Post by Emelife Chukwuemeka Heinrich (@Drichie)

I have seen the South African movie The Polygamist, and honestly, I find its portrayal disturbing.

Not because polygamy should be above criticism, but because entertainment has the power to shape how people understand cultures they may never have studied.

When a complex African institution is presented primarily through deception, lust, manipulation and dysfunction, the audience may walk away believing that the dysfunction is the culture itself.

African polygamy was never one uniform institution, and it certainly had its flaws. But reducing it to a caricature for dramatic entertainment risks turning a complicated cultural reality into a convenient narrative.

Criticize the practice if you must—but don't manufacture a distorted version of a culture and then present the distortion as the truth.

Entertainment should provoke thought, not replace history with fiction.

The question is: are we watching a story, or are we being taught what to believe about ourselves?

— Drichie

0 likes · 0 comments · 0 shares