documentary - The African Mirror

May

2023

Media freedom and democracy: Africans in four countries weigh up thorny questions about state control

IN July 2022, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary on gang activity in northwestern Nigeria. The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country. Notably, it included interviews with so-called bandits, who described their violent actions and laid out their grievances. Author JEFFREY CONROY-KRUTZ, Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University The Nigerian government responded furiously to the documentary’s airing. The minister of information, Lai Mohamed, called it “a naked glorification of terrorism and banditry”. The National Broadcasting Commission, which regulates broadcasting, said it “undermines national…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

India blocks BBC documentary on Modi from airing in India

WORLD

INDIA has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary which questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that even sharing of any clips via social media is barred. Directions to block the clips from being shared have been issued using emergency powers available to the government under the country's information technology rules, said Kanchan Gupta, an adviser to the government, on his Twitter handle on Saturday. While the BBC has not aired the documentary in India, the video was uploaded on some YouTube channels, Gupta said. The government has issued orders to Twitter to block…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Harry and Meghan defend documentary after privacy criticism

WORLD

BRITAIN'S Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have rejected criticism of a documentary about their lives, with a statement from their spokesman saying that the couple had never cited privacy as a reason for stepping back from the royal family. In the first three episodes of the much-anticipated documentary, the couple - the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - made a series of disclosures, with Meghan recalling her first death threat, Harry talking about wearing disguises to their dates, and previously unseen footage of their son Archie. The launch, according to figures cited by the BBC drew 2.4 million TV viewers in…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis is moving Catholics toward a more expansive understanding of family

RELIGION

JULIE HANLON RUBIO, Professor of Christian Social Ethics, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University POPE Francis referred to gay people as “children of God” in a recently released documentary, “Francesco.” He further noted that “a civil union law” needs to be created so gays are “legally covered.” The Vatican later confirmed the pope’s comments, but clarified that the church doctrine remained unchanged. Public support for civil unions from Pope Francis is not entirely new. When he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, and again in a 2014 interview, he spoke about civil unions for same-sex couples. While the Vatican…