By Amin Kef Sesay
The official launching of Housemates Salone Season 2 (2020) by Dr. Memunatu Pratt, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, at the prestigious Lagoonda Complex in Aberdeen on the 30th July 2020 would not have come at any other better moment than the time it took place.
Without crying it loud, it is well known that we are in the midst of combating the deadly coronavirus which unprecedentedly engulfed the entire universe wrecking serious economic dislocations. Every aspect of life has been affected not even sparing the entertainment industry.
Preventive and restrictive measures placed by the World Health Organization and Governments, one of which is restraining access to entertainment or social events in order to promote social distancing have made life quite a little bit boring and monotonous.
For a country like Sierra Leone, the advent of the coronavirus seriously dented the tourism sector, which before the virus began to spread was growing exponentially and offered the beacon of hope of becoming a prime source of earning foreign exchange. Watching live football matches, another primary way from which most Sierra Leoneans derived entertainment has become an impossibility due to the restriction that has to do with avoiding body contacts. Though we have seen certain relaxations of some of these restrictive measures yet the ban on sporting and entertainment activities are still in place until such a time when the experts would advise otherwise that they must be lifted.
It is within this kind of scenario, when life seems to be dull and uninteresting, that two great institutions, Africell-Sierra Leone and the Africa Young Voices (AYV) again teamed up and decided to come together to stage Housemates Salone Season 2 after a successful Season 1 which was widely viewed in and out of the country and bagged a lot of commendation far and wide for the way it was properly organized.
Housemates Salone Season 2 (2020), “The Last Standing Couple” with the theme ‘Quarantine Drama’ is really very apt as the show is going to avail viewers the opportunity to reduce all the stress brought about as a result of the marauding coronavirus . As a matter of fact, from what have been heard so far, this year’s show is going to be spectacular and superb as it will have people glued to their TV screens or android phones just to focus on watching the show, which will be broadcast live on a 24hours basis on AYV Channel 34.
In as much as the tourism sector has somehow contracted, the Reality TV show will once more put Sierra Leone in the spotlight and as well further expose it to the outside world. It will also, in one way or the other, help to promote the adherence to Stay Home, Stay Safe within the context of social distancing as more and more people get interested with the strong urge to keenly watch as the show progresses.
This year’s show is indeed going to be bigger, juicy, more entertaining and fantastic as the twenty (20) contestants who will finally make it to the House would have to “competitively battle” it out or try to woo the support of viewers who have the ultimate prerogative to vote for the Housemates of their choices out of the conviction that those they vote for truly deserve their votes. However, the biggest focus and yearning on the part of the contestants will be to emerge the victorious winner in order to grab the Le 250 million Leones prize and a round trip to Dubai. The big dream also, is to emerge as a star and a role model who would have already gain national and international recognition.
Reality TV Show is quite new in this country but seemingly it has now become part of our social fabric as it gains popularity and currency. A Reality TV Show depicts actions of people close to life situation. In other words, it shows natural life and interaction of an isolated group of characters in a particular setting in a situation that develops freely without any predetermined script. A viewer is convinced that he or she is witnessing real scenes of life.
Without any gainsay, Housemates Salone Season 2 (2020) is going to be part of the process of changing the face of entertainment in the nation. Participants will obviously come from various parts of the country just to be on-board as was the case with Season 1 and even the disable are eligible to qualify. In this country it has been identified as a conduit for youth empowerment.
The physical beauty and sex appeal of the contestants, especially female contestants, could be projected during the show. There is the tendency that the show will enhance the appearance of the participants, especially female participants, their beauty through which popularity could be derived.
It is also obvious that the show will reveal inappropriate behaviour with peer groups often promoting interpersonal drama, aggression and bullying. The expression of relational aggression between females seen across several reality shows gives girls the idea that gossiping is a normal part of a female relationship that it’s in girls’ natures to be divisive and competitive with one another, and that being mean earns respect and is often necessary to get what you want.
Housemates Salone Season 2 will serve as a good platform for parents to critically learn about the behaviours of their children, as they are mirrored, accept that it is natural in the way they are behaving out of which approaches could be mapped out as to how to react to errant behaviours.
The overarching advantage of having such a show organized is the mere fact that it helps in the area of youth empowerment. Contestants are availed the opportunity to learn and display how to verbally express themselves, to socialize, get used to do certain chores like cooking ,singing, dress as well as other etiquettes and coping mechanisms.
As a matter of fact, as the Show progresses the Housemates will be visited by officials from certain corporate institutions or business enterprises who will explain to them about different products and brands which will surely as well as broaden their knowledge horizons. Besides, they will be financially empowered because, apart from the winner bagging the covetous Le250 Million prize money, for each day a contestant stays in the House, he or she earns Le100, 000 which cumulatively will be handed over to him or her whenever evicted from the House. It goes without saying that after coming out of the House their lives will never be the same again.
On the other hand, the show will provide the platform for interested corporate institutions to showcase their products through advertisements. Taking into consideration the fact that AYV Television has a wider viewership in and out of the country, such is an opportunity many corporate institutions could not afford to miss.
From what has so far been gathered, Africell the leading telecommunications company in the country, with an improved network and a wider subscriber base will enable many viewers cum followers to be able to vote as it is through their network that voting will be done and the link will soon be made available.
Without any form of gainsaying, Africell-SL and AYV has again taken the bold step to come forward and take the entertainment industry to another level with the launching of Housemates Salone Season 2, 2020.
With the intervention of these two corporate institutions, ambitious young and confident young Sierra Leoneans now have at their doorsteps a golden opportunity to participate and emerge victorious in a once in the year Reality TV Show set to commence on the 14th October 2020.
As it is currently slated, the closing date for receipt of all applications is 21ST August 2020 and audition will take place in the first week of September. After three weeks, audition will close and 40 finalists will be chosen who will then battle for the final 20. The final 20 will go into the House on the 14th October 2020.
Forms are now going for Le150, 000 and all application forms could be paid for via Afrimoney. For those in the diaspora who may want to participate in the show they may contact the following www.africell.sl or www.ayvnews.com.
As far as the outcome of a random survey revealed, Sierra Leoneans are now eagerly looking forward to be the lucky contestants after the audition as well as to watch what is expected to be the most popular to-be watched show internally and externally.
What, however, is quite definite and certain is that Housemates Salone Season 2 will obviously elicit a lot of discussions and gossips in many quarters; homes, workplaces, business places, ataya bases, taxi, poda-podas and generate arguments provoked by the performances of the mates in the House.
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