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Browsing by Author "Mugubi, John"

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The aesthetics of children’s theatre: appreciating and maximizing on the psycho-social potentials for social and economic advancement
(2011) Mugubi, John
Concomitants of socio-cultural exigencies on narrative preferences in the Kenyan “Riverwood” film
(Royallite Global, 2017) Mugubi, John; Maina, William Mureithi
In a report commissioned by the World Story Organization in 2008, Justine Edwards points out that storyline lies at the centre of problems that Kenyan films face in trying to “break down the wall preventing Kenyan films from being shown and celebrated beyond Kenyan borders” (2). This paper goes a step further to interrogate this observation through an analysis of three works by three representative Kenyan home grown film makers: Wandahuhu’s Njohera (Forgive Me), Simon Nduti’s Kikulacho (What Bites You) and Simiyu Barasa’s Toto Millionaire. These film makers have made films under the banner of a Kenyan film industry that has come to be informally known as Riverwood—the Kenyan film industry associated with Nairobi’s River Road Street where cheaply produced independent home videos are made in mass mainly by Kenyan film makers working with a Kenyan crew and cast. By measuring their works against narrative conventions established in classical cinema, this paper evaluates Kenyan home-grown film standards as defined by the narrative choices made by the film makers. In so doing, it is essentially guided by narratological theories developed by the constructivist school of film criticism. Constructivist film theory is founded on the tenet that it is the reader (viewer) of the film text that constructs the story and meanings in the story using the clues that the film maker puts before him or her on the screen. Other relevant theoretical positions are applied as need arises to cater for the multidisciplinary nature of film as an art. The methodology used is textual analysis and interpretation, therefore qualitative in nature.
Corollaries of Size: Encumbrances of Childhood in West-Indian Fiction
(Royallite Global, 2018) Mugubi, John
Perhaps the child’s physical and mental sizes contribute more to the position a child is bestowed in a society. Childhood has been viewed as an epitome of weakness and infirmity of both body and soul. This has been the more reason for not holding the child in high esteem. Children have been mistreated all over the world mostly because of their physical weakness. This study is based on the premise that a literary writer has a wide range of narrative agents to choose from. Literary artists discriminate in the choice of both subject – matter and technique. When a writer thus makes a selection, it is assumed that he opts for what is best suited to articulate his vision or ideological perspectives on a multiplicity of concerns. A writer’s preference in terms of character-types should therefore never be taken for granted but rather should be perceived as a vehicle through which the writer lays bare his/her message. Marjorie Boulton (1954) asserts: “a story or essay will achieve an effect on the reader by selection of some aspects of the subject” (p.109). Characterization in Literature is therefore a deliberate enterprise aimed at achieving certain goals.
Female Characters Contesting Maasai Traditional Cultural Practices and Materialism in H.R. Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah and Daughter of Maa
(European Centre for Research Training and Development, United Kingdom, 2018) Wanyonyi, Paul Khaemba; Bwonya, Jane; Magak, Kitche; Mugubi, John; Mbithi, Katheu
This paper examines how the Kenyan writer H.R. Ole Kulet portrays female characters vis-à-vis Maasai traditional practices in Blossoms of the Savannah and Daughter of Maa. It proceeds from the premise that characterization plays a pivotal role in depicting the place and role of particular characters in a work of art. For instance, the roles assigned to certain characters in the work of art reflect on their cultural position in the society. It is in this way, the paper examines female characters in the two texts aiming to show how the author portrays cultural conflicts in regard to their positions and roles in the society. From a close reading of the text, it is evident that these characters help to bring out cultural conflicts in the Maasai community. Some of them are either rebelling against traditional cultural practices as they embrace modernity while others are defending the traditional cultural practices as they oppose modernity. This paper contributes useful data on the role of literature in inspiring social consciousness on gender and development issues.
The Gender Agenda in Kenyan Children’s Feature Films
(Journal of African Theatre, Filmand Media Discourse, 2017) Ojiambo-Hongo, Evelyn; Mugubi, John; Nyaole, Rosemary
The gender agenda has featured substantially in creative works from Africa and particularly Kenya. Although film is considered a new form of creative expression in Africa, compared to the west, it has not been excluded in exploring gender issues. While thegender discussion has prominently featured adults, the Kenyan film has gone a step further and explored gender on a different level. Gender has been explored from the point of view of the child and employed the child character as a suitable medium. Kenyanfilmmakers by employing the child character on the subject of gender seem to suggest that engendering of any member of the society begins in childhood and progresses into adulthood. This is a unique aspect about the Kenyan film yet has not been criticallyexamined. This paper therefore examines the child character and the exploration of gender in Kenyan films about children to ascertain the significance of the child character in exploring gender issues in society. It focuses on three selected films that extensively explore the engendering of children namely: Subira, Malika and Becoming A Girl. The films mainly focus on the engenderingof the girl child by the society and that this happens in childhood. They also employ the girl child as a character in exploring the issue of gender. Examination of the child character will be guided by the Sociological theory of film and the Formalist film theory. The structure of the paper is as follows: A background on the gender issue in creative works,theoretical perspectives on gender, analysis of Kenyan children’s films on gender and conclusions on the use of the child character in exploring gender.
Insignias of Authority in David Mulwa’s and Dennis Kyalo’s Drama: Inheritance & The Hunter is Back
(Royallite Global, 2018) Namayi, Christine; Mugubi, John
This study attempts to unravel the manifestations of the metaphors of power in David Mulwa’s and Dennis Kyalo’s plays: Inheritance and The Hunter is Back. In our analysis, we treat issues that unfold in the play Inheritance within the situation context in which they occur. This concurs with Halliday (1985) who argues that a text is completely detached from the external world and creates a “context of situation” for itself through the special patterning of its lexis. In this regard, we engage an interpretative approach on the various contexts created in the play in our attempt to analyze the manifestations of power in line with the objectives of the study.
Physical Familiarity in Kenyan Animation Character Design: Recreating Selected Characters in Super Sema
(EdinBurg, 2024-10) Kanyangi,Clinton Kihima; Beneah Shapaya; Mugubi, John
It is widely appreciated in film, television studies, and animation that a character serves as a means of telling a tale to the viewer in the media in which they appear. However, a character must be first relatable to convey the story. Consequently, this paper looks at the familiarity of characters in the Kenyan animation series Super Sema. The study was conducted in two phases, with the first phase aimed at determining whether the characters presented in the series elicited familiarity in a Kenyan child audience. The phase found that the degree of familiarity for the characters of the selected series was low. The study then moved to the second phase, where it recreated the characters to improve the characters’ familiarity based on views and adjustments raised by the child audience. The study was guided by Expressionism Theory, Audience Reception Theory, Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, and Semiotics Theory. The study used Super Sema, a Kenyan animation series, as the main film for this study. The series was selected since it is one of Kenyan animation series with a sustained plot and characters. A total of 4 main characters from the film were used in the study: Sema, MB, Tobor, and Babu. To achieve the intended objective, the researcher used school-going children (male and female) aged between 7-11 years. The participants were first shown the characters; then once the degree of familiarity was established, adjustments were made to the characters to improve their familiarity. A total number of 283 students were engaged in both focus group discussions and individual interviews, across five selected Kenyan schools. This study was qualitative as it examined the selected texts in depth, birthing further discussions and conclusions. This research looked at the degree of familiarity achieved by the child audience using the alternative character design approach. Most participants noted familiarity with the recreated characters and a significant number cited that familiarity is a key concern when watching television, films, and animations. Different reasons have been discussed to justify their statements. The study also noted that child audiences have a critical eye when engaging with characters on the screen, and as such, the character designers have a role in ensuring that the preferences of the audiences in terms of familiarity are achieved.
Potentials of Drama Therapy in Unmasking the Personae of Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation among the Kenyan Maasai
(Journal of African Theatre, Film and Media Discourse, 2017) Okoth, Zippora; Mugubi, John
Circumcision of females was and still remains a cultural practice in many African communities. While modernity and access to education has led to vilification of this tradition, the guardians and conservators of traditions who perceive not virtue but abomination in this revolution intrepidly use myths and falsehoods to sustain the tradition. Where that does not work, force is used. The Maasai are such a community where circumcision of women is still entrenched and highly esteemed. Some girls manage to escape but the effects of the harrowing escape remain. Subsequently, this study proceeds from the postulation that drama therapy is a useful tool not only to reach out to the survivors of any form of distress but also as an avenue for helping the victims cope while enhancing their selfexpression by obliterating the facade engendered by the trauma. Our contention is that as a tool for unlocking the voices of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) survivors, drama therapy creates a safe and playful environment where the survivors are able to act out their anxieties, fears and mental conflicts and reclaim their true beings, dreams and positions in society. In this way, drama therapy provides a platform on which the stigma related to FGM emotions can be expelled. While using various drama therapy techniques such as story-telling, poetry, role playing, song and dance, this paper examines and establishes how drama therapy can be used as an effective tool in regaining the real persona of survivors of Female Genital Mutilation. The study employs Nietzsche’s Will to Power theory and Rogerian theory of self in interrogating the potentials of drama therapy. Nietzsche’s Will to Power theory has been used to explore underlying motives behind the survivors’ rebellion against Female Genital Mutilation whereas Rogerian theory of Self has been used in exploring the survivors’ perception of their world, perception of the concepts of freedom, choice and personal responsibility, particularly after surviving Female Genital Mutilation. The study utilizes control-group as its research design while engaging in-depth interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and participatory theatre to obtain data for analysis. The data collected was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Public Perception of Parliament Broadcasting in Kenya: Towards Altering Mutual Attitude and Augmenting Knowledge
(American Research Institute for Policy Development, 2014) Wandera, Sande; Mugubi, John
A major problem faced by many countries where Parliamentary democracy is developing, is lack of public knowledge and awareness about the functions of Parliaments and their mode of operation (Miller, 2008; IPU, 2006; Bouchet & Kariithi, 2003). The lack of awareness is said to be accompanied by a general public opinion that Parliament is an opaque institution devoid of transparency and accountability (USAID, 2010; Bouchet &Kariithi, 2003). It is from this background that the concept of live parliament broadcasting was born; the argument being that live parliament broadcasting would engender a channel of communication – an unadulterated channel free from interventions of media owners and media professionals - between the public and politicians. It was believed that such an avenue would lead to greater public awareness and appreciation of the work of Parliament, better public attitude and perception towards parliament, involvement of the public more in Parliamentary debates, hence helping in making politicians more accountable (Miller, 2008; Franks & Vandermark, 1995; Wober, 1990). Miller (2008) quotes a contemporary British Conservative politician, Norman St. John-Stevas, who claims that: "To televise parliament would, at a stroke, restore any loss it has suffered to the new mass media as the political education of the nation." It is in this regard that this paper tries to find out the effects of live parliament broadcasts in Kenya on public knowledge across the social strata. It also investigates the effects of these broadcasts on public attitude and perception about parliament and its work. The paper further assesses broadcasting practices that could help improve live parliament broadcasting in Kenya.
Representations of the postcolonial state in the childhood metaphor in selected postcolonial texts
(ASD Publisher, 2015) Laban, Oduor Tony; Wainaina, Michael; Mugubi, John
In the analysis of postcolonial literature, there is no systematic construction of a framework to factor in childhood as a metaphor. Postcolonial criticism has not been engaged further in the enterprise of literary analysis, particularly on form. Consequently, this research fills the need to recast the focus of postcolonial criticism to the analysis of form in literature” (through the use of metaphor of childhood). Hawley picks out one author, Salman Rushdie who is often studied under postcolonial criticism. He singles out that postcolonial critics look only for Rushdie-like characteristics. It is in the interest of this research to apply childhood as a different set of characteristic or criterion to profit the agency of postcoloniality. This research also, therefore, contributes to this critique by establishing further that postcolonial criticism embodies a wider canon and that postcolonial texts are not a ‘handful and recurring’. This research introduces pericolonial zones as well as exposing further ‘the list’ to include the selected texts; Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, in addition to The God of Small Things and Nervous Conditions. A sifting of childhood metaphor, in relation to postcoloniality, engenders further appreciation on the analysis of the literary context and beyond.

Browsing by Author "Mugubi, John"

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