Growing up in Zimbabwe, whenever we tuned in to watch TV, especially during the holidays, we would come across songs of the liberation struggle. As a Zimbabwean, I can conclude we have grown to understand our grandfathers’ struggles during the war. All this was done to program us in such a way that we won’t trivialise the importance of the struggle. Whether we like it or not, that knowledge of the war is a part of us that we will carry for years, if not the rest of our lives, and if we are not careful, we may end up passing it to our children.
There is absolutely nothing that we know and do that we weren’t taught. We either learnt it consciously or subconsciously. A famous Zimbabwean idiom, “Kuziva mbuya huudzwa,” loosely translated, ‘for one to know their grandmother they have to be informed’ tells us that our lifestyle, amongst other things, is all based on the knowledge we carry. We all have the capacity and ability to be absolutely anything in this world. To be considered a doctor, it all has to do with the knowledge that one has. Take away all that knowledge, they cease to be a doctor and become a normal being. I once had a very interesting conversation with one of my friends; she had gone through a couple of articles and research videos that showed that the idea of bacon and eggs as the perfect breakfast was sold to people through a great marketing strategy. Years later we are all screaming for bacon because a company that had a product successfully marinated us. Think about the way we buy phones a year in and out without any big improvements. These companies have succeeded in selling dreams to us, and we have fallen for them.
Back at school, in my first semester, while studying digital media, my advertising design lecturer posed several questions for us to ponder on. He once asked, “Are we buying something because we need it or because everyone has it and it looks cool to have one?” That cool factor is what most companies are selling off, and this is the process of marinating the masses. Think about Hilter; he was able to sway off many men and women to war due to a process that took years. He carefully programmed the people to think the way he thought, and the result was a terrible war. The media these days is pushing an agenda that may be very harmful to us. They are selling a product, and they want to profit, so whatever it takes, they will always try to get the maximum result.
When you scroll all over Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, you will come across many influencers. The big question is, what are they influencing? Slowly we are catching up to the trend and life presented before us, and just before you know it, it’s the same scenario of bacon and eggs. We need to evaluate what is presented before us and make wise decisions. One should look at their goals and ensure they stick to them, or else they will tick off another man’s bucket list.
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