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Communities would gather at community centres where they would have a pick of the finest movies from within and beyond the country’s borders.
This trend was prevalent before independence where the colonial government would run films in the townships, most of which were aimed at denigrating black people and their culture. Most films showcased were aimed at insulting Africans in the hope of generating self-hate within them which in turn would lead to adoption of white morals and customs. Community film was thus a spade through which the colonial government wished to bury once and for all African culture.
A more appropriate example of ibhayiskopo would be the period in the nineties where communities would also gather to watch films that were showcased on big screens in community halls.
Those were the glory days of community viewing as people would come together to watch some of the latest films. The film screenings were thus not places just to watch movies but in fact modern day watering holes where the community would gather to socialise on the sidelines of conducting their core business of watching film. No water was drawn here but the films, like the watering holes before them, managed to quench the community’s thirst for socialisation.
However the same cannot be said of community halls today. Most of them have lost their shine, with the added polish that ibhayiskopo and other forms of entertainment brought to them long departed as people have found other alternative forms of entertainment.
For one thing, ibhayiskopo has been outpaced by technological developments which have presented people with alternative ways of gaining access to the latest blockbuster movies. The giant strides taken by technology now mean that people can now access top notch entertainment from the comfort of their couches, comfort the hard concrete slabs of community halls simply cannot match.
Most now lay comatose, unable to move forward and develop further. The vegetable existence of most community halls came under the scrutiny of Minister of Media, Information and Publicity, Webster Shamu, who bemoaned the fact that once vibrant centres of artistic talent were now almost bereft of any life.
Minister Shamu bemoaned the decline of the community centres from their lofty heights as places where the talent of city youths was nurtured to little more than white elephants which occupy space in western suburbs but give little back to the arts sector.
This is certainly true, as most centres have ceased to produce talent that they used to. The decline of community centres has also meant that entertainment has gradually moved from the people. While previously entertainment was only a stone throw away, these days people have to travel long distances to gain access to venues where the best artistes perform.
Cinemas, most of them located at city centres, overtook community halls as places where people come to watch prime movies a long time ago. However, cinema came with the added cost of transport as well as a pressure to spend more money in order to impress people, be they loved ones or people around in general.
The same can be said of theatre or concerts that people have to fork out money to go and see in exclusive venues around town.
These days when people in the western suburbs get to see entertainment it is when shows are staged at beerhalls which for obvious reasons are not to the liking of everyone as they do not offer a suitable family environment. Therefore a gravitation pull has seen both audiences and entertainers gradually moving away from western suburbs where most community halls are situated.
The gradual erosion of the role of community halls as places offering top notch entertainment can thus not only be to the advent of new technology but also artistes who have moved away from the places that accommodated them in the first place.
However Nkululeko Nkala, director of Siyaya Arts begs to differ. Nkala believes the communities were the first to abandon the artistes thus they had no choice but to shift base. Nkala believes that the efforts of below par performers masked as true artistes have also contributed to public disinterest in activities and shows held in most community halls.
“Frankly I think the arts sector tried its best but it was the communities that turned against us first.
“This was not all their fault but I apportion the blame on the economic problems that the country faced after the year 2000. However, the situation was not helped by the advent of groups that came with half backed ideas that gave the arts a bad name. This is the reason why communities look down on our products,” he said.
It seems that the arts scene has lost the confidence of the people of Bulawayo but the state of community halls has also deterred the efforts of most artistes in the city from exhibiting their works there. Community halls are thus gradually taking the appearance of lepers rejected by both artistes and the fans that they cater for.
“Halls are costly to book and in most cases they are poorly serviced. There is definitely a need to refurbish the centres while I would also encourage the city council to charge less. In the end we as artistes want to make money and we cannot do that in the community halls at the moment so something definitely needs to change,” he said.
Director of Amakhosi Cultural Centre Cont Mhlanga believes that the problem stems from the poor strategies that youths adopt in their careers. He believes that most youths in the city are still mesmerized by the illusion that performing away from their communities bestows better quality to their work. He believes by moving away from their communities, young artistes are laying weak foundations from which to build defective careers.
“The problem is that most young artistes think that if they perform outside their communities then they are successful. However they do not know that performing in their communities is part of the growth process of being an artiste. How does one progress in their careers when they are not known in their place of origin? The likes of me no longer have the energy to drive the arts in the city but unfortunately our youths are not in a position to do so either because of their attitudes,” he said.
Mhlanga believes that the city councillors do not value community halls which in their prime acted as a conveyor belt churning out talented artistes.
This seems to have stopped, and Mhlanga blames the council for throwing spanners in the works.
“The problem is that we have councillors who do not see the value of these community halls but instead their ambition, like our young artistes, is to go to places where white people used to frequent during the colonial era. They do not know that the whites used to go there to protect their own cultural and business interests. Instead they overprice the halls hence young people are unable to afford them. How is a child fresh from high school expected to fork out $140? If that was the case during our days then I doubt whether Amakhosi would be existing,” he said.
Most community halls in Bulawayo are now places of worship for the city’s ever growing religious denominations. It remains to be seen if the city’s halls can again be places where lovers can congregate to get a taste of what the city’s best can offer.
Online Reporter