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!