Rex Omar, a Ghanaian highlife musician, is not pleased with the growing practice of local TV stations airing foreign telenovelas with Twi subtitles.
He contends that the proliferation of international soap operas with Twi subtitles on Ghanaian television stunts the development and appreciation of homegrown artists and paints the country as irresponsible when it comes to its artistic output.
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Rex Omar argued in a recent interview with Property FM that the country’s excessive reliance on foreign content conveys a lack of confidence in its own artistic abilities, which not only reduces the visibility of Ghanaian actors, writers, and producers but also restricts opportunities for local storytelling and the cultivation of indigenous talent.
“Right now look at our media landscape, all the soap operas we’re showing on TV are foreign which they’ve used our local languages to interpret. This thing is causing the nation a lot of havoc and who is talking about that but Ghana is like a country without governance so everyone does what they want.
“Because there is nowhere in any civilised country like you go to India and they are showing Ghanaian soap opera on TV but they’re using India language to do interpretation. Or maybe you go to Britain and they’ll be showing Ghanaian soap opera on their popular TV station with their language, it doesn’t happen and it’s only Ghana.”
He voiced the opinion that fostering domestic talent, backing regional productions, and giving Ghanaian stories a platform will not only help the country’s economy but also aid in the preservation of its distinctive cultural legacy.
SOURCE: Senali News Ghana
