Big Brother,Africa is watching

Abstract

This article discusses the interrelation between the reality television genre, as represented by the Big Brother Africa series, and broader social, economic and political developments on the African continent. The article argues that the series has had profound impacts and consequences on the African continent and its people, particularly, though not exclusively, in those countries where it was broadcast. These effects were unpredictable and sometimes contradictory. They shed light on a range of complex issues all too often cast aside or altogether ignored in discussions of cultural phenomena south of the Sahara: economic relations between countries, issues of race and class, and perceptions of self and other, among others. At the same time, they significantly complicate mainstream, primarily US- and Western Europe-centered, analyses of the reality television phenomenon. Most importantly, they bring into focus debates within Africa concerning processes of globalization.