Oddly, William Ruto, Joshua Arap Sang and Henry Kosgey’s Hague confirmation hearings provided unexpected reprieve. For two blissful days I was glued to the set, watching a hazy satellite feed that beamed a highly anticipated courtroom drama. Reality TV does not get better than this. The ICC pre-trail hearings have become a blessing in disguise for us Kenyan men who are overloaded with soap operas on TV. The women in my life were not amused that station programmers decided to suspend their soaps without so much as an apology.
Nowadays evening prime time TV across the networks is ruled by Latin American telenovellas (fancy name for a TV soap). Daytime TV belongs to Nollywood. Soaps are sold as entertainment for the female demographic and they balance it out with the news that men like to think of as issue related. The issue often being wardrobe choices of our favourite female newscasters or why some stations stuck in the dark ages refuse to accord their female anchors full body shot treatment.
Politics is the recurring storyline in the male soap opera. Men are fascinated by the shenanigans and trickery employed in the pursuit of power. They will pore through every minute aspect of their favourite politician’s life to appear informed. For many women, politicians are merely a passing fancy much like footballers. The men are ranked on looks, charisma, commercial appeal and the only important consideration is that the handsome, happily married, well-spoken one, wins in the end. They are not all caught up in the intrigues unless it involves illicit sex. From Clinton to Zuma to DSK, the bigger the man, the lower he sinks.
Most men regularly dismiss soaps as subordinate and trivial. A cheap fantasy trip for bored housewives, idle maids and gullible teenagers. They may be several closet male viewers, but only because they unintentionally figured out the plot in five minutes while waiting for the news. To admit to watching soaps is almost an act of emasculation. You might as well take up knitting. The underlying fear of course, is that they reinforce new rules for masculinity that define how boys become men.
The average fellow detests the TV soaps because the male characters are not relatable. The masculine representations come across as sappy collaborators used as reference material to castigate the regular dude for lacking romantic intuition. Women’s issues are the central theme of soaps. Forbidden love, sin and punishment and happiness after misery. The challenges faced in the perennial search for a good man will include despair, jealousy, and betrayal and sometimes-paternity disputes. In Kenya, there is no Oprah Winfrey-public-therapy equivalent. Men and their ambitions dominate talkshows so the telenovellas fill a huge gap. In the perfect world, all a good woman has to do is remain loyal and beautiful and her prince will be left with the little matter of having to prove his worth. Unless you are prepared to walk her down the aisle, your can forget the goods. Thus, a kiss is dragged out for 13 episodes because good men hold back passion. Naughty girls those ‘sluts’ who give up their bodies so easily, to steal your money can only bring ruin and soil the reputation of good men. Men are also reminded that even poor good guys can net a princess if they tweeze their eyebrows, do regular crunches and act chivalrous.
The chaste female lead is positioned as a heroine who despite making some of the dumbest decisions always triumphs against insurmountable odds. The supporting female cast are; the mother, the nurturer, the ball crusher and the temptress. Rags-to-riches is the recurring storyline. The lower class girl (always a gifted whiner) falling in love with the upper class boy and his family never approve. She is left to deal with evil mother-in-law, sister or best friend. Other women (not as beautiful) are foes who must be kept at bay because men cannot control their urges. Love comes at a great price but she does not walk alone. Like Nollywood, the good side fights in the name of God and the bad guys will always lose but not before they try the audiences’ patience.
Soaps are ‘soft power’ that I insist on screening as a cultural and moral force capable of influencing our society dramatically. I never estimate the power of tears. Also do not act surprised when your kids start imitating Latino accents. But as far family viewing goes it is a lot better than another televised karaoke contest. At least they do not promote smoking, alcohol, promiscuity and gun violence. Murderers are eventually haunted and ultimately there is redemption for Cinderella wannabes. This appears to be the encoded social message. Romantic love is not for the faint hearted. Life can get melodramatic and world is full of jealous people who delight in making others unhappy. It is the same shared despair and misery that must afflict Arsenal football fans following the teams’ recent shabby Premier league performance against Manchester United.
