Zeitgeist – ‘the spirit of the age’ or what can be referred to as the mood of a particular period of history as characterized by the ideas and beliefs of the time.
Echoes of War, the controversial play by Butere Girls highschool is a powerful reflection of the current generational mindset in Kenya.
It explores themes of technological advancements, demand for transparency, impatience with the authorities which are the lived experiences and frustrations of the young and the older citizens alike in Kenya.
The play unfolded before the media and social platforms an irony of what it’s ban had intended to achieve. The events around the ban and the aftermath a clash between the emerging zeitgeist and established power structures an indication of underlying societal tensions.
The very issues the government is trying to avoid discussing unwittingly amplifying and drawing more attention to the criticism and legitimizing the play in the process.
In a digital era with a very vocal youth population, it’s become really difficult to censor. Leveraging digital platforms to challenge authority and artistic freedoms, the youth turned a school play into a national talking point which is adds onto the “teachable moments” for Kenyan democracy.
Judging from the strong reactions from the authorities, the government, the judiciary, the political class and the public, there lies deep fault lines within the Kenyan society regarding governance, freedoms of expression and the role art plays in challenging the status quo.
The attempted ban an even larger discomfort with critical self-reflections on the people it rattled to such extends. The events around the play have put on the spotlight the health of Kenya’s democratic institutions and offered lessons on strengths and fragility of democratic principles like freedoms of speech and artistic expressions and protection of the Kenyan child as a sovereign being.
Beyond the headlines however, the quality of the writing, the effectiveness of the satire, the depths of the themes explored must have hit really close to home and the spirit of the age has become way louder.
