The Video Club Boom in Cameroon
In addition to the satellite dishes catering more or less legally for a clientele accustomed to American, Arab and European television channels, a totally illicit, lucrative activity continues to proliferate menacingly: the anarchic operation of video clubs. In what way is this activity dangerous? What are regulatory agencies doing to control it? How can its current informal status be changed into a mutually profitable arrangement? These are some of the many questions we will try to address.
Since the mid-1960s, film distribution and use in Cameroon have been regulated comprehensively by acts adopted by the National Assembly, mainly to protect youth, guarantee high moral standards and ensure the safety of cinema visitors in obscure movie houses. No film can be scheduled until it has received the seal of approval of the National Commission of Film Control, commonly called the Censorship Commission. It comprises representatives of several ministries (including Communications, Youth and Sports, Women's Affairs, Education, Health, Security and Armed Forces...) and several religious bodies (Catholic, Protestant, Muslim). This commission is exclusively authorized to ban a film throughout the country or assign it one of the following classifications: for general exhibition, 13 years and up, or 18 years and up. Sometimes the agency demands that certain scenes judged too daring or violent be cut. Repeated violations carry penalties such as closing of theatres or revocation of film importation permits.
Moreover, the approval of a Technical Commission is required for all plans of new cinemas or remodelling of movie theatres. These facilities must meet all security, comfort and health provisions before opening to the public. None of the above-mentioned rules are observed by the film clubs. They are located in tiny, five-by-four-metre rooms squeezed between a bar and a shop or at the end of a dark corridor with no ventilation. Three or four wooden benches, a consumer VCR, a standard mono speaker and a small monitor are all the equipment video club operators require. Their patrons are primarily young truants who pick the pockets and handbags of their parents to indulge their vice several times a day. This daily drug dose becomes an addiction which inevitably drives them towards juvenile delinquency with its fateful consequences.
The downfall of these video freaks is aggravated by their preference for (Chinese) films glorifying violence, (Western) pornography and (U.S.) movies promoting the American way of life. This group of young people, detached from the family circle, torn from the roots of tradition and out of touch with the past, is easy prey for the imported foreign models which they devour at a ridiculously low price. In fact, the shows cost only 50, 75 or 100 CFA francs (US$O.2), and the number of daily performances (6-10) allows operators to earn a pretty penny. Those teenagers who do attend classes return home later and later since 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows frequently consist of pornographic films which their fans call "feature bouts".
A recent dramatic incident in Douala has relaunched a debate questioning the very existence of these cinema clubs. A mother, surprised to see her 13-year-old daughter leaving a torrid late-evening performance, gave the girl a resounding slap in the face. The bad fall which ensued caused the immediate death of the girl. For the reasons cited above, the cinema clubs as they now exist have no legal basis. Government crackdowns are forceful but irregular. They accomplish nothing but a temporary closing of cinema clubs, which soon resurface in greater numbers. A few drinks at a local bar or a few notes passing from one-pocket to another suffice to close the eyes of the police to a lucrative illicit trade.
Cinema club operators are not content simply to engage in unfair competition with cinemas, which pay taxes considered to be exorbitant and face other serious challenges from television channels and from satellite antennas covered only loosely by the law. The operators also ravage billboards all over town to attract as many customers as possible. Hardly a day goes by without the police recording a complaint from film distributors and cinema operators about the theft of outdoor advertising. A more serious offense is committed when tiny neighbourhood facilities show films that were premiered the day before in the leading Yaoundé cinemas. The pirates charge only 100 francs to see films which cost 2, 000 or 2, 500 francs at the ABBIA or Capitole. The operators in the neighbourhood advertise their shows with tantalizing stolen posters.
The government could profit from the operation of cinema clubs. By drafting legislation that would remove them from the twilight zone, the Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance could efficiently regulate the sector, imposing operating conditions, controlling film and equipment quality, ensuring the safety and comfort of moviegoers and setting admission prices and taxes at appropriate, fair levels. Everyone would gain from regulation.
Ghana's experience in this area is enlightening in more ways than one. Very comfortable video clubs are spreading across the country. These facilities are spacious and air conditioned. They have emergency exits, bars for intermissions, big screen video projectors and stereo sound. They also have the advantage of featuring African films in general, and specifically Ghanian films, favouring domestic actors, technicians and studios. Video viewers can identify better with the performers, the settings and the plots than when consuming imported films with alien casts, locations and situations. In order to profit from the experience of a kindred country, a Video Production Seminar was inspired by the Television Training Centre (TTC Berlin) and the Ghana NAFTI, together with Bill Marshall, Aladji Buari and Vero Quashie as the Ghanian resource persons. The session attracted more than 40 Cameroon producers to the Vocational Training Centre of the Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation (CRTV) for a sharing of experience and an exchange of ideas. It is hoped that Ghana’s example will take root in Cameroon. Emulation of video production standards and regulation of cinema clubs would increase the pleasure of video aficionados and replenish government coffers.
By Lucien Mailli, lecturer and producer at the Cameroon Radio Television Training Centre (CRTV), Yaounde.