Political Perspective - The Man In The Mirror
CAN'T help wondering if there's coincidence in the fact that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is arriving in town almost simultaneously with the launch of the logo for the movie of the life of President Sam Nujoma based on his book 'Where Others Wavered'! And if there is a link between the two, perhaps either Jackson is being courted as one of the financial backers for the movie, or is tipped for a starring role in the struggle epic.
STATE House has not been particularly forthcoming on the Jackson
visit except to say he'll be having 'private talks' with the
President.
Quite hard to imagine what the two have in common and, given the
controversy surrounding the King of Pop at present concerning child
molestation charges against him in the US, even more difficult to
imagine our President striking up a bond with this man.
I'm not personally pre-judging Michael Jackson, but cannot help
comment on the irony of this meeting in light of the President's
own inherent conservatism.
Among others, his frequent diatribes against persons whose
sexuality is, in his view, questionable has caused the world to
come to know him as intransigent in his anti-homosexual stance.
He has particularly singled out foreigners in this regard for
corrupting the locals.
And Jackson is not, by any stretch, your typical embodiment of
an African-American male.
And whether or not he's guilty of the crimes he's accused of is
almost by-the-way.
He might be one of the world's most talented musicians, but this
is hardly likely to impress the President either, unless Jackson is
able to break into a chorus of Sem ouli peni or Mambulu ndjeimo or
Mevi lyetu Afrika, which I somehow doubt! So perhaps State House
should come clean on the reasons for the meeting, rather than get
the grapevine going over the raison d'etre for this private
audience or tete-a-tete between the two.
As mentioned earlier, this week saw the launch of the dramatic
logo for the movie of the film project based on the autobiography
of the life of President Nujoma.
A Pacon-backed initiative, the film is due to feature both local
and international actors, but no further information has been
released.
Quite a large amount of money has been raised for the project
but, in Hollywood terms, it is probably just a drop in the
bucket.
Perhaps it is not unlikely that Jackson himself, worth many
millions of US$, might be called upon to contribute and-or produce
the movie.
Less likely that he'd be asked to star.
Not even the best make-up artist alive could turn him into a
Nujoma lookalike! The President is not the singing and dancing
type, and moondancing on the field of battle in the heat of midday
is hardly likely to be his forte either.
It is doubtful that a local actor would be asked to fulfil this
role.
Can't think of anyone offhand who could play the part, and
Freddie Philander is out of the question! Pacon would be more
likely to go for a Samuel L Jackson or Morgan Freeman type.
Spike Lee's too slight but Eddie Murphy is capable of handling
some diverse roles and could also bring some punch to the
character, as long as a bit of comedy is involved.
Well, the whole project has me quite breathless with
anticipation in that I'm trying to imagine how they can turn a
rather turgid tome on the struggle into something that will
sell.
If they do, they are certainly going to have to sex up the saga
somewhat.
This may not, of course, be the intention; and if so, why bother
with international actors at all? If all that is meant to be
achieved with the movie is a blow-by-blow not-for-sale account of
Nujoma's book for Namibian posterity, then a cast of locals would
be just fine and would keep the costs down.
And I'm sure we can fix up Freddie! Just to conclude:we will of
course, soon get to hear of the real reason behind Jackson's visit,
and it may be none of the above.
I don't mind him coming here at all [in case my readers have got
me wrong!] as long as his papers are in order! I just wish he would
do a bit of what's he's best at - song and dance!
Quite hard to imagine what the two have in common and, given the
controversy surrounding the King of Pop at present concerning child
molestation charges against him in the US, even more difficult to
imagine our President striking up a bond with this man.I'm not
personally pre-judging Michael Jackson, but cannot help comment on
the irony of this meeting in light of the President's own inherent
conservatism.Among others, his frequent diatribes against persons
whose sexuality is, in his view, questionable has caused the world
to come to know him as intransigent in his anti-homosexual
stance.He has particularly singled out foreigners in this regard
for corrupting the locals.And Jackson is not, by any stretch, your
typical embodiment of an African-American male.And whether or not
he's guilty of the crimes he's accused of is almost by-the-way.He
might be one of the world's most talented musicians, but this is
hardly likely to impress the President either, unless Jackson is
able to break into a chorus of Sem ouli peni or Mambulu ndjeimo or
Mevi lyetu Afrika, which I somehow doubt! So perhaps State House
should come clean on the reasons for the meeting, rather than get
the grapevine going over the raison d'etre for this private
audience or tete-a-tete between the two.As mentioned earlier, this
week saw the launch of the dramatic logo for the movie of the film
project based on the autobiography of the life of President
Nujoma.A Pacon-backed initiative, the film is due to feature both
local and international actors, but no further information has been
released.Quite a large amount of money has been raised for the
project but, in Hollywood terms, it is probably just a drop in the
bucket.Perhaps it is not unlikely that Jackson himself, worth many
millions of US$, might be called upon to contribute and-or produce
the movie.Less likely that he'd be asked to star.Not even the best
make-up artist alive could turn him into a Nujoma lookalike! The
President is not the singing and dancing type, and moondancing on
the field of battle in the heat of midday is hardly likely to be
his forte either.It is doubtful that a local actor would be asked
to fulfil this role.Can't think of anyone offhand who could play
the part, and Freddie Philander is out of the question! Pacon would
be more likely to go for a Samuel L Jackson or Morgan Freeman
type.Spike Lee's too slight but Eddie Murphy is capable of handling
some diverse roles and could also bring some punch to the
character, as long as a bit of comedy is involved.Well, the whole
project has me quite breathless with anticipation in that I'm
trying to imagine how they can turn a rather turgid tome on the
struggle into something that will sell.If they do, they are
certainly going to have to sex up the saga somewhat.This may not,
of course, be the intention; and if so, why bother with
international actors at all? If all that is meant to be achieved
with the movie is a blow-by-blow not-for-sale account of Nujoma's
book for Namibian posterity, then a cast of locals would be just
fine and would keep the costs down.And I'm sure we can fix up
Freddie! Just to conclude:we will of course, soon get to hear of
the real reason behind Jackson's visit, and it may be none of the
above.I don't mind him coming here at all [in case my readers have
got me wrong!] as long as his papers are in order! I just wish he
would do a bit of what's he's best at - song and dance!