Moments WITHOUT Mo
Okay,
So I said I was going to keep this till later but she had to go and say another thing that made me want to strangle her. Mo, that is.
First the good. I remember watching her show, the first time, with a mixture of jealousy and joy. Jealousy that someone else was able to bring the kind of quality we needed to Nigerian television, and I wsn't a part of it, and joy that , finally , we had the answer to Oprah and co. But that is where the good ends. When she spoke it was obvious she needed help- lots of it. She had on John Fashanu and Nkechi Okocha and contrary to her 'inspire Africa' idea, she did not ask them anything, or get any info from them that was supposed to inspire in any way. It just seemed to me like a gossip show. That notwithstanding I gave her another chance and watched another episode. This time it was Modenine, the rapper, who was the guest. From the get-go it was obvious the guy had lost her with all that he was saying; she obviously was unfamiliar with, and had failed to research, the culture of rap and hip hop. The 'crowning glory' came when Modenine described himself as a lyricist, and she said' You see, that's why I understand what you are saying. Because you do lyrics, you don't do rap'. Ye gads!!! Then I read an interview, last year, where she said someone had criticized her presentation and she had learnt from that to be involved in the production process of her show. Ok, I thought, let's give her yet another chance.
This year, o, Mo came again. First of all, it was obvious that she had changed one or two of her major producers because the topics seemed to be less personality-based and more abstract and/or society-based. Unfortunately, they did not take into account the person who was presenting. Although Mo might now have an idea of the topic at hand she still lacks the ability to steer the conversation in any reasonable direction. When she reads her introduction from the teleprompter- and it is obvious she is reading- you can almost hear the sigh of relief when she comes to the end. In that same breath (ok, not really) she turns to her guest and says the exact same thing she just read (eg. 'today's topic is men of steel' then to the guest - who was sitting there while she read those torturous lines- 'so we are discussing men of steel'. Eh he, you dont say!) Then she finally asks the guest (a) question(s) and doesn't even let him/her answer, interrupting at will, and steering the conversation clearly off- point! Is her director afraid of her? And can someone please tell her that not every episode can end with that stupid phrase' if you can think it, you can do it'? Where is the relationship between that and a programme on different generations of people in the same family? Na wa o.
The one she did today was a personal affront to me because I fit in the category she attempted to describe. (Maybe not exactly, but if I am not careful I might get there, but I digress.) The topic was plus-size women. Now I was eager to see how this would be treated, in relation to the western ideas of beauty. As I expected she handled it like plus-sizes (sizes 16 upwards, by the way) were an anomaly in Nigeria. She introduced her guest and said 'she was plus-size, then hastily added, 'but a beautiful one', as though plus-size were an insult. This lady sells clothes for ladies of her size and above, and so the interview went in that direction. The next guest was also a plus-size woman who made shoes. The conversation started with the question' have you always been this big?' and then quickly moved to her shoe making business . Then , out of the blues, Mo asks, So Bunmi, health issues, do you have any health issues regarding your weight?' Jeeeezus! MO!! Where the hell did that come from? If you are talking about business talk about business, if you are talking of weight , talk of weight. Haba. Going from one to the other, at random, made it seem like she is able to achieve things INSPITE OF her weight. And who are you to make a judgement call on that? Especially when she has checked out healthy as she told you?
Then the lady exhibits her shoes and Mo puts her other foot in her mouth. See, she says, brandishing the shoes to the audience, those of you interested in made-in-Nigeria shoes, you have good ones here. (I may have paraphrased, but the sentiment was the same: only for those who buy made in Nigeria, not for people like me.)
Her final blunder came on the heels of her interview with her third guest, Elvina Ibru. She definitely asked the right questions about weight at the beginning and then the conversation moved into Elvina's work, with Mo completing every sentence for her. At the end of the conversation, she thanks the guest and says to her audience, 'if you can think it you can do it'. Meaning what now? If you are big and you still think you can succeed at a business, you can? Or if you can think of being a plus-size person you can do it? Or what?
Such a topic would have been handled in a more interesting, culturally-specific way. Do a story on what perceptions were in relation to plus-size ladies in Nigeria/ Africa, years ago. Travel to Calabar, where they used to have fattening rooms, go to Ethiopia where no-one seems to be fat. (What are you numerous producers doing?) Then relate that to the modern-day perception of weight, not that vox-pop they do in front of your office gates. And then bring women who defy these perceptions and are proud of their stature, and even promote it. Not plus-size women who are making it in business. Jeez!
The despair I feel over Moments with Mo, is the same despair I feel over our Nollywood movies. A fantastic platform that tells the wrong story, in the wrong way. With programs like Moments, there is the Nigerian factor evident. It's this issue of people wanting to sit in on, and run their own businesses even though they are incapable. Must Mo be the presenter?
So I said I was going to keep this till later but she had to go and say another thing that made me want to strangle her. Mo, that is.
First the good. I remember watching her show, the first time, with a mixture of jealousy and joy. Jealousy that someone else was able to bring the kind of quality we needed to Nigerian television, and I wsn't a part of it, and joy that , finally , we had the answer to Oprah and co. But that is where the good ends. When she spoke it was obvious she needed help- lots of it. She had on John Fashanu and Nkechi Okocha and contrary to her 'inspire Africa' idea, she did not ask them anything, or get any info from them that was supposed to inspire in any way. It just seemed to me like a gossip show. That notwithstanding I gave her another chance and watched another episode. This time it was Modenine, the rapper, who was the guest. From the get-go it was obvious the guy had lost her with all that he was saying; she obviously was unfamiliar with, and had failed to research, the culture of rap and hip hop. The 'crowning glory' came when Modenine described himself as a lyricist, and she said' You see, that's why I understand what you are saying. Because you do lyrics, you don't do rap'. Ye gads!!! Then I read an interview, last year, where she said someone had criticized her presentation and she had learnt from that to be involved in the production process of her show. Ok, I thought, let's give her yet another chance.
This year, o, Mo came again. First of all, it was obvious that she had changed one or two of her major producers because the topics seemed to be less personality-based and more abstract and/or society-based. Unfortunately, they did not take into account the person who was presenting. Although Mo might now have an idea of the topic at hand she still lacks the ability to steer the conversation in any reasonable direction. When she reads her introduction from the teleprompter- and it is obvious she is reading- you can almost hear the sigh of relief when she comes to the end. In that same breath (ok, not really) she turns to her guest and says the exact same thing she just read (eg. 'today's topic is men of steel' then to the guest - who was sitting there while she read those torturous lines- 'so we are discussing men of steel'. Eh he, you dont say!) Then she finally asks the guest (a) question(s) and doesn't even let him/her answer, interrupting at will, and steering the conversation clearly off- point! Is her director afraid of her? And can someone please tell her that not every episode can end with that stupid phrase' if you can think it, you can do it'? Where is the relationship between that and a programme on different generations of people in the same family? Na wa o.
The one she did today was a personal affront to me because I fit in the category she attempted to describe. (Maybe not exactly, but if I am not careful I might get there, but I digress.) The topic was plus-size women. Now I was eager to see how this would be treated, in relation to the western ideas of beauty. As I expected she handled it like plus-sizes (sizes 16 upwards, by the way) were an anomaly in Nigeria. She introduced her guest and said 'she was plus-size, then hastily added, 'but a beautiful one', as though plus-size were an insult. This lady sells clothes for ladies of her size and above, and so the interview went in that direction. The next guest was also a plus-size woman who made shoes. The conversation started with the question' have you always been this big?' and then quickly moved to her shoe making business . Then , out of the blues, Mo asks, So Bunmi, health issues, do you have any health issues regarding your weight?' Jeeeezus! MO!! Where the hell did that come from? If you are talking about business talk about business, if you are talking of weight , talk of weight. Haba. Going from one to the other, at random, made it seem like she is able to achieve things INSPITE OF her weight. And who are you to make a judgement call on that? Especially when she has checked out healthy as she told you?
Then the lady exhibits her shoes and Mo puts her other foot in her mouth. See, she says, brandishing the shoes to the audience, those of you interested in made-in-Nigeria shoes, you have good ones here. (I may have paraphrased, but the sentiment was the same: only for those who buy made in Nigeria, not for people like me.)
Her final blunder came on the heels of her interview with her third guest, Elvina Ibru. She definitely asked the right questions about weight at the beginning and then the conversation moved into Elvina's work, with Mo completing every sentence for her. At the end of the conversation, she thanks the guest and says to her audience, 'if you can think it you can do it'. Meaning what now? If you are big and you still think you can succeed at a business, you can? Or if you can think of being a plus-size person you can do it? Or what?
Such a topic would have been handled in a more interesting, culturally-specific way. Do a story on what perceptions were in relation to plus-size ladies in Nigeria/ Africa, years ago. Travel to Calabar, where they used to have fattening rooms, go to Ethiopia where no-one seems to be fat. (What are you numerous producers doing?) Then relate that to the modern-day perception of weight, not that vox-pop they do in front of your office gates. And then bring women who defy these perceptions and are proud of their stature, and even promote it. Not plus-size women who are making it in business. Jeez!
The despair I feel over Moments with Mo, is the same despair I feel over our Nollywood movies. A fantastic platform that tells the wrong story, in the wrong way. With programs like Moments, there is the Nigerian factor evident. It's this issue of people wanting to sit in on, and run their own businesses even though they are incapable. Must Mo be the presenter?
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