The representation of Zimbabwean identities in the drama Fidelis (original) (raw)

Motion picture is among the major media products drawing the attention of many Zimbabweans nowadays. The Broadcasting Services Act (2001) which stipulates that up to 75% of all programming should be local resulted in the rise and proliferation of a local film and music industry in Zimbabwe. The drama Fidelis is a product of this phenomenon. It is salient to point out that it is not the only drama that came out of this epoch but rather it is just a metonym of the whole lot. In the drama impressions and suggestions about the Zimbabwean landscape are made therefore studying the themes as they are raised and interviewing viewers is crucial as Hall (1973) posits that audiences do not passively interact with media text but they have their own interpretations and readings of it. Fidelis ceases to be just a drama but an attempt to retell the Zimbabwean story. The media are active players in the representation of reality; ergo it is crucial to treat all media products with suspicion and with the intention of wanting to uncover the story behind the story, (Jenkins 1996).The guiding notion is that each media product carries polysemous text and can be interpreted in different ways. Most importantly however, in the drama Fidelis, the story of Zimbabwe through the landscape selected and also the roles assigned to the actors is retold. This study interrogates the assumptions raised in the drama about the Zimbabwean culture, way of life and current status. Notably the drama poses religious undertones that need to be carefully analyzed, it exposes certain traditional aspects of the Zimbabwean culture such as rituals (kurova guva), beliefs like witchcraft (defined by the new oxford dictionary as the use of magic powers especially evil ones) and practices such as traditional marriages as well as institutions like the village tribunals. I engaged ordinary Zimbabweans who watched the drama in a bid to give them a voice on the matter so that they become participants in the retelling and representation of their own personalities.