the brothers. Their wives Celina for Charlie and Lisa for Robert are not also seeing each other eye to eye for this and other reasons.
However, lately Charlie seems to have 'grown up' and is refreshing his life. I wonder if Jack's long business trip to Juba, South Sudan has something to do with this change in his brother's life. This rejuvenation in Charlie's life seems to be undergoing trials-another brother Robert jetted into the country from USA after so many years of disappearance of the family picture. Recently, thier mother-Charity or Mother-in law caused a stir between the men when she gave Robert the unfinished house which had apparently been given to Charlie by their dad-Mwando sometime back. Now there's more friction between the brothers. Their wives Celina for Charlie and Lisa for Robert are not also seeing each other eye to eye for this and other reasons.
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
Oops! I drifted away from what I ventured out to do-the programme critique to being preachy as if... But that's done (and i feel great, not Afrocentric per se) back to business.
Mother-in law:
This show writen by Naomi Kamau has gained tremendous popularity over time. it's main target is the family. I believe it cuts across audiences. One may argue that it targets married couples, another person may say it targets the single people getting ready to venture the world of marriage, some one else may also say that it is meant primarily for mothers-in law or parent's in law, or even for parents of grown married children. But I say, its for all of these categories of peopla and more. Youth can fit in here-grab some important tips on what to expect in their marriages, more so, it does not align to any particular ethnic society or religion in Kenya, allowing for diversity to be embraced. No wonder the the great number of fans it has.
The actors and actresses are seasoned and very comfortable with their roles while the characters they play turn the 30-minute episodes into chunks of televised bliss…
The main actors and actresses in Mother-in law are: Charity-the mother-in law who loves to stress her daughters in law claiming it is out of love for them, their husbands and her grand-children; Mwambo-the father-in law, a rather calm and collected old man whom Charity often despises; Alison a head-strong young woman married to one of Mother-in law's sons Jack. Alison seems to be the one daugther in law who manages Charity's sturboness and meaness well; Celina married to Charlie one of the sons; Robert one of the sons (was living in the USA and is now back) married to Lisa, and then there is Sandra, a wife to a member of parliament and landlady of some apartments-she likes to be nosy and gossips quite some.
Set in urban Kenyan city of Nairobi, Mother-in law offers a good insight into the complexity of extended family life. The conflict between Charity (the mother-in-law) and her daughters-in-law especially Alison clearly portrays the volatile and often unbearable relationship between in-laws. But I ask myself, "Is there a positive side to mother-in law's behaviour?" Viewers although like her, seem to say, "Hey shosh!!wee ni mharsh sana"!
Mother-in law:
This show writen by Naomi Kamau has gained tremendous popularity over time. it's main target is the family. I believe it cuts across audiences. One may argue that it targets married couples, another person may say it targets the single people getting ready to venture the world of marriage, some one else may also say that it is meant primarily for mothers-in law or parent's in law, or even for parents of grown married children. But I say, its for all of these categories of peopla and more. Youth can fit in here-grab some important tips on what to expect in their marriages, more so, it does not align to any particular ethnic society or religion in Kenya, allowing for diversity to be embraced. No wonder the the great number of fans it has.
The actors and actresses are seasoned and very comfortable with their roles while the characters they play turn the 30-minute episodes into chunks of televised bliss…
The main actors and actresses in Mother-in law are: Charity-the mother-in law who loves to stress her daughters in law claiming it is out of love for them, their husbands and her grand-children; Mwambo-the father-in law, a rather calm and collected old man whom Charity often despises; Alison a head-strong young woman married to one of Mother-in law's sons Jack. Alison seems to be the one daugther in law who manages Charity's sturboness and meaness well; Celina married to Charlie one of the sons; Robert one of the sons (was living in the USA and is now back) married to Lisa, and then there is Sandra, a wife to a member of parliament and landlady of some apartments-she likes to be nosy and gossips quite some.
Set in urban Kenyan city of Nairobi, Mother-in law offers a good insight into the complexity of extended family life. The conflict between Charity (the mother-in-law) and her daughters-in-law especially Alison clearly portrays the volatile and often unbearable relationship between in-laws. But I ask myself, "Is there a positive side to mother-in law's behaviour?" Viewers although like her, seem to say, "Hey shosh!!wee ni mharsh sana"!
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
Local TV programmes in Kenya are definitely getting better by the day. It's been a long journey for local film industry and I must point out that it's paying off very well considering the final product we now see on our screens. Programmes like Mother-in law make want to shout “Najivunia kuwa mkenya”!!!!, they are deep-the the production standards, the stories they tell are real to us, we can identify with characters and make necessary changes in our lives (i believe mama Charity-Mother in law is not the monster portrayed in the show but there definitely some mothers-in law like that character and i believe if they saw their 'image' on that screen, they would curse the day they became monster to their families and hopefully work on changing their life styles. So, like I often say when I'm feeling so proud to be African as a result of a POSITIVE outcome in Africa by an African, " Only we can tell our staries the way they ought to be told and only then can we change our society for the better. We are great people with great talents, skills, positive energy and even resources!! Lets put all these and more together and make the beautiful continent a better place for all mankind-black, white, yellow, blue, green, orange, what ever the colour, race, socio-economic, plotical status, etc we must continue to accomodate, or even accommodate the more. Oh how I love this our beautiful Africa....
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
I guess you've been wondering how my story with the interview and Mother-in law ended, well, here is the summary of the long story; early the next morning after the interview, I received a phone call from one of the directors who after making my heart pound loud enough to be heard from the next room, told me I was taken for the training...phewww I sighed. Days later into the training (which was fantastic by the way and Mrs. Kowuor had a helping hand in it for...kudos mum. and guy, be nice to her so such opportunities won't pass you by)I gathered courage and asked one of the interviewers what they laughed for when I told them that I was a die-hard fan of Mother-in law. He laughed again and then told me that they were all huge fans of the programme and when I mentioned it, they were all remind of the hilarious show that they had missed for months (mark you, this event took place in Uganda but the organization was from Kenya but just set up their Ugandan base). You can imagine how wonderful I felt on hearing that.
(to be continued)
Ciao Helene Mayelle
(to be continued)
Ciao Helene Mayelle
Programme Critique, Mayelle Helene (08-0028)
Programme: Mother-in law
Time:sundays, from 7:30pm to 8:00pm
Station: Citizen Television.
Genre: Local Drama series.
Mother-in-law is a local drama TV show with the normal twists of life in the African setup. Which I have grown to love so much.
Towards the end of 2009, I was being interviewed for a TV production training and one of the questions I was asked was, "Which Kenyan local TV programme do you enjoy the most?" Without any second thought I blurted out, "Mother-in law!" and the interviewers burst out into laughter. For a moment I was so scared thinking, I sounded stupid saying Mother-in law was the best programme locally produced in Kenya for Kenyans yet there could be many others. Out of the interview room, I recollected my thoughts and decided, "oh well. I don't care if they thought that was the dumbest answer they heard all morning or not. I gave them my opinion as the question deserved, and Mother-in law is surely my favorite programme so...
(to be continued)
Helene Mayele
Time:sundays, from 7:30pm to 8:00pm
Station: Citizen Television.
Genre: Local Drama series.
Mother-in-law is a local drama TV show with the normal twists of life in the African setup. Which I have grown to love so much.
Towards the end of 2009, I was being interviewed for a TV production training and one of the questions I was asked was, "Which Kenyan local TV programme do you enjoy the most?" Without any second thought I blurted out, "Mother-in law!" and the interviewers burst out into laughter. For a moment I was so scared thinking, I sounded stupid saying Mother-in law was the best programme locally produced in Kenya for Kenyans yet there could be many others. Out of the interview room, I recollected my thoughts and decided, "oh well. I don't care if they thought that was the dumbest answer they heard all morning or not. I gave them my opinion as the question deserved, and Mother-in law is surely my favorite programme so...
(to be continued)
Helene Mayele
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