A Uniquely African Reality Show

Karen Igho

See Previous article (‘Big Brother Amplifies Voyeurs).

With one left of this season’s Big Brother, the past two months have been interesting to say the least.

The show has taken on unique African themes.

After a romance developed between two of the housemates, the female half dumped the her male love interest because she is trying to promote herself as a singer, and is scared that her country, Ethiopia, which she claims to be highly conservative, would not be impressed with her having a relationship on continental T.V.

Then there is the Angolan housemate who seems to have established herself as the puppet-master. She was the one who convinced the Ethiopian girl to break things off with her bf. Then the same Angolan (there is only one in the house) started spreading all manner of rumours that some individuals fell for. These rumours have greatly impacted on the mood of the house, as well as the opinions and actions of the housemates when it is time to nominate their fellow housemates for eviction from the house and game. The most damaging rumour she created was that she saw one of the housemates performing witchcraft. In an African context, this is a heavy accusation with big repercussions should the audience have chosen to believe this. The accused housemate could have been killed upon her leaving the house. This particular contestant may argue that it is a game, however, if she can be so ruthless on T.V. with millions of people watching, one can only imagine what she is capable of in real life.

But the character who has stood out and grabbed the hearts of the majority of viewers is Karen Igho. She is loud, opinionated, playful, silly, funny and full of energy. She generally has a free spirit and a good soul. These qualities almost give her a child-like innocence.

This week (nominations are weekly) she took a risk by not nominating anyone for eviction (the individuals who receive the most nominations from their housemates are then voted for by the audience, the people receiving the most votes get to stay on until the next round). As a result of not nominating anyone, she had to put herself up. This week Karen is also head of house, meaning that she had the option of ‘saving’ someone from possible eviction and replacing them with someone who has not as yet been nominated. Again, she chose not to save herself and put someone else in the firing line in her place.

This is a game worth $200 000 for two of the winners. So this move on Karen’s part may seem stupid. But as she so eloquently put it, she is worried she may be sent home, but her conscious is clear. Not only are people competing for the money, they are competing for exposure in the hopes of getting endorsements etc. So those who play the game well will benefit, even if they do not win the money.

It will be interesting to see who will win the money. Will Africa reward the decent people who have not compromised their morals? It is clear however, that whoever wins will be an indication of the moral and ethical fibre of Africa right now.

We are head-over-heels in love with Karen and will be voting her till the end!

Visit the official Big Brother Amplified website to see how you can vote for Karen.