LIVE 8 – bit of a damp squib let’s face it
CLICK HERE FOR IMAGES OF LIVE 8 IN JOBURG
The great thing about a BLOG is that you can be honest in your writing without fearing editorial slap-backs or getting fired. I feel it is our responsibility to report on the Johannesburg LIVE 8 concert for what it was rather than just going along with the “hype”. This is our o…
pinion. Do share yours with us.
We went to the Johannesburg Live 8 concert. My first comment is that I think that a lot of people at the Johannesburg concert were there for one main reason – they heard the concert was free and it was featuring some great local names. We like to party here and this was a free party. Many people were drinking or getting high (Surrepticiously of course due to the large Police presence) and enjoying the free music. As one does at a concert. Another big drawcard of course was Dr Nelson Mandela – Madiba as we call him – we won’t go into the overkill of his image on every bit of media at the event. That’s a highly sensitive topic here in “Africa” but obviously no-one told Bob Geldof.
Our bet is that if you had to ask the majority of people what the concert was all about, they wouldn’t have had a clear-cut answer. And I think that that about sums up what we felt too – a little mixed up, confused and not too sure what the whole event was about or who they were talking to. But what is for sure, as we stood there staring at pre-packaged images of dark swollen and starving African babies, was that there was something vaguely patronising and irritating about this event.
Are these pre-packaged visuals, speeches and celeb-filled campaigns not just perpetuating a clichýd view of Africa– of hopelessness and neglect? As my friend so succinctly said – are we not affirming the world’s perception of us as a “begging bowl?” Yet again? Yes, we have our issues and anyone that lives here lives with them everyday – they are real issues, that are constantly all around us and many of us do what we can to try and address and alleviate them, but what about the good things about Africa? How come the billions of people watching around the world never got to see that? What about the tenacity, the innovation, the courage, the success stories, the development, the progress, the magic of Africa?? How come none of this was shown? Only the heart-string pulling tragedy.
The concert felt like a big branding exercise misrepresenting an entire continent. And that’s another stickler – this big word “Aaaaafrica”. Africa. Africa. We are a huge continent, with thousands of diverse communities with different problems and different needs and therefore different solutions required. But somehow we all get chucked into one video director’s storyboard. Is this really the way to SAVE US? I think that the joke about an American meeting a South African in New York and asking if they know their cousin Dan in Sudan is scarily close to the truth. They have no idea of the real face of Africa and as long as this kind of “begging bowl” messaging continues, they never will and the gallant attempts to help us will be completely off mark and bordering on bad taste. (On that note apparently Madonna had a huge glittering diamond necklace on during her interview on Live 8 and alleviating poverty.)
Let’s put it this way, how come all these people are making huge lofty statements about us and talking about us all over the world and clicking fingers for us and they never seem to talk to us? Who made them experts on Africa? Do they even know who we are? How come there were so few African artists featured at the concerts around the world and how come they only arranged a concert in Johannesburg at the last minute as an after thought to earlier rumblings around the intentions of this event. What do celebrities really think their presence at a music concert will do at the end of the day? Do they realise that most African’s have no idea who Bob Geldof or Dido is? It smacks of EGO and self-promotion to me. Almost faddish – THE LIVE 8 CONCERT – this season’s must be seen at event!
Back to the actual concert – which every time I think about I get a little more depressed over – we had fun, we enjoyed the music, we enjoyed all the good people around us and everyone seemed to enjoy good African music. But that’s what it was, a concert with good African music. We were in the same space downtown just over two weeks ago for the June 16 Youth Day celebrations and there were 4 times the number of people there (40 000 as opposed to 8000 at Live 8), a much better line-up of musicians and a much better reaction from the crowd but the basic feeling amongst the crowd was the same – we’re here because we love music and having a good time. Bit of a damp squib in terms of turnout – sorry to disappoint you Bob.
It is clear that Africa (if we must sum us all up into one) has devastating and distressing issues and problems that desperately need working on and attention to and we appreciate the fact that the rest of the world is being brought up to date with this all of a sudden – Welcome to our world. But is holding a worldwide concert to get the attention of 8 men who will decide whether or not to make our debt go away really a viable sustainable solution? I am not an expert on politics and world governance by any means but can we quietly ask “What did the last LIVE AID really achieve on the ground and in the day-to-day living of your average African? Is this a realistic approach to tackling poverty in Africa? Will we feel anything here on the ground this time round?
We appreciate the attention and the time and effort that has gone into the concert. But I would like to ask Mr Bob Geldof and every other musician that performed (except Will Smith And Bono of course) – When last did they go to Africa? And where exactly have they been on this continent? Because if they had been around, well around our Southern End anyway, they would have been inspired by some incredible people who are doing it for themselves and maybe their messaging and concept would have been thought through a little bit and not have such a condescending after-taste.
CLICK HERE FOR IMAGES OF LIVE 8 IN JOBURG
