Veteran actress Ms. Akofa Edjeani has called on the government to enforce the National Film Authority (NFA) Law to ensure that the art industry is imbibed with ethics without adopting foreign culture.
That, she said would promote the creation of a conducive environment for local production, distribution, exhibition and marketing of films as well as preserving the nation’s culture from foreign invasion.
The actress noted that when the law is passed, it would encourage the use of films to project the identity and culture of Ghana and the way of life of its citizens.
“Now actresses and musicians wear skimpy and body appealing clothes that don’t depict our culture, it is destroying the generation and corrupting the fine system we have,” she stressed.
Speaking with Times Weekend in Accra on Thursday, the actress who also doubles as the treasurer of the Ghana Culture Forum and the Convener of Calabash Arts indicated that culture was the soul of every nation and was therefore relevant in every country’s development hence the need to preserve it to retain the nation’s heritage.
“A country without culture is a generation with no past knowledge of their history, therefore, this generation must be reoriented on the past history of the land,” she added.
Ms. Edjeani further stated that culture should not be idolized but rather be deepened for people to be able to distinguish themselves and their region from others since each region had its own peculiar and rich culture.
According to her, when the NFA law was passed, it would go a long way to monitor the art industry to instill discipline whilst also refining the content they produced to the outside world.
Ms. Edjeani explained that musicians, actors, and actresses are followed by the mass and they have the tendency to change trends, shape and preserve culture, adding that the media should supplement the effort by telecasting 70 percent of the local content and 30 percent of foreign content.
She maintained that the arts and culture sector would be strengthened if the key players come together to promote made-in-Ghana goods to the world and urged parents to speak the local dialect with their wards.
BY JOYCELINE NATALLY CUDJOE
