Fela Kuti - Music Is the Weapon
by Jean-Jacques Flori, Stephane Tchalgadjieff
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DVD details
Actor: Fela Anikulapo KutiDirector: Jean-Jacques Flori, Stephane Tchalgadjieff
Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC VIDEO DIST.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), PCM Stereo; English (Original Language), PCM Stereo; French (Original Language), PCM Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Import, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 53 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: B000219409
Studio: Universal Import
Product features:
- 1 Music Is The Weapon 2 Music Is The Weapon Format: DVD AUDIO Genre: MUSIC DVD Rating: NR Age: 044006540399 UPC: 044006540399 Manufacturer No: B000219409
DVD Reviews of Fela Kuti - Music Is the Weapon
DVD Review: An What A Sharp Weapon it Can Be...
Summary: 5 Stars
Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti can be a perplexing figure. While his passion, activism, and musicianship are inspiring, his chauvinism, narcissism, and anarchism may not sit well with the modern western observer. However, the 1982 documentary Music is the Weapon by Stephane Tchal-Gadjieff sets the stage for a greater understanding of the time and place that Fela found himself, thereby giving the outside observer a better appreciation of the space in which the man created his political and musical identity.
The film's aim is not biographic. Although the first ten of its fifty minutes is spent on discussing Fela's beginnings as the child of a middle-class Yoruba family as well as his travels to England and the US, his life is described within the context of the relevant histories of those places. As much, if not more, is said about Martin Luther King, the assassination of Kennedy, and the Biafra war than is said about specific events in Fela's life. Approaching his life story from this standpoint serves to outline the influences on his emerging political philosophy quickly and effectively, but tends to downplay his musical growth and influences.
Place is described from the global down to the local. Nigeria is described in the context of Africa, and the city of Lagos is described in the context of Nigeria. In conjunction with the previous history of the Biafra war, the images and descriptions of Lagos are particularly effective in conveying the political climate of the city. The brutality and poverty of this city is palpable, especially with Fela's music and lyrics as the backdrop. Finally the sphere tightens onto The Shrine, his nightclub, and we are treated to fantastic footage of him playing and preaching here to a diverse cross-section of the Nigerian public.
After the time and place are set, we follow Fela home to Kalukuta, which is a nearby suburb that he has transformed into what could only be called a temporary autonomous zone. About 100 people lived there: his 15 wives, his musicians, and his bodyguards. Kalukuta was a self-proclaimed republic, and there he was viewed as a tribal chief. Here, we begin to look the metaphors that make up his politics and, consequently, his music.
It must be understood that Fela longed for a return to tribal Africa. He viewed both Christianity and Islam as non-African, so his nightclub was a Shrine not just in name, but in function. Monogamous marriage was an affectation of the West, so he married 27 women (apparently 12 left him before the time of filming). He viewed musicianship as a gift from the Gods, to be used for the good of mankind. People who misuse it will "die young". Fela attributed his youthful appearance and energy to this philosophy.
Once we get an idea of Fela's space, we take a step back and see his place in the national level. He had serious interest in running for Nigerian presidency, but was opposed by the incumbent system. The Nigerian government's reaction to this resulted in several attempts to discourage and discredit him, not the least of which was the invasion of Kalukuta by Nigerian police on two occasions. The first resulted in the death of his mother. The second (which occurred at the time of filming), resulted in imprisonment and torture.
To describe Fela as a musician without taking into consideration his political philosophy is to sell him short. Fela viewed music as a gift to be used for the good of mankind. With political injustice and human suffering around him, he sharpened the blade on his music and used it, like the title states, as a weapon to at least alleviate, if not ameliorate the means of that suffering. When seen outside of that context, one's initial reactions to Fela's philosophy may be one of surprise. Within it, however, one reaction will most likely be one of admiration.
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