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Whose Telling Our Stories?

What if we ( Africans) told our own stories, what if the reality of the majority of the people living in this country and continent was told by them, rather than those who are “qualified” to tell those stories.
How would those stories be, how would they sound, who would they talk to and why would they be relevant to be told? I have always loved the hearing stories from my father and the older family members, their stories, weather heartbreaking or funny, always felt real, engaging and full of lessons.
The old folk tales that would introduce themselves as “intsomi” , they required us agreeing for this “ntosmi” to be told to us. There is a power in African stories, whether they be true or fiction, but the power comes from the voice that tells the story and the people that give it life.

South African stories are so diluted with western influences, that the authenticity of these stories is lost.  While you have a few productions and storyteller making efforts to Africanise our stories, they are winning millions, because South Africans want to see themselves in what they consume and they want to relate, however sometimes it is about reminding those who have forgotten, that it is ok to be African and be honest with your being, your past, present, and future.

However, we need to question those who are creating content for us, who are they and whose voices are they using to tell which stories?



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