Name: Babalola Elizabeth
Matric no: Aul/Hum/17/00180
Department: Language and Linguistics
Faculty: Humanities
Level: 200 level
Course title: Introduction to literature, popular culture and mass media
Course code: lit226
Project: Theoretical and graphical analysis of popular culture in literature using Amma Darko’s Faceless
Email address:abisolababalola66@gmail.com
Lecturer: Dr. J. A. Omoru
Introduction to Popular Culture
Popular culture , is widely viewed by members of a society as a set of the practices, beliefs and objects that are dominant or in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also covers the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these prominent objects. Under heavy influence in modern times by the mass media, this collection of ideas pre-occupies the everyday lives of people in a given society. Therefore, popular culture creates a way of influencing an individual’s attitudes towards certain topics. However, there are various ways to define popular culture. Because of this, popular culture is something that can be defined in a variety of conflicting ways by different people across different contexts .It is generally viewed in contrast to other forms of culture such as folk culture, working class culture, or high culture, and also through different theoretical point of views. The most common popular culture categories are: entertainment (such as movies, music, television and video games), sports, news (as in people/places in the news), politics, fashion/clothes, technology, and slang.
Popular culture is sometimes viewed by many people as being trivial and “dumping down” in order to find consensual acceptance from {or to attract attention among the mainstream.} As a result, it comes under heavy criticism from various non-mainstream sources (most notably from religious groups and from counter cultural groups) which deem It superficial, consumerist, sensationalist, or corrupt.The term “popular culture” was coined in the 19th century or earlier. Traditionally, popular culture was associated with poor education and the lower classes, as opposed to the “official culture” and higher education of the upper classes. Victorian era in Britain , experienced social changes that resulted in increased literacy rates, and with the rise of capitalism and industrialization, people began to spend more money on entertainment. “ Labeling penny dreadful the Victorian equivalent of video games, The Guardian described penny fiction as “Britain’s first taste of mass-produced popular culture for the young.” A growing consumer culture and an increased capacity for travel via the invention of railway (the first public railway, Stockton and Darlington railway, opened in north-east England in 1825) created both a market for cheap popular literature, and the ability for it to be circulated on a large scale. The first penny serials were published in the 1830’s to meet this demand. Wikipedia, 2019.
Popular culture in Literature
What constitutes popular culture is debated, and the definition that one chooses influences the interpretations one makes about popular culture. Popular culture may be said to be represented by those objects and icons that are recognizable to a large number of people but that have not yet passed into the social canon. When something becomes part of the social canon, it becomes part of the norms, rules, and expectations of the members of a society. For example, one may argue that a famous basketball player is part of popular culture, because he is widely recognized, but that the player is not part of the social canon, because he is not a model of conduct or historical example, as are such figures as Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., or a living president. The borders between popular culture and canonical culture are clearly quite fluid, and precise definition is impossible. Some art, in fact, has as its theme the ease with which images and cultural references can shuttle between canonical culture and popular culture.
Genre literature is accused of being simplistic, sometimes banal, and at its most controversial, of defying social norms. Genre literature is a type of mass and popular culture material. It is studied by popular culture theorists as a branch of literary studies. The difference between Literature and Popular culture is that Literature refers to written works (e.g. fiction, poetry, drama, criticism.) that are considered to have permanent artistic value. Popular culture refers to mediums such as film, television, fashion trends, or current events that have artistic value.
Elements of Popular Culture
This refers to the things that come together to make up a particular culture .The following are some common types of popular culture;
Music:
Music is a very legitimate popular culture, music is life to some people and it is found in all places you can imagine. Imagine a party without music, it gets boring and dull. A party with music energizes the people and makes everywhere lively. Music comes in different genres which includes; hip hop, Rnb, soul, trap music, reggae, jazz, gospel, blues, afro pop among others.
Fashion:
Fashion is life, we live fashion everyday of our lives, and popping trends come and go all the time. From jumpy trousers, ripped jeans, flayed skirts and tops, palazzos, crop tops, sweatshirts and hoodies to mention a few. We have designers who push fashion forward and new innovations are brought up every day.
Corruption:
Corruption is a never ending popular culture, especially in Nigeria, it has eaten deep and it has been since inception. Corrupt leaders everywhere and it’s so sad. Corruption in the world will continue to be heard of, due to the corrupt human nature and bad leaders.
Summary of Faceless by Amma Darko
Faceless is a compelling story of children plunged into the streets by poverty and parental neglect. Amma Darko in very graphic details presents sociological issues of child-neglect, gender, child abuse, defilement of girls, child-trafficking, child-labor, and violence.
Amma Darko tells the world that every street child has a story, though rarely told. The common denominator in all of these stories is parental neglect.
A non-governmental organization in Accra known as Mute seeks to unravel the mysterious death of Baby T, a child prostitute whose battered body was found in a slum behind a hair salon kiosk. Mute’s encounter with Fofo, Baby T’s sister opens an investigative trail into the lives of neglected children.
The message in Faceless is that parents should take responsibility for their children. More pronounced is the message that no child should be brought into the world without means of providing for him physically, financially, psychologically and emotionally.
Plot
The novel opens with fourteen year old Fofo sleeping on an old cardboard at the Agbogbloshie market. In her sleep, she dreams of living in a home with a roof and a toilet, a dream which she shares with other street children like her.
Poison, a street lord suddenly wakes her up and attempts to rape her.Fofo resists him and runs to Odarley, her best friend who lives in a rented wooden shack. Fofo’s mother, Maa Tsuru informs Fofo, that her elder sister, Baby T is dead and that Poison threatens her into silence over Baby T’s death and urges Fofo to leave for her safety.
Kabria , a mother of three children, who lives neighborhood in Accra and works with Mute a non-governmental agency runs into Fofo at the Agbloghoshie market while she shops for vegetables. Kabria stands with other spectators at the spot where Baby T’s body was found. When Fofo, tries to steal her purse. She rescues her from the angry mob. Fofo reveals her identity and tells Kabria that Baby T was her sister. Mute begins to gain interest in Baby T’s matter and grants Fofo protection by taking her into temporal custody while they conduct investigations regarding Baby T’s death.
As the plot unfolds, we find out that Baby T is the third child of Maa Tsuru and was born after a brutal beating. Her father disappears and leaves her mother to fend for herself and children. Her mother finds a new lover who goes by the name Kpakpo. He sexually abuses Baby T. She reports the rape incident to an uncle who lives in the same compound with them, and he rapes her also. Baby T is later sold to a prostitution ring consisting of Madam Abidjan, Maami Brooni and Poison, the street lord and ring leader. She is made to work as a child prostitute in Maami Brooni’s brothel with her earnings sent to Maa Tsuru (her mother) who simply turns a blind eye.
Onko visits a native doctor and he tells him that baby T is the reason for his problems. So, he goes in search of Baby T and Kpakpo helps him connect with her once again. Poison eventually leads Kpakpo to Maami Brooni’s brothel where Baby T was working as a prostitute. Baby T remembers what Onko did to her in the past and vehemently refuses to sleep with him. Her refusal enrages him and Poison slaps and tries to beat her into submission. Baby T is found dead on the concrete floor with her head split open. She is alone with Onko in the room at the time of her death. Onko commits suicide thereafter.
Setting
This novel is set in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Activities which hover around the streets of Accra, especially the inner city home of Maa Tsuru and the highly populated outskirt of Agbogbloshie, the squatter’s enclave of Sodom and Gomorrah, Kabria’s home in a middle class suburb of Accra, the blue coloured rasta hairdressing salon, the Agboo Ayee spot and the Mute office are the major theatres of actions. Agbogbloshie’s human and vehicular traffic is always heavy. The area which was formally known as Fadama until government’s development efforts changed its face. It is home to all kinds of inhabitants: normal people, street people. Two great features of Agbogbloshie are its street people. Two great features of Agbogbloshie are its street girls cum keyayaoos and the daunting squatter enclave notoriously referred to as Sodom and Gomorrah.
The environment is untidy, filth and stench every where the blue rasta hairdressing salon kiosk in the heart of Agbogbloshie tells it all. The kiosk ,which raises above the ground level with five solid iron blocks from disused vehicles. The space which the elevation creates is used as rubbish dump. This had grown into fertile ground for flies and mosquitoes of all shapes. The gutter by the side of the kiosk stinks of urine and feaces. The streets of inner city Accra are a little better than those in Agbogbloshie. They are littered with dirts and potholes, narrow alleys and dilapidated buildings with table-top provision shops everywhere. The police station is another ugly sight to the setting. According to the author, “The Police station stood in a very busy area, and was, simply put in a sorry sight. Broken windows, leaking drains, cracked walls and peeling paint greeted Vickie and Kabria. The officer behind the outdated front desk, who seemed very bored with his world, his job and his very own self too, responded to their loud and clear greeting with a sullen nod.”
Popular Cultures in Faceless
Deception
This is mostly demonstrated in the actions of Kpakpo and Kwei, two men that used and dumped Maa Tsuru. Kpakpo deceives Maa Tsuru with promises of Eldorado to seduce her, deceives her to send her daughter into prostitution just as he deceives all the tenants that bids for his one room inheritance at his family house in central Accra into parting with their money. Kwei deceives Maa Tsuru when he invites her to talk over their differences only to descend on her with fists and whips in the hope of terminating her fourth pregnancy. This is seen below:
“where is he mother?”Fofo asked Maa Tsuru
“He left, she said simply
“He left , after all he did to Baby T?, to us all?, He left?”
“And you stood by and just allowed this smallish man to leave?, just like that?”{Ch3, pg21}……Fofo talking to Maa Tsuru after Kpakpo deceives and leaves her, still, Maa Tsuru is dumb.
Parental Irresponsibility
This is one of the causes of street children. Most parents are irresponsible. They go to great lengths to bring children into the world but care a little about their existence. Odarley’s parents are in this class. Maa Tsuru and her two ‘road side’ husbands also belong here. Kwei and Kpakpo are so irresponsible that the thoughts of their duties as a father never cross their minds. Their children do not exist in their minds. Maa Tsuru herself is so irresponsible that she opens her legs to any man that can make a pass. She was very eager to send her kids into the streets to satisfy the amorous interest of the scheming Kpakpo. This is seen below;
“Odarley’s mother sacks her like a fowl when she goes to see her, she says Odarley is a thief”….{Ch3,Pg25}….Fofo tells Maa Tsuru how they treat Odarley.
Maa Tsuru began to cry, go away Fofo, she managed between tears, Go.
“Is history repeating itself here? Are you sacking me, mother? Because of him?”
No‼, No‼, I am not sacking you from here. Not from this room. Not from this house. I mean to say, go away, from Accra, if possible, Fofo, Go away. Go somewhere far away from here where he can never find you.”
“What are you talking about, mother? Is it Poison? What does he want with me?”
“Oh, child, go away‼” Maa Tsuru sobbed, GO‼
“Why mother? Why?”
“Because they are animals. They know no mercy. And my hands are tied. Please, GO‼.”{Ch3, Pg22}…Maa Tsuru sacking Fofo out of the house for the fear of Fofo being killed like Baby T.
Rape
This is a notorious vice among street children. Poison attempts one on Fofo after he had used and killed her elder sister, Baby T. Kpakpo and Onko had their turns with Baby T. Their affairs with her led into the wayward life she eventually lived.
Street Life:
This is the major issue in their novel. Why are children on the streets? What is government doing about them? How is this social malady affecting the larger society, and how can it be remedied. Many children on the street go through pains and hopelessness. They leave their homes for the street as a result of: hunger, poverty and parental neglect. On the streets, they express their frustrations through: begging, stealing, fighting, drugs, sex and alcoholism…This is seen below;
“Sucked into life on the streets and reaching out to each new day with an ever-increasing hopelessness, such were the ways they employed to escape their pain”…. {Ch1, Pg1}
Murder:
The high rate of murder on the streets of Ghana was confirmed by the police officer who told Mute reporters that: “dead bodies are found at all kinds of places at all sorts of time…” {Ch6, Pg42}.Baby T was murdered by those she worked for because she refused to go to bed with a man who once raped her as a child. But for the interest shown by “Mute and Harvest fm”, her death would have joined the number of unreported and uninvestigated murder cases on the streets.
Graphological analysis of the popular cultures in Faceless
The popular cultures in Faceless include the following:
Corruption
Stealing
Violence
Fear
Exploitation
Family Stress
Lying
Street life
Murder
{chart1}
Corruption is the order of the day in this captivating novel, from the menace of street children to police incompetence and brutality. Corruption takes the center stage, as it runs throughout this novel.
| POPULAR CULTURE | FREQUENCY |
| CORRUPTION | 40 |
| STEALING | 6 |
| VIOLENCE | 18 |
| FEAR | 28 |
| EXPLOITATION | 19 |
| FAMILY STRESS | 24 |
| LYING | 18 |
| STREET CHILDREN | 20 |
{Table1}
From this chart, we see that corruption takes center stage again. It covers all other popular cultures, which simply means that bits of corruption are all over the novel, from beginning to end. Thus the 100 .Bits of popular cultures also intertwine as they all connect with each other.
{Table2}
| POP CULTURES | CH1 | CH2 | CH3 | CH4 | CH5 | CH6 | CH7 | CH8 | CH9 | CH10 | TOTAL | |
| MURDER | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| STEALING | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| LYING | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18 | |
| VIOLENCE | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | |
| EXPLOITATION | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 19 | |
| STREET CHILDREN | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 | |
| FAMLY STRESS | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 24 | |
| FEAR | 8 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 28 | |
| CORRUPTION | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 40 | |
| 177 |
From chart 4 , this work aims to see the percentage{%} each popular culture has on each chapter, for corruption{being the prominent and domineering popular culture};
{ch1}40-7=33%
{ch2}40-3=37%
{ch3}40-6=34%
{ch4}40-3=37%
{ch5}40-4=36%
{ch6}40-2=38%
{ch7}40-5=35%
{ch8}40-2=38%
{ch9}40-4=36%
{ch10}40-4=36%
Another popular culture which is lurking around is street life . This is seen in;
{ch1}40-6=34%
{ch2}40-1=39%
ch1}40-6=34%
{ch3}40-3=37%
{ch4}40-1=39%
{ch5}40-2=38%
{ch6}40-1=39%
{ch7}40-2=38%
{ch8}40-2=38%
{ch9}40-1=39%
{ch10}40-1=39%
{Table3}
| POPULAR CULTURE | CH1 | CH2 | CH3 | CH4 | CH5 | CH6 | CH7 | CH8 | CH9 | CH10 | TOTAL | |
| CORRUPTION | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 40 | |
| STEALING | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| VIOLENCE | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | |
| FEAR | 8 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 28 | |
| EXPLOITATION | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 19 | |
| FAMILY STRESS | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 24 | |
| LYING | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18 | |
| STREET CHILDREN | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 | |
| MURDER | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 177 |
By Street Children, we mean the helpless and homeless children in the streets. As a result of this, Fofo and other helpless children are thrown into the cold hands of the streets. They face the harsh life on the streets and they are forced to fend for themselves. Baby T dies in the hands of the streets and her death raises an alarm and draws Mute’s attention to the alarming and inhumane conditions of the streets.
In conclusion, we find out that Faceless, is the tragic story of street children in Accra, Ghana told through a chaotic urban fabric where pressing social issues like the gap between rich and poor, HIV/AIDS, broken families and the role of women in society are all-pervasive.
The story is an investigation of the death of Baby T, a child prostitute whose body is found dumped behind a marketplace, naked, beaten and mutilated. Darko skillfully reveals details about Baby T during the progression of the novel through her younger sister Fofo, herself a street child who comes into contact with group of women who run a documentation Ngo called Mute.
Baby T’s story is heartbreaking and entirely believable, not only in relation to Accra, but also in a global context. She is the third child of Ma Tsuru, born after a brutal beating intended to fulfill the ambitions of an abortion because the father believes that Ma Tsuru is “too fertile”. Kwei, the father, disappears after fathering Fofo, leaving Ma Tsuru to fend for herself with four children. The family manage alone with the two sons bringing home money from fish-related activities. But Faceless is a novel wherethings only go very wrong when men are involved and when Ma Tsuru takes a lover into her bed in the form ofKpakpo who earns his keep by “dubious” means, the stage is set for tragedy.
References
Amma Darko. Faceless.
Ehis .O. Osagie. Complete guide to Literature-in-English{2016-2020.
lizzyb30 