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>> 147 6 Black Television from Elsewhere The Globalization of Non-U.S. Black Television In recent years the globalization of television production, the spread of comparatively cheap audiovisual production equipment, channel fragmentation, and various forms of digital video production and distribution have combined to increase the amount of television programming produced and distributed by black communities around the world. In this chapter I examine some of the ways the institutional labors and industry lore surrounding these non-American programs influence production practice elsewhere. What I aim for here is far from a comprehensive portrait of the diversity of black televisual practices worldwide, but rather an index of some of the primary ways that black television created—and often circulated—beyond the United States navigates the circuits of global commercial television, as well as the significance of those navigations for the cultural politics of the programs. I will argue that the proliferation of channels and digital distribution technologies has expanded the markets for non-American black television, sometimes accompanied by quite different industry-wide perceptions of programming and foreign viewers, which shape programming practice in quite different ways. At the same time, some elements of conventional industry lore persist even among non-American, nonwhite programmers, limiting the aesthetic and political range of these programs. While black television culture that does not fit sanctioned institutional uses and industry lore does continue to circulate, the business models of such productions are precarious. Three case studies comprise this chapter: the first involves the animated New Zealand series bro’Town, which has enjoyed significant international circulation through both commercial and noncommercial programming circuits. The second case addresses the Nigerian videofilm industry known as Nollywood, which I include here because of its status as a cultural object that is both/neither film and television. Nollywood has grown to become the third-largest “film” industry in the world, and its products are distributed widely around the world, mostly through piracy and video stalls. Finally, we examine Noh Matta Wat, the first prime-time Belizean television series, which attracted devout viewers within and beyond Belize but 148 > 149 are similar to those of African Americans. Māori, in addition, tend to selfidentify as “black,” both politically and culturally. Consequently, a study of how a television series focused on an oppressed—and culturally specific— minority manages to navigate the commercial and cultural circuits of globalization touches upon the same theoretical questions engaged in throughout this book. bro’Town is also decidedly not a Māori television series; it features a core group of five teenage boys, all of whom are of Polynesian decent. Only one character, Jeff da Māori, is Māori, while the others boys and their families have emigrated more recently. Still, all of the boys share similar skin colors, living conditions, and challenges in the largely white world of New Zealand . Written and acted by the all-male Polynesian comedy troupe Naked Samoans, bro’Town offers satirical portraits of both white and nonwhite New Zealanders from a nonwhite perspective; that is, white satirical portrayals of nonwhites have little place in the series. Thus, although the producer of the series claims that it “explores the New Zealand identity just as much (if not more) than the Pacific Island/Māori stuff” (Mitchell, 2009), I would argue that the exploration occurs from a decidedly nonwhite subject position. The episode “A Māori at My Table” offers clear examples of the ethnic minority perspective of the series, as well as the ways the series remains anchored to local cultures. In addition, it demonstrates how the series appropriates elements of the globally successful adult animation genre in an effort to appeal to a global audience, as did the animated African American adult series The Boondocks, which we explored in the previous chapter. The episode focuses on Jeff da Māori’s trip with his classmates back to his ancestral “homeland,” where he discovers that his favorite aunt, and leader of the community, has just died. Jeff is named the new leader and quickly becomes embroiled in a debate about whether to sell the land to Japanese businessmen who want to develop it into a mall. Uncomfortable with selling the land but unable to win over the other inhabitants, Jeff is visited by a spirit who reminds him of the ancient story that the whales will again return to Kia Ora Bay when the sacred noseflute is played in the proper location. Jeff finds he cannot play the noseflute to...

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