In most of Africa the threats to a free, open and participatory media system and cultural production are as much from repressive governments as from the interests of rich nations, international financial institutions and multinational capital. The chapter suggests that it is necessary to look beyond meta-narratives of euphoria and victimhood to understand how marginalized individuals and communities are responding to state repression and the global logic of cultural flows and closures.
The creative responses highlighted here and explored by others elsewhere (e.g. Friedman 1990, 1991, 1994, Gondola 1999) are only indicative of the ongoing efforts by ordinary Africans to be part of national and global processes on their own terms, even when clearly excluded by the structures in place. Together with the creative appropriation of ICT and second-hand consumer goods from the West, these responses are evidence that ordinary Africans are refusing to lose hope in the face of disenchantment with neoliberalism. New religions, some no less entrepreneurial than leading multinationals, have developed to capitalize on this resilience in ordinary Africans. They promise ‘new hopes’ for the ‘cheerful givers’ (cf. Meyer 1998, Van Dijk 1999) and their popularity is yet another indication of how determined Africans are to fight off exclusion. Together with healing churches informed by a creative marriage of African and Western traditions, the new churches are competing for material and spiritual attention among slum dwellers trapped by ‘misery and hardship’ in ‘tragic spaces’ (Devisch 1995, 1996). Pyramid schemes, casinos and games of chance have also fed on the resilience of ordinary folks, by provoking in them ‘fantasies of abundance without effort’, and leading them to believe in the possibility of ‘beating capitalism at its own game by drawing a winning number at the behest of unseen forces’ (cf. Comaroff & Comaroff, 2000: 297). Criminal rackets promising effortless immigration and work permits have sprung up to take advantage of the burning desire in ordinary people to succeed. Similarly,
Nigerian 4-1-9 and Cameroonian Feymen fraudsters have equally used the
Internet and cell phones creatively to access more people with their letter scams and fraudulent business deals that have brought some of them dazzling riches (cf. Fisiy & Geschiere 2001: 227-42, Malaquais 2001). Adults and children have been sold into slavery, and magical solutions are being increasingly sought for material predicaments (cf. Comaroff & Comaroff 2000, Moore & Sanders 2001). It is clear that the reality of exclusion in neoliberalism has created its own opportunists but in this opportunism should be seen the determination of ordinary Africans to forge on, victimhood notwithstanding. The creative responses hinted at in this chapter imply that it is hardly the end of the story to acknowledge disempowerment and marginalization, for in process (and often
veiled or subtle) are countervailing forces in the service of hope. Because the ‘Tam Tam’ remains relevant, even as the Internet and the cell phone are being adopted and celebrated (cf. Ras-Work 1998), Africans are able to make the best of all worlds in a context where cultural survival has long ceased to be a matter of course. And thanks to their creativity, sociability, negotiation and conviviality, Africans have refused to endorse the requiem for their way of life. The future may well have much to draw from African world views and cultures, marginalized currently by power and wealth.
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