By Farayi Mungoshi

AS discussed last week, we came to the conclusion the one with money determines what we see on film or television.
And because I, as a filmmaker, have needs; to eat, to feed my family and send my children to school, I find myself in a very compromising position and half the time contemplating whether to sell my soul for money and risk producing a film that will turn my very own son into a serial sex maniac or stick to my conscience and moral upbringing.
Only our conscience and upbringing can save us from what the world is forcing us to become.
Some years back I wrote a film script called Profane. It did not take us time to find someone who was willing to assist us look for funding in Europe for as long as the story promoted and argued the need for legalising prostitution in Zimbabwe as a way of curbing the spread of HIV.
As much as I loved that script and the fact that I was very broke at the time, my conscience would, however, not allow me to go through with it.
It looked and sounded like a good thing because the ultimate goal was to curb HIV, their argument being sex workers would have to be registered and have blood tests carried out from time to time, and also pay taxes.
My fear being, what if prostitution then got the nod to be legalised, would that not make me party to a law against my beliefs, despite the hard times we have fallen on as a nation?
With this understanding, I decided to look the other way and dump the script.
The sad story of a child who grows up well-disciplined and well-taught in her father’s house but because of the hardships brought upon us (by the very same people who want to promote such rights) should surely be told as is and not compromised for the love of money.
I bit my lower lip and looked away from the thousands of dollars that could have graced my pockets had I agreed.
This doesn’t mean would-be sponsors should shun getting involved because of the fear that what we deem as moral and upholding unhu/ubuntu is boring and nobody would want to watch.
Let’s take Safirio Madzikatire’s Mukadota for instance, despite sponsoring many other ventures, Lever Brothers made an extra impact because of Mukadota which it sponsored.
But today, only the older generation remember Lever Brothers, but most know Mukadota because his DVDs are still being pirated on the streets of Harare.
Unlike Coca-Cola, Lever Brothers did not continue with this kind of advertising thus the irrelevance today.
In fact, the name Lever Brothers sounds alien yet there are products still being produced here in Zimbabwe.
Filmmakers in Zimbabwe have a responsibility to uphold all things dear to Zimbabwe.
I believe most of us in Zimbabwe’s filmmaking industry have come across such temptations, and what differentiates the one that will take up an offer to show something that destroys the being of a nation and the one who doesn’t boils down to love of country and people alike.
One must understand unhu hwedu, no matter how often we now ask each other what is Zimbabwean culture. The need for foresight and understanding the reason behind some funds is vital because half the time it is not as it seems. Some funds are sugar-coated and are given in a bid to dismantle Africa and the brotherhood of the blackman, to undermine our women and make them look like sluts even though they don’t tell you so.
Take the beautiful Halle Berry for example, she won an Oscar award for her role in Monster’s Ball with Billy Bob Thornton, which left critics questioning whether Berry’s acting won her the Oscar or it was the sex scene she did with Thornton that did it.
That is but one example of how the Western world would want to view black women.
The MTV videos in which black women are portrayed dirty-dancing and naked is another example. They have managed to make it look glitzy and glamorous to such an extent we have women all over Africa copying them, unaware that it portrays them as sex toys.
Meanwhile, the capitalists who are after the eradication, degradation and mockery of black people sit back and watch. They have been watching and exhibiting black women for centuries – Sarah Baartman from South Africa is another good example showcased across Europe like some freak because of her ample behind.
Yet the scariest thing that remains is; how many of our women are willing to hold onto their pride and look away when offered money to display their nudity for the whole world to see like Beyonce Knowles often does in her videos?
And what’s even sadder is when a parent of such an artiste doesn’t see anything wrong with his/her daughter parading herself in such a manner like most African-Americans, preferring to call it art or work; how brainwashed and blind can one get?
How does one fail to see the negative effect this has on impressionable little girls across the globe?
Now we have more teenage sex, no thanks to televion. I say this because I have also been in such a position where I had to ask myself whether to shoot a full sex scene or to downplay it.
We can either make sexists, drunkards and drug addicts of our children or we can make a proud bunch that respects and cares for each other and self.
What we show Zimbabwe matters because television and internet are the biggest influences on character in the world today. I’m sure that the number of open gay relationships soared in South Africa when Generations finally decided to include gay characters in its show.
As much as local content is still needed by our local broadcaster, there is need to groom and teach the next generation on what separates Zimbabwe from the rest of the world.