El comité de convivencia es el encargado de apoyar la labor de

Omotola%Bright%is%a% friend% of% both% the% former%and% the% current%Curator,% and%frequently% visited% the%SLNM%during% my%?ieldwork.%She% is%a%budding% ?ilm% star%and%on% one%occasion% announced% that% she% wanted%to% hold% a% premier%for%the% screening% of% her% ?irst%?ilm,% The$

Pains$of$Love$(?igure%32),$at%the%Museum.%The%?ilm%itself%is%produced%by%Life%Herald%Film%

Productions,%run%by%Evg.%Felix%Jeremiah%who%is%also%coCordinator%of%the%World%Christian% Friendship% Association% Ministries%on% Lower%Waterloo% Street% in% Freetown.% Jeremiah% is% currently% studying% for% a% Ph.D% in% the% United% States% and% notes% that% Life% Herald% Film% Productions%began%as%a%‘Christian%News%Company’%in%2007%as%a%result%of%a%mission%that% the% ‘Lord% revealed% in% a% dream% three% times%within% six%months%in% 2000% AD’% to%‘advance% and% glorify% His% Kingdom% with% dynamic% and% powerful% productions’% (WCFA% Ministries% 2009).%The$Pains$ of$ Love$and%his%?irst%?ilm,%Evil$Foundation,$ follow%the% hugely%popular% Pentecostal% ?ilm% productions% in% Nigeria% and% Ghana,% recounting% a% classic% tale% of% conversion,% satanic% machinations% and% the% eventful% triumph% of% Jesus% over% evil.% Sierra% Leone%is%relatively%new%to%the% Pentecostal%?ilm%industry,%which%forms%a%de?ining%feature% of%the% global%Pentecostal%movement.%Part%of%the% Church’s%success%is%attributed%to%these% ‘Pentecostal% media% ?lows’% (Corten% and% MarshallCFratani% 2001:% 5),% or%

‘mediascapes’%(Appadurai% 1990),% of% images,% brochures,%pamphlets,% books,% ?ilms,% songs% and%sermons% which% are% ‘nothing% short% of% miraculous’% given% the% distances%they% travel,% and%the% dif?iculties%of% such% travel% for%many%of% its% congregation% members%(Corten% and% MarshallCFratani% 2001:% 5).% Shaw% notes% that% Sierra% Leone% was% introduced% to% the% Pentecostal%?ilm%industry%during% the%war,%commenting%that%Nigerian%Pentecostal%videos% and% audiocassettes% began% to% circulate% in% Freetown% during% the% period% of% ECOMOG% military%intervention%(Shaw%2007:%83).%Nigerian%ECOMOG%troops%arrived%in%Freetown%to% drive% the% Armed% Forces% Revolutionary% Council% junta% out% of% government% in% February% 1998% and% they% remained% until% the% January% 1999% Revolutionary% United% Front% (RUF)% insurgence%into%Freetown%which%lasted%for%three%weeks.%

Returning% to% The$ Pains$ of$

Love,% the% storyline% follows%

the%marital%problems%of%Janet% and% James% which% begin% with% James’%dif?iculties%in%?inding%a% job,%whilst%Janet%works%for%an% NGO.% This% comes% to% a% head% when% Janet's% mother,% acted% by% Omotola% Bright,% arrives% and% complains% ‘no% woman% should% feed% a% man,% how% can% you% use% your% money% to% satisfy% a% street% boy!’.% Both% Janet%and%James%are%Born%Again%Christians%and%pay%a%visit%to%their%Pastor%who%advises% them%to%pray%to%the% Holy%Ghost%‘so%that%his%glory%can%increase% your%wealth’.%Eventually,% through% repeated% visits%made%to%the% Pastor%by%Janet,% James%is%offered%a% job%by%another% church% member,% Brother%Peter.% James% becomes% Managing% Director%of% Brother% Peter’s% new%‘diamond% mining% ?irm’,% complete% with% a% generous% cheque% for% $1,000,000% and% a% fourCbyCfour%Land%Rover%recently%purchased%on%a%business%trip%to%China.%Although%Janet% continues%to%go%to%church,%James%engages%in%increasingly%‘unCChristian’%behaviour,%using%

Figure 32. The Pains of Love DVD. The ‘witch-doctor’ can be seen in the top left hand corner of the DVD sleeve waving his broom in the air, whilst Omotola Bright is in the bottom left. Sierra Leone is relatively new to the Pentecostal film industry which remains largely dominated by Nigerian imports. Photo: author.

his%money%to%buy%beer%and% to% draw%the% attention%of% scantilyCclad% women.% This% makes% him%susceptible%to%the%‘in?luence%of%Satan’%and%he%is%tricked%by%his%new%secretary,%whom% he% calls%his%‘sexretary’,% into%an% affair.% The% secretary%turns%out%to%be% a% ‘witch’,% making%a% number%of%visits%to%a%Mende%speaking%‘witchCdoctor’%outside%of%Freetown.%She%is%given%a% bundle% of%‘herbs’% by%the% witchCdoctor%to%add%to%James’%food%causing%him% to%refer%to%her% as%‘my%wife’.%The%secretary%also%uses%her%powers%to%blind%Janet,%who%is%cast%out%from%her% home%and%seeks%refuge%with%the%Pastor.%

In% the% ?inal% scenes% a% ‘spiritual% battle’% ensues% between% the% Pastor% and% the% secretary,% whom%the%Pastor%recognises%as%a%Satanic%‘demon’.%The%Pastor%is%able%to%block%her%powers% with%his%Bible%and%so%the%secretary%returns%to%the%witchCdoctor%who%tells%her%to%sacri?ice% a% seven%month% old%baby%and% ‘bath% in%its%blood’% to%become%‘spiritually%forti?ied’.% A%?inal% battle%sees%the%Pastor%?ighting%both%the% secretary%and%the%witchCdoctor%with%his%Bible% .% They%are%given%the%option%to%‘confess%Jesus%is%the%Lord%and%repent’,%both%refuse,%and%the% Pastor%calls%on% the% Holy% Spirit% who% strikes% them% with% lightning.% James% and% Janet% are% reunited%and%pledge%their%commitment%to%Jesus%and%the%Pentecostal%Church.

In%this%?ilm,%Janet%and%James%are% differentiated%from%the% witchCdoctor%and%the%secretary% in% a% number% of% ways.% Janet% and% James% live% an% aspirational% lifestyle% with% a% car,% a% television,%a%laptop%and%mobile%phone.%They%rent%in%a%?lat%in%Freetown%and%speak%English,% sit%down%to%dinner%together%in%the%dining%room,%drink%Coke%along%Lumley%Beach%and%go% shopping%for%expensive%cloths%in%shops,%rather%than%markets.%The%secretary,%on%the%other% hand,%lives%in%a% crowded% compound% shared%with%her%sister%who%looks%after%numerous% children%from% their%village.%She% has%no%mobile,%nor%a%car,% and%walks%to%visit%the% witchC doctor%who%clearly%lives%out%of%town.% Unlike%the% rest%of%the% male%characters,% the%witchC doctor%is%dressed%in%a%simple%red%cloth%tied%round%his%waist%and%wears%cowries%round%his% wrist,%rather%than%WesternCstyle%suit,%shirt%and%watch.%He%is%found%in%a%forested%area%and% speaks%poor%English,%as%well%as%Mende,%suggesting%he%lives%outside%of%Freetown.

The% witchCdoctor% is% associated% with% a% Christian% Satan% throughout% the% ?ilm% and% the% actor’s%performance% provides%a%suitable%parody%of% spirit%possession%with%wild% bulging%

eyes%and%bodily%convulsions.%He%stands%and%waves%his%hands%over%a%calabash%which%acts% like%a%wizard’s%cauldron,%puf?ing%up%clouds%of%smoke%and%emitting%green%lightning%bolts.% Despite% the% artistic% license% used% to% depict% the% ?ilm’s% magical% villain,% the% character% is% likely%to%be% based%on%a% traditional%‘mori%man’,%or%diviner,%identi?ied%by%his%clothing%and% control%of% esoteric%powers.% The%witchCdoctor%gives%the% secretary%a% bundle% of%‘herbs’%to% add% to%James’%food%so%that%he%will%‘not%see%other%women’.%‘Herbs’% or%‘leaves’%are% part%of% the%ingredients%which%makes%‘hale’,$a%term%broadly%used%to%refer%to%a%material%substance% with% powerful% inherent% properties,% often% used% in% amulets% (Phillips% 1995:% 53).% Knowledge% concerning% the% manipulation% of% such% medicines% in% central% to% a% diviner’s% work% (Shaw% 2002:% 140),% although% here% it% becomes% indicative% of% the% villain’s% Satanic% connections.%

This%?ilm% highlights%several%key%themes%which%emerge% in%the% literature% that%surrounds% this%global%phenomenon.%The%?irst%its%the%centrality%of%‘spiritual%warfare’%in%Pentecostal% doctrine,%which%presents%a%continuous%battle%between%the%powers%of%darkness%and%light.% Traditional%beliefs%and%esoteric%powers%become%associated%with%the%dark%realm%of%Satan,% and%the% Church%combats%this%through%its% power%derived% from% God,%Jesus%and%the% Holy% Spirit.%By%engaging% in%this%battle,%the%Church%advocates%a%break%from%tradition;%the%past% is%not%only%dangerous% but%also%considered% to%limit%the% success% of% the% Church’s%march% toward% modernity%(cf.% Corten%and% MarshallCFratani% 2001;%Gifford% 2004;% Meyer%1998).% This% Pentecostal% modernity% is% another% important% consideration% in% this% chapter,% designated% through% the% integration% of% prosperity% and% upward% mobility% into% the% aspirational%future%that%the%Church%claims%to%offer%its%congregation%(cf.%Shaw%2007;%van% Dijk%2001).%In%the%?ilm,%Brother%Peter%epitomises%this%modernity.%He%is%a%personal%friend% of% the% Pastor% recently% returned% from% a% business% trip% to% China% who% offers% James% the% chance% of%success.% This%is%thwarted%by%James’%lack%of% commitment%to%the% Church%which% drives%him%to%not%only%squander%his%wealth,%but%also%makes%him%susceptible%to%demonic% possession.%These%themes,%and%the%way%they%emerge%at%the%SLNM,%are%discussed%below.

Spiritual warfare and rupture