Language Choice, Performance Aesthetics and Quality in selected Kenyan Films

Abstract

The quality, authenticity and originality of film is not only realised through settings and events but also through genuine actor performance (characterization) in the representation of those events and experiences. This study analysed how choice of language in film affects actor performance especially in the portrayal of a realistic and authentic characterization, and how this impacts the overall quality in four films: Toto Millionaire by Simiyu Baraza, Nairobi Half Life by David Gitonga, Saikati by Ann Mungai and The First Grader by Justin Chadwick. These films are all produced in Kenya and speak to a history of film in Kenya consisting of different production styles and circumstances. The objectives of the study were; To outline and analyse how the narrative and filmic techniques adopted in the selected films reflect reality, hence their quality, To discuss how language use discourse in Kenya influences the dominance of the English language in film in Kenya, and to analyse the impact choice of language has on character performance and overall quality in each of the selected films. The study employed the realist film theory espoused by Andre Bazin, Stanley Cavel, Rudolph Arneheim and Siegfried Kraucer which states that film is a medium of actuality and anything it represents must be equal to reality to interrogate whether the language used in the selected films fits the characters’ roles in the worlds represented in the films in the course of performance. The study was qualitative and consisted of an audio visual based analysis using the ethnography of communications model developed by Dell Hymes to determine how the language chosen in each of the films work with non-verbal communications appurtenances (NVC’s) to affect realistic and authentic characterisation. It was found that appropriate choice of language is paramount for a genuine and honest rendition by actors in character roles that meet the realistic performance demanded by the film medium. The study concluded that the English language (idiom) preferred by Kenya film makers is not an appropriate choice as the linguistic medium for film in Kenya because it subverts film’s realistic qualities by hindering effective characterization. A key recommendation of the study is that film makers, training institutions and film policy formulators need to consider appropriate choice of language as being part and parcel of genuine performance by film actors.