‘A Critical Analysis of Style, Technique and Cultural Identity in the Ghanaian Film Musical Coz Ov Moni’

7/30/2019 A Critical Analysis of Style, Technique and Cultural Identity in the Ghanaian Film Musical Coz Ov Moni

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A Critical Analysis ofStyle, Technique andCultural Identity in the

Ghanaian Film MusicalCoz Ov MoniMU3403

Sarah Hunt

K0937368

Faculty Of Arts and Social Sciences: Music

Musical Technology

(2011/12)

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ABSTRACT

Coz Ov Moni is the first ever Ghanaian pidgin film musical.It was written by and stars rap duo Wanlov the Kubolorand Mensa Ansah who aimed to present Ghana asrealistically as possible in the work. The work has acompound identity and this dissertation both examines itshybridity and dissects the relationship betweentechniques, structure and message. It also reviews thesocio-cultural significance ofCoz Ov Moni and itscontribution to Ghanaian and international culture in post-colonial times. Primary and secondary sources haveinformed this study and those, which are close to thecreators, have allowed their aims and ideals to beexpressed unequivocally and examined thoroughly. Thefindings of this research acknowledge that the innovativespirit ofCoz Ov Moni sets it apart from stereotypicalpractices and portrayals, which are sometimes associatedwith the culture industries today, while embracing (ratherthan resisting) the contradictions and complexities of thepost-colonial life. Coz Ov Moni was released in 2010 andhas attained international recognition.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page no.

Chapter 1

Introduction 1

Chapter 2

Compound Identity: Coz Ov Moni as Genre 3

Chapter 3

Coz Ov Moni: Genre, Structure & Manipulation of Message 9

Chapter 4

Coz Ov Monis Context in Post-Colonial Ghana 13

Chapter 5

Coz Ov Moni & Stereotyping: Comparisons with Hollywood 18

Chapter 6

Conclusion 24

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Coz Ov Moni is a Ghanaian musical offered in the format of film. The

creators of the movie are two Ghanaian artists and producersnamed Wanlov the Kubolor and Mensa Ansah. The work was

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directed by King Luu and released in 2010 and is presented in thelanguage of Ghanaian pidgen English along with subtitles instandard English.

Wanlov and Mensa star as the two main roles in the movie. In thestory they wake up with hopes of collecting a debt owed to them bya friend. After they receive the money they visit various places inAccra, Ghanas capital to spend it. They also visit Cape Coast. Buttheir journey leads to dangerous consequences. The movie deliversthe story through humour but also touches on serious issues youngpeople in Ghana are faced with today.

The concept ofCoz Ov Moni arose when Wanlov and Mensa werewriting their first album together as a duo in 2009. The pair knewthey wanted the album to encapsulate a day in their life in Ghana.We were going to tell the story in the album and then on everytrack we can continue with the story (Mensa 2010). But whenwriting the album they began to develop such vivid images in theirmind that they felt a screenplay was needed to amplify the pointsthey were making. They also felt that the public responds morereadily to a combination of images and sound: People want morepictures accompanying the sound because once they have seen avideo clip of you on the TV they are not happy with just buying the

audio. They want to buy the DVD so they can either watch or justlisten to it (Wanlov 2010). The story intended for album thenbecame the narrative of the musical Coz Ov Moni.

The artists wanted to present Ghana as colourfully as possible(Anoff 2010). Wanlov and Mensa had a huge hand in the productionofCoz Ov Moni. In a way, we knew exactly what we wanted, makingthe directors work easy (Wanlov 2012). This gave them a greatdeal of directional independence.They also single-handedly editedmost of the film and Mensa produced half of the songs. We havethe ability to master all fields (Wanlov 2010, when talking abouthow they are more than just the entertainers because they take partin a majority of the creation in Coz Ov Moni).

Coz Ov Moni has a compound identity. Techniques from twodramatic genres have been synthesised, resulting in a work thatresists classification. The work is neither a piece of musical theatrenor a film of a musical. This hybridity contributes to the non-derivative character of the work.

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The main objectives of this dissertation are outlined below.

1. To analyse the flexibility of practice surrounding the making (inthe broadest sense) ofCoz Ov Moni. This will cover the integrationof techniques from two genres, film music and musical theatre, andthe relationship between structure and message.

2. To analyse the socio-cultural significance ofCoz Ov Moni andexamine the techniques used to convey its messages with particularreference to the works hybridity. Coz Ov Moni was set, created andoriginally released in post-colonial Ghana so it is important to assessthe contribution ofCoz Ov Moni to this context and the means bywhich it confronts surviving elements of the colonial past. Wanlovand Mensa aimed to avoid stereotyping in the film and the ways inwhich this was done will also be examined.

In pursuit of these aims, primary sources and secondary sourceshave informed this study. Extensive reference will be made to twointerviews, one conducted by the author in 2012 (see appendix B)and the other a radio interview by African American radio presenterHafiz conducted in 2010.

Both creators believe that the work wasnt conceived in acomparative spirit. Mensa stated we have done something thatnobody on the planet has ever done (Mensa 2010). There was nointention to engage with other films or products of the cultureindustry and, because of this, Coz Ov Moni will therefore not becompared to other works.

Although Coz Ov Moni was not created to be marketed to anyparticular demographic, it was intended for both local andinternational audiences, premiering and being sold in Ghana, theUSA and England. Its release was a huge success. Hailed as themost original film in over a decade to come out of West Africa, CozOv Moni is taking part in prestigious film festivals worldwide,including FESPACO, Cannes, Los Angeles Pan African Film Festivaland Rio International Film Festival. (Picture Houses, 2010)

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CHAPTER 2 COMPOUND IDENTITY: COZ OV MONI AS GENRE

When dealing with a work as strongly concerned with authenticityand avoidance of clich and stereotype as Coz Ov Moni it isimportant to examine the means by which the creators have takenon this challenge. It is a work with a compound identity, so itssignificant antecedents will be traced here. The way in whichWanlov and Mensa chose to disseminate this product will also beconsidered, as this too has consequences for genre identity.

Musical Theatre

What is a musical? The term is short for musical theatre, in which,conventionally, a narrative is told through singing, acting anddance. Some stage musicals combine spoken dialogue with songswhile others wholly rely on singing. Coz Ov Moni is often referred toby its creators as the first Ghanaian pidgen musical, and it doesindeed exploit many techniques used in stage musicals. Coz OvMoni

is music-driven right from the beginning to the end (Anoff,2010), so there is hardly any spoken dialogue, just as in musicalssuch as Les Misrables.

Techniques

Musicals often alternate narrative plot, which will be referred to asouter action, and psychological drama, which can be referred to asinner action. The outer and inner construct derives from criticWinton Dean and is examined further in chapter three (see p. 9).

How are these actions defined in relation to Coz Ov Moni? Outeraction inCoz Ov Monirefers to the main narrative or plotdevelopment. But at certain moments the audience are drawn intothe private world of the characters. At these moments they mightindulge in fantasy, be taken into a dream sequence or experience amoment of contemplation. This is when the work has shifted to inneraction.

Narrative Halt

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In the context ofCoz Ov Moni the outer action refers to theunfolding of the plot, and narrative halt to moments of interruption.When the narrative halt occurs, the chronological action stops sothat a psychological response can be explored. Examples can befound in musicals such as Sweet Charityand Bombay Dreams where

passages of narrative plot and narrative halt alternate.

Inner Action

Inner action has three different manifestations in Coz Ov Moni:

1. Collective commentary.This arises when all members unite insong, breaking the narrative thread. It creates opportunities for

internal reflection because the characters have stepped out of thenarrative to explore the situation, inviting empathy from theaudience or helping them to interpret the action. This tradition hasroots in Greek drama and in this ancient context involves a group ofplayers called the chorus who, on stage, assume the position of agroup of dispassionate observers who have no formal role within theplay.

In Coz Ov Moni this psychological plane, providing the audience withprivileged insights that lie outside the narrative, contributes to inneraction. For example, transitions to and from narrative halts are often

gradual in Coz Ov Moni, a process described further in chapter three(see pp. 10-12). At certain moments, whether it be the supportingcast typing in time in the internet caf or swaying in time withWanlov in Mensa fighting over a girl, the screenplay shifts into thisform of inner action allowing all characters to unite. Although thecast, at these times, are more than mere observers, these momentsare nevertheless extrinsic to the plot and thus often contribute toempathy.

2. The dream sequence. Narrative halts can also be achievedwhen characters enter a dream state and reposition the audienceaccordingly. Examples can be found in scenes 6 and 7 and 12 ofCozOv Moni.

3. Personal contemplation. Additionally, narrative halts in Coz OvMoni sometimes facilitate a contemplative exchange betweenWanlov and Mensa. This can be seen in scene 11 when the robbersare frozen in poses while Wanlov and Mensa are still moving, talking

and reflecting on the situation with each other. These narrative halts

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provide a means of direct first-person communication with theaudience.

Film Music

Author Graham Wood states that once sound could be coordinatedand then synchronised with film the creative possibilities of the filmmusical genre expanded exponentially (Wood, 2002: 214). Wanlovand Mensa take full advantage of these expressive opportunities bypresenting Coz Ov Moni as a musical that has been recorded andpresented in the format of film.Cinematic form helps Wanlov andMensa achieve convincing presentation of place. It is filmed onlocation, providing a far more honest portrayal of Ghana than astage set could offer. This suits Wanlov and Mensas stated aim tohave no pretence and nothing contrived (Mensa 2012). Theobjective is to capture the daily and current spirit of Ghana as theprotagonists in the film see it in their everyday lives.

What is film music? In the early 20th century when films were silent,pianos or organs would always be played as the show screened, toembody extra-musical messages or emotion. Music stillaccompanies film today but in a form that film scholars refer to as

non-diegetic music, that is, music that does not clearly emanatefrom a performance or other sound generating source within thevisual frame (Wood, 2002: 224).

Because Coz Ov Moni is a musical that has been released as a film,an understanding of film music is important to any critical analysisof its techniques. Film music writer Kathryn Kalinak writes, music isa coherent experience and because it is a system of expressionpossessing internal logic it has frequently been compared to

language (Kalinak, 1992:4). Therefore, music can unify material andestablish coherence,aiding the audiences interpretation of what isgoing on. The creation of a soundtrack for Coz Ov Moni emphasisesthis: Panji Anoff, the executive producer states the music helps thelanguage, in however and whatever form it takes, to get through tothe mind and that is what we are trying to do(Anoff 2010).

An example of this in Coz Ov Moni occurs at beginning of scene 4when Wanlov and Mensa are pulling up to the cyber caf in the taxi.

Only the audience can hear the song Go Browse. This is non-diegeticmusic as it is heard by only thefilms audience since the characters

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presented on screen cannot hear it: it exists outside of or beyondthe fictional world of the film (Davison, 2004: 172). In this case, thenon-diegetic appearance is being used as a narrative cue for thesong that is about to be performed in the caf.

Diegetic music, in contrast to non-diegetic, signifies the presence ofmusic in the narrative of a film (Beard and Gloag 2005: 54). Whenthe characters can hear the music because they are performing orare in the club, for example, the music is diegetic.

The extent to which Wanlov and Mensa are involved with the musicis discussed further in chapter three.

Musical Style

The music in Coz Ov Moni presents a mixture of Wanlov andMensas influences. The influences that emerge the strongest arehighlife and hip hop, which are themselves hybrid genres.

Highlife is a musical style which originated in Ghana at the end ofthe 19th century and has been documented from the 1920s onwards.The style blends African and European influences. TraditionalAfrican rhythms are often combined with European harmonies andinstruments. Highlife music can have lyrics about many topics butGenerally the songs deal with problems of everyday: poverty,marriage problems, hatred, gossip, shame, sickness and death (VanDer Geest and Asante-Darko, 1982: 27).

Hip hop is a genre that first arose in the late 70s in America andspread worldwide during the 80s. Originally use of the term wasconfined to the technique of mixing breaks (the climaticinstrumental section of a record in any style) but the genre hassince diversified. A prominent drum rhythm is what most oftenstands out in hip hop. Hip hop lyrics are usually delivered in rap, astrong form of expression that finds its roots imbedded deep withinancient African culture oral tradition. (Davey D, 2012)

Dissemination

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How is Coz Ov Moni disseminated? It would be possible to talk ofmarketing this work. However, Wanlov and Mensa are adamantthat they did not approach the project with marketing in mind.When asked to whom they were pitching Coz Ov Moni attheyreplied each other (Wanlov and Mensa 2012). They were not

deliberately targeting a particular audience or adopting a specificmarketing strategy.

In spite of this, they did control the distribution rather thancontracting the work to an outside company as would be the norm.So it would therefore be appropriate to refer to the work as beingoffered commercially as opposed to being marketed. Coz Ov Monicomes in the form of discs when being offered commercially: a DVDof the full work and a CD with all of the songs in the movie, vividlyillustrating the transportability of the music.

Musical Function

What is the function of music in Coz Ov Moni? Whether is beingpresented as diegetic or non-diegetic, the tempo and overall feel of

each track complements the time of day and surroundings of therespective scene. It is as if the music is the rhythm of Wanlov andMensas life. However, Anoff points out that this is a film you canplay in a nightclub (Anoff 2010) so it would be wrong to think themusic is confined to specific narrative context. The colourful imagesmixed with the lively driven beats create a perfect nightclubambience, which is why Coz Ov Moni would work so well in differententertainment contexts. Whatever nature, it should be clear thatmusic has varied functions in Coz Ov Moni and that the movie couldnot be conceived without it. Whether or not you know or have seenthe film, the music itself has, potentially, anindependent presence

because it is well placed to be used in clubs, parties or loaded to anmp3 player.

Stage and Stage Presence

Although Coz Ov Moni is a film musical, it has a presence as astaged work and Wanlov and Mensa welcome audience interactionwhenever performing songs from the musical during their concerts.Composer William Duckworth, who also creates mutable works

capable of being reinvented in different contexts, states that therewas a clear division between active performers and passive listeners

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in the Western concert tradition before composers such as Erik Satieand later John Cage began to play with as opposed to (Duckworth2005: 2) their audiences with techniques such as furniture music.Wanlov and Mensa are frequent stage performers; in a live contextthey show relaxation of authorial control when performing certain

songs from Coz Ov Moni.

Why, having produced a highly integrated DVD, do the producerstake the risk of fragmenting the content in live performance? Notonly does it demonstrate relaxation of control but it helps to makeothers expressively comfortable with Wanlov and Mensas culture,influences and message.

Although the full version ofCoz Ov Moni has never been performedon stage, Wanlov and Mensa perform tracks from it at events andgigs across the world. The duo allow the audience to sing along andget involved and at times even call members of the audience up onstage. For example, the song Come Home Plus Me is taken from theclub scene in Coz Ov Moni in which Wanlov and Mensa fight over agirl. In the chorus they tug on her arm and ask her to choose one ofthem to go home with. When the duo played this song live inLondon, Wanlov and Mensa called a female audience member ontothe stage and performed it whilst pulling her arm from side to side.

The audience then started to sway with them just as the actors inthe background do on the scene in the movie. So when elements ofthe film are performed on stage, audience interaction is allowed toredefine their content and sense.

In his role as a composer, Duckworth has created a website thatallows an online audience to interact with material that professionalmusicians have uploaded. This is called Project Cathedral and themusicians who perform for this work are known as The CathedralBand. Although this was a work not for live concerts but for thevirtual stage of the World Wide Web (Duckworth 2005: 89) it canstill be compared to Wanlov and Mensas audience involvement onstage because it not only shows a reduction of power and controlbut it also dissolves composer-performer-audience boundaries thatin the post-modern era.

Flash Mob

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Audience interaction is progressively expanding in societies acrossthe world. Many fans have filmed Wanlov and Mensa performing inpublic and have thereby disseminated moments of the work onsocial networking sites such as YouTube, for example. Duckworthobserves that the capturing of performances on mobile phones not

only shrinks the actual world to a handheld portable but alsoreduces the time factor involved in getting ideas and informationfrom point A to B (Duckworth 2005: 117). Wanlov and Mensas easewith the camera aids this process. They both often state on stagethat they want people to take photos and film them and even havea song dedicated to this concept which they perform at some gigs toencourage audience recording. When they perform elements ofCozOv Moni in such a context it could be thought of as a miniatureversion of a mob scene a new form of social statement(Duckworth 2005: 117) in todays society when the public capturethe moment, thus becoming a part of the work and itsdissemination.

CHAPTER 3 COZ OV MONI: GENRE STRUCTURE AND MANIPULATION OFMESSAGE

It is valuable to consider how the genres referenced by Coz Ov Moniare brought together into a single coherent work. The experimentalprocess through which the synthesis of cinematic practice andtechniques of musical theatre is achieved shows considerableinnovation. It enhances the ability to switch between the inneraction and outer action. An overview of this is set out in a synoptictable (appendix C) but this chapter will analyse scene 2 in closedetail as it provides the best demonstration of the process. A further

table (appendix A) shows an overview of the structure in Coz OvMoni divided into three main sections.

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Winton Dean writes, when discussing modern audiences reaction toopera, The fact that plot development was virtually confined to therecitative (the outer action) and emotional expression (the inner

action) imposed further conventions that modern audiences findunsympathetic (Dean 1977: 389). Dean maintains that theunrealistic contrast between inner and outer action has createddifficulties for audiences, and that this is one of the main concernsfor European culture. However, musical theatre has often overcomethis separation of the two actions, allowing the audience toempathise with the characters. How this is achieved is discussedfurther in this chapter (see Transitions in Coz Ov Moni).

When comparing opera to musicals, journalist Anthony Tommasiniwrites that both genres seek to combine words and music indynamic, felicitous and, to invoke that all-purpose term, artisticways. But in opera, music is the driving force; in musical theatre,words come first. Although one may argue this is not the case withall musicals and operas, Coz Ov Moni, considered as musicaltheatre, is a case in point because the words are a prominentfeature throughout.

Although Coz Ov Moni is far from an opera it delivers the whole textin stylised speech just like a recitative. However, the form of stylisedspeech carries the unique diction of pidgen English not merelyspoken in conversation but rhymed in time to the pace of each turnof events (Debrah 2010). The stylised speech adopted here byWanlov and Mensa is rap. In interview Mensa stated that he wantedit to be true to the concept of a musical in a purest form so tospeak. So the entire musical is in music (Mensa 2012, in responseto being asked why the whole film was delivered in song). Thepreviously mentioned techniques have antecedents in musicaltheatre, but how do the musical theatre and cinematic qualities in

Coz Ov Moni successfully express inner and outer action? Adeconstruction of Scene 2 will demonstrate this.

Coz Ov Moni as Musical Theatre

From the start of the film the audience experience outer action asthey watch Wanlov and Mensa awakening and getting washed anddressed to start the day. But as early as the opening lines of scene 2

the first shift to inner action occurs. When Wanlov and Mensa startto rap, all the characters in the background abandon their normal

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daily market activities to join the duo in a dance routine. Not onlydoes this element give the audience a chance to reflect but it helpsthem interpret the narrative. It embodies qualities of commentaryand draws empathy from the audience instead of constituting purefantasy or a traditional narrative halt.

The audience feel the collective spirit of the market place andidentify with the mood, spirit and situation. This part of the scene istherefore inner action. Half way through scene 2 when Wanlov andMensa look for a man who owes them money, they step back intoouter action. Wanlov and Mensa catch the man and take money andvaluables from him. Having obtained the money, they turn aroundto face the other characters and dance with them. This brings usback to inner action as the cast joyfully move as one, even includingthe man who has just been robbed by the duo.

Coz Ov Moni as a Cinematic Practice

How does Coz Ov Moni combine cinematic practice with musicaltheatre functions with respect to inner and outer action? This isachieved through the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

It is apparent in Coz Ov Moni that the diegetic music coincides withinner action, which in the context of this analysis will refer tomoments of narrative interruption, both personal and collective,offering privileged insights to the audience that lie beyond the plot.The non-diegetic runs parallel with outer action. Until scene 2 starts,the music is non-diegetic because no character acknowledges itspresence. As soon as we reach the first point of inner action thecharacters start moving to the music, making it also the first diegticappearance in the scene. As soon as the narrative resumes we arepresented with outer action: the music becomes non-diegetic asWanlov and Mensa are looking for the man who owes money.Although they are rapping to the beat, that beat is unacknowledged,causing the audience to focus more on the conversation than themusic because no characters are conscious of it. This facilitates a

diegetic fade, giving it a non-diegetic function, just as at the start ofthe movie, when we follow Wanlov and Mensa getting ready for theday.

At the end of the scene when the characters unify in inner actionthey are all acknowledging the music again, and the narrative isinterrupted once more. In summary, diegetic music in this sceneserves to accompany inner action, which differs from conventionalpractice whereby the diegetic forms part of the narrative (Beardand Gloag 2005: 54).

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Transitions in Coz Ov Moni

How do we successfully move from one action to the next? Throughtransitions. Wood states how Transitions into environments wherethe music is recognised by the characters, make the change of

action much easier for an audience to accept than a less obviouslymusical environment because we expect music to be present even ifwe do not at first see the source (Wood, 2002: 224).The momentsof ambiguity make the juxtaposition of inner and outer actionacceptable to the audience by successfully blending the two.

If we return to scene 2, for example, a relevant example would bewhen Wanlov and Mensa have confronted the man and are takingthe money from him. The audience focuses on their conversationbecause the camera films close to their faces as they talk. But atthis point it is possible to sense that a transition is forming because

the characters in the background are beginning to step out of thenarrative outer action and dance whilst facing Wanlov and Mensa,who are not yet dancing or acknowledging the music. We are still inthe middle of this transition. When the scene reaches the momentwhere all of the characters dance, we have concluded a non-diegeticto diegetic transition and a shift from outer action to non-narrative,collective inner action.

These transitions have different functions throughout the film andare stated on the table (appendix C).

The Narrative Halt and Self-Referencing

How broad is the term narrative? In a musical the narrative is aplotline, or a sequence of events that allow the story to progress.But over the centuries different ways of treating a narrative haveevolved. It can be presented in spoken dialogue by a narrator orpresented through characters conversations and actions, but it canalso be delivered in a song, which one could suggest is whenmusical theatre and opera come closest to each other. An operarecitative advances the plot while being sung to the rhythms ofordinary speech. This strongly contrasts with the aria, with itsemphasis on emotion. Musicals most often deliver plotline throughspoken conversation. However some deliver the story throughunbroken song, and there are examples in opera of spoken narrative(for example Singspiel).

It could be said that when the narrative stops to give place to inneraction, it is to draw the audience into the mindset of a character orcharacters. Additionally the halt is used to make references (culturalor historical) beyond the narrative or situation. Wood writes, Onenotion in particular permeates all aspects of the movie musical: Self

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reflexivity. This term refers to those aspects of a musical that quoteor allude to their own history the history of musical theatre, theentertainment industry or the process of making musicals (Wood2002:213).

Wanlov and Mensa do not attempt to reference musical theatre inany specific sense, but they allude to the practice of self-reflexivityin scene 7 when we observe them in their dream state. Theyperform a song called Tenk You in which they thank the fallenheroes and legends in all walks of life, from Mother Teresa toMichael Jackson. Pictures of these inspirational figures appear on thebackdrop whilst Wanlov and Mensa pay homage. During thissequence there are occasional background shots of clouds. Onecould tentatively link this to the self-reflexivity in the film musical

Till the Clouds Roll By, cited by Wood,when Caleb Peterson as Joesings in the staged Show Boatexcerpt while Frank Sinatra appearsin a fantasy cloudscape dressed in a white tuxedo, symbolicallyrepresenting Kerns spiritual and musical ascent to the pantheon ofgreat songwriters (Wood, 2002: 218). Wanlov and Mensa arereferencing several legends rather than one, but they too are usingheavenly clouds within a fantasy sequence.

Therefore, when Coz Ov Moni is subjected to analysis we find that it

has a compound identity as a genre, combining musical theatre withcinematic techniques revealed in both the inner and outer action. Atmoments of transition the audience are repositioned, which resultsin the more abrupt contrasts becoming more acceptable.

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CHAPTER 4 COZ OV MONIS CONTEXT IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA

Sometimes certain Africans will do things to act in a way that theyfeel people see Africa. Like they will go and do something like filmor portray themselves sitting under a tree in the middle of nowhereor doing tribal things when this is not what they are like in reality. Itmight be because they are too afraid to be themselves and want tofit into the Western society. Then on the other hand you get the

Africans who want to act flashy and present themselves sitting in anexpensive car or owning material things. They are hiding from theirtrue identity and trying to show off themselves in a western way.We arent afraid to just be ourselves (Wanlov 2012).

Wanlov is reflecting on expressions of cultural relativismencountered in post-colonial Ghana. These active concerns about

identity are confronted in Coz Ov Moni. Scenes 6 and 7 provide theopportunity to examine aspects ofCoz Ov Moni in the specificcontext of modern Ghana. But first it is important to take a broaderview of its position as a work of art in post-colonial times.

Post-Colonialism and African Culture

What is Post-Colonialism? Post-colonialism is the expression usedwhen referencing certain attributes of countries that once were

colonies. Ghana is often spoken of as The Gold Coast (its formername) because of the copious gold resources found in the area inthe past. In 1867 it became known as the British Gold Coast whenthe British Government expanded its colony throughout Ghana.After several wars over the territory, it officially became a Britishcolony in 1901. However, in 1957 the Gold Coast became anindependent nation and this was when it was named Ghana. (Asummary of Ghanas history is available athttp://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/countries/Ghana.html .)

When Ghana achieved independence, its president Kwame Nkrumah

saw this new society as one retaining much of African civilization,blended with imported, mainly Marxist ideas of a better society

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(July 1983: 122). This blending of political strategies meant that anage-old civilization still survived [and] still offered its people muchthat was satisfying and much that worked.They did not wish toturn their back on the West but they did warn that African needsand conditions should always be given first priority (p119 July

1983). This contrasts with the colonial era when Europeans hadunceasingly assured Africans that their own culture was barbaricand dated, that it was best to emulate the European as quickly aspossible to get on business of joining the modern world (July 1983:119).

Wanlovs overview of Ghanas culture strongly counters Westernassumptions. We get confused by the word modern and it makesus think that something recent means its better (Wanlov 2010).However, he believes African culture is so fine tuned and its takenWestern cultures several thousand years to reach what the Africans

have already accomplished in our other so-called Third World. Itsonly recently that the Westerners are using words like organic,eco friendly and all these things. This is what weve been doing forthousands of years. In the light of such views it is not difficult tounderstand why post-colonial times have seen the celebration ofGhanaian culture blossom.

The post-colonial movement has encouraged artists such as Wanlovand Mensa to remain in touch with their indigenous culture (even if

that culture has inevitably been hybridised by its colonial history). Isit their intention to celebrate post-colonial Ghanaian identity in CozOv Moni? Mensa stated that unwittingly and not intentionally, weshowed how comfortable we are being ourselves in a modern-dayAfrican environment (Mensa 2012, in response to questions aboutshedding British culture). [It was] not our intention to portraycertain images but we were just showing our Ghana, as we know itin the realist way that we understand it. (Mensa 2012)

If not an intended celebration of Ghanaian identity, Coz Ov Moni canstill be regarded as a cultural statement. For example, the internetcaf scene with its references to internet fraud can be regarded as atool for problemetising the impact of globalisation rather than asymbol of globalisation because it is removed from reality, amoment of inner action with a semi-fantasy function.

Consequently, although Wanlov and Mensa are not deliberatelymaking a statement about post-colonialism, Coz Ov Moni is an

assertion of creative position and belief that would never haveemerged in colonial times.

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Ghanaian Cultural Activity and the Post-colonial Climate

Post-colonialism is associated with hybridisation of cultures. Ghanasindependence necessarily embraces elements of Western influence,since post-colonialism is contextualised by the practices of thepreceding era. The cultural forces which merged in the post-colonialdevelopment of Ghana have affected the emergence of new formsof language and music. Colonial subjects seeking emancipationhave themselves sought to appropriate the colonizers language inorder to develop an effective anti-colonial critique. This has led tocreative hybridization of languages (Beard & Gloag 2002: 84).

Wanlov states I can comfortably say that a majority of the youth inGhana are speaking pidgin over any other language and what ismore powerful than language? (Wanlov 2011). Pidgin is alanguage that has derived from more than one language. Ghanaianpidgin English is a form of language with English words combinedwith other words from many Ghanaian languages. The formation ofGhanaian pidgin English as current today took place during Britishcolonial rule in West Africa. (Huber, 2011: 1).

Highlife, another example of a genre whose genesis lay in the

colonial era, has always had a hybrid identity and still flourishestoday. When Ghana was a British colony, the colonial rulers wantedto turn Ghanaians into punctual, disciplined and civilized workersfor the new colonial economy and utilized music to help do this(Drewett, Cloonan 2006). They did this through hymns, music ofregimental bands, classical orchestral concerts and highbrowtheatre. Ironically, these imported styles were subsequently utilizedby coastal Ghanaians to create their own acculturated or trans-cultural styles of music, dance and drama such as highlife(Drewett, Cloonan 2006). Highlife has become a blend of traditionalAkan rhythms and melodies with European musical elements, suchas the use of European instruments and harmony (Van Der Geestand Asante-Darko 1982: 27). Performances of highlife music are stillreferred to as concerts, even in the Twi language (Geest andAsante-Darko 1982: 27). Twi is one of the main languages thatpidgen incorporates along with other Ghanaian languages.

Both pidgin and highlife are examples of culture that, on the onehand, is specific to the locality, and on the other, represents thehybrid nature of colonial past and post-colonial present. The samemight be said ofCoz of Moni; by its very affiliation with what itscreators see as intrinsic to Ghanaian culture, it reflects a more

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global society than the Western stereotype of African life. By thesame token it is an identity statement, and the incorporation ofhighlife music and rapping in pidgin reinforces this. As a product ofhis environment, Wanlov perhaps sees this in simpler terms. Hecame to believe that when you go to your true environment,

nature will bend to suit you (Wanlov 2010). He feels embracing hiscultural identity has been a key to his success.

Mensa echoes this sentiment, advising young Africans that knowingthat you have these roots means that you are one up. You alreadyhave this gift that you can show to the world (Mensa 2010). Headds, We are rich in culture and have a defined identity. We havegreat music, great melodies, great dance. We know how to enjoylife, whether we have or we dont have money. We are able to

appreciate little things (Mensa 2010). It is clear from suchstatements that the duo are proud of what their culture has to offer.

Cultural Identity

A persons culture is defined through customs, practices,

languages, values and world views that define social groups such asthose based on nationality, ethnicity, region or common interests(The Social Report, 2010). Identity is expressed through a set ofattitudes that relate to, or are shared with, a group; identity inheresin the relationship between personal experience and publicmeaning (Beard & Gloag 2002: 89). The combination of the two islogically termed cultural identity. Cultural identity is important forpeoples sense of self and how they relate to others. A strongcultural identity can contribute to peoples overall wellbeing (TheSocial report, 2010).

Wanlov and Mensa stated that they are not afraid to express whothey are, nor have they felt the need to hide from their culture.Wanlov says that for a time he struggled with presenting an honestportrayal of his identity as an artist. At the start of his career hewould rap in a fake American accent. He states how he soonrealised that other artists to whom he listened, such as Beenie Manand Jay-Z, rap the way they talk in [their] neighbourhood. So whywas I acting? I had skills of writing lyrics and rapping but I realisethe way I was delivering it was an act rather than being my true self

(Wanlov 2011). While one might argue that a degree of acting isinherent in any performance art, it is clear that Wanlov is speaking

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of a perceived loss of his cultural identity through his efforts toimitate artists from other backgrounds.

Personal Identity in Coz Ov Moni

How do Wanlov and Mensa project their individual identity in Coz OvMoni? This can be discovered in scenes 6 and 7 (the middle section -see appendix A) during the narrative halt. The duo wholly step outof the story and start speaking about reality (Wanlov 2012). This iswhere they aim to reveal how far they have come as artists and thecomplexities of their subject-position are presented. In scene 6 theyrap about how they met at school and grew up together with thehopes of achieving their dream through music and in scene 7 theythank those across the world who have influenced them and made

them who they are today. At the end of this scene they tell theaudience to believe in themselves and never give up. Despite theaspirational tone it is perhaps not too fanciful to regard this as ametaphor for Ghanas achievement in shaking off its colonial past.

Identity and Post-Colonialism

The duo are not offering solutions to those who have lost theirculture but are raising awareness of the issue of cultural identity.Mensa is adamant that a person without culture is a person withoutidentity (Mensa 2010). This statement is echoed during scene 6when Wanlov questions why African judges wear white wigs. To twofigures who have grown up in post-colonial Ghana, this is a sign ofAfricans having lost sight of their own culture. It is colonial practicethat has yet to be challenged. In this scene, Wanlov also alleges thatsuch judges give land away to America, adding the lines time tomourn, take out your white hanky (Wanlov, 2010). This statementreinforces the quote that heads this chapter, in which Wanlov putsforward the view that certain Ghanaians like to express and presentthemselves in a Western way. These judges represent to him afurther example.

The next scene (7) demonstrates that Wanlov and Mensas outlook

is not monocultural or exclusively Afro-centric. Tenk U is the songperformed in scene 7 as they acknowledge figures who have

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brought people and nations together. Though proud of theirGhanaian identity, they have an international outlook.

The weight of evidence suggests that the statements made in thismiddle section can be taken as genuine expressions of the artistsbeliefs rather than being merely intrinsic to the fictional context. Notonly is their stance reiterated in interview but also these scenes areplaced in the largest narrative halt in the work. At the same time itshould be recognised that they speak as products of their ownculture, their criticisms of the non-African aspects of contemporaryWest African life, as expressed in Coz Ov Moni, do not alter the factthat the work has arisen in the hybrid culture of post-Colonialism.

CHAPTER 5 COZ OV MONI AND STEREOTYPING: COMPARISONS WITHHOLLYWOOD

Personally I feel like there are two groups of filmmakers out there.The ones who are doing it to keep flooding the market with stuff justto make a quick buck and the ones who are really serious about filmmaking. And because we [us Africans] have so many beautifulstories to tell, when it is done properly it is amazing. I am not aboutto mention any names of any films but I feel like theres an influxand the influx is of a lot of badly directed badly filmed bad storiesthat are out there right now so it is over shadowing the goodmaterial we have in there as well. So there should be some kind ofquality control. I think thats one of the reasons why Coz Ov Moni

is out there. To destroy these(Mensa 2010).

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When Coz Ov Moni premiered the cast entered the theatre on aKente carpet instead of the conventional Hollywood red carpet.Kente is a traditional Ghanaian multicoloured cloth. The choice of

this material can be understood as a bold statement by Wanlov andMensa discouraging audiences from stereotyping their work inHollywood terms. This chapter will contrast and compare theconventions and perceptions surrounding commercial Westerncinema with the ethos ofCoz Ov Moni.

Hollywood Movies and Music

Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) was a German socialist critic whobelieved that capitalism fed people with the products of a cultureindustry causing a mass deception (Savage, 2010). He believedthat what is delivered to us is controlled to the extent that itencourages false needs in an audience and thus the belief thatwhat is on screen accords with reality. He asserts that capitalistslimit what we see to a single political viewpoint, so that audiencemembers are fooled into thinking they have come to their ownconclusions. According to Adornos philosophy, no choice is given.He stated the rise of mass culture and one-way communicationswould involve the ideological force that constructs the pacificationof the proletariat blinding members of the class of their time needs

and interests (Adorno, T. in Beard and Gloag 2005: 36).

According to author Annette Davison, when Adorno refers toHollywood cinematic works he argues that the classical system ofnarrative causuality, spatial and temporal representationencourage[s] audiences to treat what they see as if it were realmeaning they bring their perceptions of the everyday world to bearon the unfolding screen (Davison, 2004 :16).

If this theory of cinematic pseudo-reality can be believed, how is theeffect achieved? Through the soundtrack, according to somecommentators. Davison cites Scott Hughes point of view that alongwith the use of stars, todays Hollywood films are launched byexpensive soundtracks which are focused more on record sales andbrand strengthening than complementing a directorsvision(Hughes, S. in Davison 2004: 1). But why is this so? It isbecause film music has the ability to offer an impression ofperfection and integrity in an otherwise imperfect and unintegratedworld (Kalinak, 2010: 27). This encourages audience members toconjure up perceived perfect times; their nostalgia is superimposed

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on the movie and they are thus drawn in to the mass deceptionthat Adorno proposes.

Kalinak (2010, 27) points out how, when a character is firstpresented on screen in a Hollywood film, we can automatically buildan opinion of them from the non-diegetic music that is placed in thebackground. For example, if a bluesy saxophone is heard when awoman enters, it is highly likely the audience senses she is sexuallyattractive. In contrast, strings would nudge the audience towardsviewing her as a family figure or an established girlfriend.

These musical forms of persuasion subconsciously shape ouropinions, rather than allowing us to form our own. David Beard and

Kenneth Gloag concur with and amplify Adornos theory when theystate that music achieves a certain aesthetic autonomy, themusical materials look to themselves (without looking outward)but it is through this process that a resemblance to the real worldreveals itself and not through any process of imitating the world.(2005: 22).

The Prominence of the Music Element in Coz Ov Moni

The stereotypical Hollywood film musical alternates dialogue with

narrative halts in which the musical numbers appear. However,unlike their Broadway stage equivalents, they often underpin thedialogue with the kind of emotive music that Adorno rails against.Film musicals that use music as a constant element (foreground orbackground) are rare and usually have origins in rock opera.Examples are Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstarand Evita, all of whichbegan as albums and evolved into stage shows and then films. It isworth noting that, although Coz Ov Moni was conceived from earlyon as a musical film, it too was initially thought of as a CD project.

In Coz Ov Moni the music is not placed in the background to conveya subtle hint or message. It is a foreground element throughout, anunbroken sequence of songs. The actors deliver the narrative byrapping to the rhythms of each song, allowing the audience toexperience the dialogue as music. There is no discernible use ofleitmotifs to identify characters or colour specific emotions orrecurring psychological themes; instead, the music fits the scene asa whole.

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The subtle tools of musical persuasion identified by Adorno usuallygo unnoticed and one could argue that this is because film musichas tended to accept without serious challenge the status hierarchythat puts music on the bottom and treats film as above all a visualmedium (Goldmark et.al, 2007: 2). If this is the case, it should also

be possible to influence the audiences emotional responses in amore direct and arguably less deceptive way, by making the musicas important as the visual and narrative elements. And this is whatCoz Ov Moni does.

It has after all, been argued that music can avoid the pitfallsperceived by Adorno if it is presented not as a scarcely noticedbackground or an interpolated entertainment that sometimesdelivers ideological messages while creating mood or atmosphere,

but as an agent, a force, and an object engaged in ongoingnegotiations with image narrative and context(Goldmark et.al,2007:2).

Kalinak notes that Hollywood film music always carries with ittraces of plentitude, wrapping film content in a kind of nostalgia andmaking us desire what the film offers. In the process we becomeless critical of a films values and value judgements (Kalinak, 2010:27). In this context it is worth considering again the use of rap

within Coz Ov Moni. Rap is a common technique in hip hop whichsome say originated with Gil Scott Heron, a poet who used to speakover music in the late 70s. It often delivers the lyrics with greaterclarity than song, which may give audiences more opportunity toreflect on the meaning of the words. In hip hop, we could say thatthe music serves the text. If so, rap in Coz Ov Moni could be said toreduce the power of the music to colour the audiences perceptionof the words with false memory or nostalgia.

Hollywood Stereotypes in the Culture Industry

The culture industry is a concept constructed by [Adorno] todescribe and critique the industrial and commercial nexus thatforms around the production, dissemination and reception ofculture (Beard and Gloag 2005: 49). Adorno believes that humanresponse to culture is blinded by the ideological effects ofcapitalism (Beard and Gloag 2005: 49).

In an interview Wanlov touched on this cultural blinding incomments about what he called African peoples mastery over lifeand death' (Wanlov 2010). He explained that at an African funeralthere is a general happiness throughout the people (Wanlov 2012)because Africans celebrate the life of a person rather than grieve

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over their loss. He also commented, however, that The more we getIpods and Facebook, the more we start to fear death (Wanlov2010). Though jocular in intent, the remark makes the point that themedia and supporting technologies can have a profound effect onpublic perceptions and attitudes.

Adorno uses the term pseudo-individualizm to describe how hebelieves capitalists satisfy false needs of the masses. It keepspeople in line making them forget that what they listen to is alreadylistened to for them(Beard and Gloag 2005: 90).

Although Adorno is talking about music in this case, his pointillustrates how stereotypes and stereotypical products, such assongs, are created and re-circulated. It may appear that we are

being offered new works and content imagery and themes, but hemaintains they are the same ones, just recycled. This offers comfortto audiences, while discouraging artists from genuine innovation.Culture industries with commercial interests depend on this kind ofstereotyping.

Coz Ov Moni and Stereotypes

How do Wanlov and Mensa avoid stereotyping in Coz Ov Moni? Bykeeping the films production in the hands of people who have thesame vision as theirs. In Wanlovs words, Every angle is handled byan African. They are all from the same environment. He postulated:Just say we had somebody from a Western point of view come andfilm for us, they might want to see a few flies flying around a childsmouth as that is what they know from CNN as Africa (Wanlov 2010).Wanlov is describing how a stereotype of Africa has been created bythe media pseudo-individualism at its most typical.

Globalisation has intensified and disseminated these stereotypesand Wanlov and Mensa did not wish to reinforce them through CozOv Moni. Wanlov felt the story was so personal and localised, so theonly type of director and technical people we wanted had to havethe same ideas and visuals as us (Wanlov 2012). He stressed it wasnot a way of stopping Westerners from being involved but ofensuring the whole project reflected its creators mindset: it wasnta rejection of the externalwe didnt even want foreigners withinGhana and by that I mean a Ghanaian who thinks a different way tous or has some qualms about being grimy. We dont want anyone

who would say dont do this and dont do that with our ideas. So it

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would not matter where a person is from, but if they do not have thesame vision they could not be a part of the movie (Wanlov 2012).

There are scenes in Coz Ov Moni showing internet fraud, and ofwomen leading men out of the club to a group of men who beatthem up. Wanlov and Mensa address these themes as they are realconcerns in modern Ghana. This shows they are not afraid toconfront the audience with aspects of their culture that are less thanperfect. However, they have avoided doing so in stereotypical ornegative ways. They show life as it is but with a humorous twist.Some of the scenes are filmed in the poorer parts of Ghana andThere are still some Ghanaians who say things like I still cantbelieve they walked in that neighbourhood or I cant believe theyare going through those slums in the movie (Wanlov 2012). These

appear to be people with a similar outlook to the Ghanaians whomWanlov classes as foreigners to him because they have been drawninto the Hollywood lifestyle portrayed on the big screens. We couldhave even got somebody like Gil Green to come across who hasdone videos in Ghana for people like Akon but both Mensa and weagreed not to. We thought it would be too much. We just wanted toget into the hood, with the people, and do the film on a grimy level(Wanlov 2012).

Hollywood Parody in Coz Ov MoniAt the end of the narrative in Coz Ov Moni, before the credits run,there is a short improvised sketch where Wanlov and Mensa presentthemselves as fictional actors who played their part in the movie.Wanlov acts as an American figure named Bob Ray and Mensapretends to be a British actor named Stanley Scott.

In this mode they speak about making the movie and how hard theyfound it to play Africans in the movie. They reference Western

movies set in Africa, such as The Last King of Scotland. They addhow they pulled off an African accent better than did ForestWhitaker who plays Ugandan president Idi Amin that movie. It iscommon for Western productions to dumb down African accents tomake them more comprehensible to non-African audiences.Thisreference may show Wanlov and Mensa raising this issue through ajoke.

This brings to the foreground a sharp contrast between the

authentic use of pidgin in Coz Ov Moni and the perceived needs ofEnglish-speaking audiences. Pidgin was originally a product of

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colonialism, a means of facilitating communication between twocultures. Ironically, it now creates such difficulties for Englishspeakers that it necessitates the assistance of subtitles in Coz OvMoni. The parody at the end ofCoz Ov Moni further distancesEnglish-speaking audiences from the pidgin screenplay, by

suggesting that they might even struggle with English spoken in anAfrican accent. Such ironies illustrate the extent of the absurditysurrounding stereotyping in the media industry.

Bob describes how acting as Wanlov was hard as he had to be aShaka Zulu guy with no shoes. Wanlov is renowned for choosingnever to wear shoes and he is constantly questioned about it ininterviews. He is also famous for a wrap he wears but when he isbeing Bob, he describes himself wearing a Tarzan wrap like Mowgli

in The Jungle Book clearly making fun of how certain people viewWanlovs sense of style, but also taking a swipe at ethnicstereotyping. Mensa further develops the satire by talking aboutsuffering in his role because he had to wear shorts and ended upwith many mosquito bites. The duo in role discuss how they worriedabout getting AIDS or malaria, diseases commonly cited in thestereotyping of African society. They then make fun of how Africanspronounce the name of the Ghanaian president John Atta-Mills byexaggerating it, and then look to the audience saying If you arewatching this in Africa you may get some wild animals coming in.They claim that they pray over some African figurines which can be

seen in the background, to ensure demons dont come out of them.

This scene shows that they understand the stereotypical views thatcirculate outside of Africa but it also allows the audience to reflecton how Coz Ov Moni resists such stereotypes. This scene clearlyparodies the way in which the media and culture industries have ledcertain Westerners to perceive Africa, which can be linked to theconcept of mass deception. The scene can make audience membersof different nationalities aware of the ways in which Africa can be

seen by others. Because it is shown after the narrative, theaudience has already come to their own conclusions about Wanlovand Mensas depiction of Ghana. It is more powerful in such acontext, because audience members may find themselvesquestioning the attitudes they have formed while watching the film.Thus Adornos mass deception is subverted by encouraging ananalytical, if not sceptical, approach to Coz Ov Monis content.

Critical Theorist David Bordwell, who has similar views to Adorno,

describes Hollywoods mass deception as a cool control of theperceivers response (Bordwell, D. in Daivson, 2004: 16). Coz Ov

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Moni deliberately subverts any such indirect manipulation of theaudience, especially in its parody ending although it would bewrong to pretend it has no agenda, especially when one considersthe exclusion from the production team of anyone not on message.This allows Wanlov and Mensa to successfully achieve their aim to

keep their work completely separate from other storytellers [who]sometimes try and present in a superficial way(Mensa 2012).

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION

Coz Ov Moni can confidently be said to have fulfilled Wanlov andMensas objective to portray Ghana in a realistic light. The narrativeavoids stereotyping, the cast are African and the language is largelypidgin which helps express Ghanaian identity immensely. Ghanaspost-colonial culture is represented by the duo in a way that is bothhonest and inventive and has been presented in a skilful blend ofmusical theatre and cinematic techniques.

Research indicates that the reviews have been almost uniformlypositive. One critic described the work as an ambitious productionthat clearly has never been attempted in Ghana and the whole ofAfrica (Debrah 2010). The public response has also beenenthusiastic as the premieres in each territory of release sold out.Thus, proving that Coz Ov Moni is not of merely Ghanaiansignificance but an international success.

Appendix A

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The story ofCoz Ov Moni can be divided into 3 parts,creating asymmetrical structure:

Part 1 (5 scenes) -Middle Section (2 scenes)- Part 2 (5 scenes)

The middle section refers to the 2 scenes which take place outsideof the narrative plot.

PART 1

Scene 1 (Track 1. Dawn-T)

Wanlov and Mensa wake up and get washed and dressed.

Scene 2 (Track 2. Coz Ov Moni)

Wanlov and Mensa walk around their hood to look for some moneythat they are owed. They catch a man who owes them and takemoney and valuables off him to add up to the cost of what he owes.

Scene 3 (Track 3. Sista Good Chef)

Wanlov and Mensa head to the chop bar to eat some food withsome of the money they now have. They talk of how fresh the foodis and how good the chef is.

Scene 4 (Track 4. Go Browse)

Wanlov and Mensa enter the cyber caf to do some internet fraud inhopes of making some more money.

Scene 5 (Track 5. Beachment)

Wanlov and Mensa go to the beach and Mensa tries to flirt with alady by boasting about how much money he has. He then joinsWanlov in the sea for a swim but starts to drown. Wanlov savesMensa and drags him to shore but they are both tired and pass outon the beach and enter a dream state.

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MIDDLE SECTION

Scene 6 (Track 6. Sometimes)

This is an insight into Wanlov and Mensas dream state. In thedream whilst passing through various parts of Ghana the duo rapabout growing up together and becoming successful through music.They also touch on their views about certain issues that needaddressing both in Africa and in life in general. Whilst passing a TVthe camera pans round to show the TV screen. On the screen is achild singing, which is the start of the next song, leading to scene 7.

Scene 7 (Track 7. Tenk U)

This is the second part of Wanlov and Mensas dream state. Thereare clouds in the background as Wanlov and Mensa reminisce of andthank their famous influences whose pictures also appear in thebackground. The message in this song is to never give up andalways work on pursuing your dreams.

PART 2

Scene 8 (Track 8. Play Time)

This scene heads back to the story. Wanlov and Mensa pass througha playground where children are playing. They remember the gamesthey used to play when they were children themselves and talk tothe children whilst joining in various games.

Scene 9 (Track 9. La Borro)

Wanlov and Mensa decide they want to go to the club but needsome new clothes for it. They head to their friends houses and askto borrow their clothes. After having no luck with this, Wanlov andMensa steal the clothes when their friends arent looking and headto the taxi for the club.

Scene 10 (Track 10. Three Misters/Track 11. Come Home Plus Me)

Wanlov and Mensa finally enter the club after having some trouble

getting in at the beginning of the scene. They order drinks then runaway without paying to leave their friend to pay for it. Whilst hiding

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from the friend and admiring the DJs work, they notice a femalewalking towards them which leads to perform Come Home Plus Mewhere they argue over the female on the dance floor. She then tellsthe two she will take them both home so they leave with her.

Scene 11 (Track 12. Mr. Kwashay)

Wanlov and Mensa and the female start walking home but somerobbers jump out of the darkness with weapons. The female carrieson walking leaving them behind to get beaten up and the duo passout into a dreamlike state once again.

Scene 12 (Track 13. Desert Dessert)

In the dream Wanlov and Mensa are lying on a bed and variouswomen with masks are dancing around them. The scene keepsswitching between the dream and the hospital which is where theyhave ended up in the story. In the dream, they begin to notice thatthere are other people standing around them without masks. Theythen realise that these are all people who they met during their day.They suddenly wake up in hospital and dance with the nurses to therest of the song. This is followed by a screen shot saying THE END.

Outro /Parody

Wanlov and Mensa pretend to be British and American actors in themovie and mock them when talking about making the film.

Credits (Track 14. Broken Lngwjz[sic])

Shots from the making of the movie are shown whilst the creditsplay.

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Appendix B

How did you come up with the title Coz Ov Moni?

Mensa: Well we were playing with the idea of money and becausethere is a title of a song in the movie that is Coz Ov Moni we felt itwould fit. Then Wanlov came up with the spelling of it.

Wanlov: Yes because the beat that Mensa produced for the Coz OvMoni song, stood out to me most out of all of them. The scenes andsongs and everything that happens in the story is because ofmoney. From us saying that somebody owed us money to the foodwe ate because we got money. We went to the browse caf to getmore money and on the beach scene Mensa is trying to get MachoRappers girl by telling her that he has more money than him. Goingto the club and the people robbing us was all because of money too.So it was the most connecting title out of the rest of the songs. If itwas called Go Browse or Good Chef it wouldnt have worked.

If you were to define the style of music in Coz Ov Moniwhatwould you say it was?

Wanlov: Afrobeats.

Mensa: Hell no![Both laugh]

Wanlov: Coz Ov Moni as music to me is rap.

So not even a mixture of styles or fusion of genres?

Mensa: Its all our influences, afrobeat, highlife.

Wanlov: And hip hop and reggaeton. But really, mainly highlife and

hip hop.

When writing Coz Ov Moni, who were you pitching it at?

Both: Each other

Mensa: Thats how it is with everything we have done.

Wanlov: When we create, we do things our way. Because people outthere get excited by bullshit, like, whatever excites them and those

things dont excite us. So we wanted to do something to excite eachother. Our audience was two people which was us.

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Did you find that after it has been released that more peopleare on the same wavelength as you now?

Mensa: Yes! A lot of people have told us they like it because it wasvery honest. We were just doing it for ourselves so there was nopretence or nothing contrived. We werent like Lets do it this wayso that people like it.

Wanlov: Because even if we went by what we think people like inGhana, which is flashy things, sitting in a Benz etc, we would not bedoing the movie we wanted.

Mensa: Yes, if we were doing that then it would be called [puts onAmerican accent] Because of dollars!

Wanlov: [joining in American accent] Because of the dollars yo!There are still some Ghanaians who say things like I still cantbelieve they walked in that neighbourhood or I cant believe theyare going through those slums in the movie. But that is not who themovie is for. It is just done for ourselves. And you Sarah!

What are the most important themes and messages and howhave you presented them in the film?

Wanlov: We point out many different sentiments but for mepersonally, it was after the beach scene when Mensa says You aremy best friend and then we pass out into the dream state and itgoes into the track Sometimes and I start to say Sometime agome den Mensa dey Adisco/Rocking black and white wit dreams ofrockin discos/den we know say one day we go dey makeHistory/Beating on tables, the styles were free. That scene and thatsentiment to me is the strongest because you come out of the filmand we start talking to the audience explaining how this was adream to us and now its happened. In the film we have passed outand gone into a dream sequence but in the dream, were speaking

about the reality of things saying that we used to dream of doingsuch a thing and now we are.

You said in your radio interview with Hafiz that everybodyinvolved in Coz Ov Moniwas African because you wanted toavoid the wrong Western point of view being portrayed ofAfrica. Was there any particular film or work that you weregoing against?

Wanlov: Off the top of my head I cant think of any, although thereare things but I would have to do research to find the titles. With

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me, the story was so personal and localised so the only type ofdirector and technical people we wanted, had to have the sameideas and visuals as us. So it was not that we wanted to keep outforeigners. We didnt even want foreigners within Ghana and by thatI mean a Ghanaian who thinks a different way to us or has some

qualms about being grimy. We dont want anyone who would sayDont do this and dont do that with our ideas. In a way, we knewexactly what we wanted, making the directors work easy. And whatwas also easy for us is that the director we chose also felt where wewere coming from. Another thing is that I think we wanted to justprove to ourselves that we could still do all of this stuff in-house andon our own. The only foreign person on the scene was takingpictures and theyve sat on all the pictures. Theyve stamped them!But really, it wasnt a rejection of the external but you know. Wecould have even got somebody like Gil Green to come across whohas done videos in Ghana for people like Akon but both Mensa and Iagreed not to. We thought it would be too much. We just wanted toget into the hood with the people and do the film on a grimy level.

Were there any messages you wanted to portray presentingGhana as an independent country after shedding Britishculture? Or is post-colonialism not an issue you werefocusing on?

Mensa: We didnt make a conscious effort with this issue as this is

not what the story is about. However, everything that we put outthere was done in a way that a lot of recent films from Ghana oreven Nigeria and other parts of Africa had not done. There was nosuperficiality. With regards to what you said about shedding offBritish culture, I think unwittingly and not intentionally we showedhow comfortable we are being ourselves in a modern day Africanenvironment. Being able to sync both the present technology withtwo kids living on a corner somewhere eating at the chop bar, youknow, walking bare foot, going to the beach, doing what we do! Butthen going to the internet caf to do a mugu [mugu means fool oridiot who is easily led on- the type of person who is easy to con]! Doyou see what I am saying? It just shows the balance in a realist way,which I think that sometimes most of these other films or otherstorytellers sometimes try and present in a superficial way.

Wanlov: Sometimes certain Africans will do things to act in a waythat they feel people see Africa. Like they will go and do somethinglike film or portray themselves sitting under a tree in the middle ofnowhere or doing tribal things when this is not what they are like inreality. It might be because they are too afraid to be themselves

and want to fit into the Western society. Then on the other hand youget the Africans who want to act flashy and present themselves

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Scene 1 Wanlov andMensa wake andget dressed

The narrativeunfolds asthey talkabout whatthey plan to

do with theirday

Scene 2 Characters are inthe market placedoing their duties

The Narrativecontinues untilWanlov andMensa enterthe scene

Once Wanlovand Mensa enterthe scene othercharactersgradually jointhem in a danceroutine

Wanlov anMensa havunified witcharactersare dancin

Scene 2 Wanlov andMensa discusshow they needmoney and theyare going to findthe man whoowes them some

This reveals tous thateverythingWanlov andMensa aredoing isbecause ofmoney,reminding usof the film title

They take themoney from theman and theother charactersgradually form adance routinebehind them

Wanlov anMensa turnface the rethe cast anin the danc

Scene 3 The taxi pulls upto the chop barwhile a trackinstrumentalplays quietly inthe background

Developmentto the plot aswe see theyhave traveledto a new place

As Mensa andWanlov walktowards the chopbar the volumeof the musicincreases

When WanlMensa reachop bar thdance to thmusic andwaitresseswith the m

Scene Non-Diegetic

(Outer Action)

Function of

Outer Action

Transition Diegetic (

Action)

Scene 3 Wanlov andMensa talk in theinternet caf anddiscuss how theyare about toperform internetfraud

The narrativeis unfolding

Some of the castmove to themusicthroughout thescene

Eventually,the cast tytime withand Mensarhythm, crroutine

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Sarah Hunt K0937368

Scene 4 Wanlov andMensa go to thebeach to swim

The Narrativecontinues

Other charactersgraduallysurround Wanlovand Mensa in thesea and they all

dive down whenMensa does

Mensa droslow motioWanlov saand the casurround t

whilst movithe musicduo enter astate

Scenes 6 and7

Wanlov anMensa aredream likeand discusand inspira

Scene 8 Children play inthe park

Positions usback in themain narrativeplot

Wanlov andMensa enter thescene and join inwith thechildrens games

Wanlov anMensa turnat the camdance

Scene Non-Diegetic(Outer Action)

Function ofOuter Action

Transition Diegetic (Action)

Scene 9 Wanlov andMensa steal somepeoples clothesand head to the

club

The narrativeunfolds

Scene 10 and11

Wanlov andMensa enter club

The Narrativecontinues asthey arrive totheir newdestination

Other charactersare all dancingto the music inthe club andgradually Wanlovand Mensa movewith them

Wanlov anMensa joincharacterscollective sthey fightgirl and thcharacterswith thempull her ar

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Sarah Hunt K0937368

Scene 11 Wanlov andMensa leave theclub to go homewith the girl

Plotdevelopment

Robbers appearto beat Wanlovand Mensa butfreeze in position

While the rare frozen,Wanlov anMensa moslowly to t

music andon what ishappeningthem

Scene 12 Clips are shownof Wanlov andMensaunconcious in thehospital

The narrativeallows us tosee whereWanlov andMensa haveended up

The workswitches fromscenes of adream like stateto scenes of thenarrative

Eventuallyreach WanlMensa wakin the hospthey dancethe nurses

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Documents

‘A Critical Analysis of Style, Technique and Cultural Identity in the Ghanaian Film Musical Coz Ov Moni’