“Everyone who passes through this door brings happiness, some by entering, some by leaving.” (Words on the door of the Big Brother house).
The long awaited ‘Big Brother Africa 4: The Revolution’ hit the screen on Sunday September 6, and was welcome with excitement across the continent and beyond. This time it has taken various dimensions and twists, leaving viewers on edge while they yearn for more drama and intrigue on the show which can well be classified as a thriller!
The revolution has taken a course, manifesting on September 6th when the Big Brother house was unveiled and the housemates admitted. The house is an architectural masterpiece on the cutting-edge of avant garde; a technological accomplishment which includes over 14,000 metres of cabling – renovating and rebuilding the existing structure took 70,000 bricks, 6 tonnes of cement and 4 tonnes of structural and reinforcing steel!
Polished stainless steel elements sit alongside warm wood tones and rugged stone, whilst canvas drawn paintings share space comfortably with unique graffiti artwork. Bold colours against a backdrop of neutrals provide key focal points throughout the house while wide open spaces allow for a feeling of space and tranquility. Add one gleaming kitchen which could be termed a chef’s dream, with all the modern conveniences, plus an open plan lounge accentuated in leather and luxurious throws, and the house fuses classic design ethics with a fun, easygoing twist.
Other rooms include an elegant bathroom, dormitory styled bedroom, polished dark wood dining area, and the always powerful diary room, which hovers between stern and soothing – the feathery cover of the “hot seat” makes you want to sink further but the framework allows no room for comfort. Meanwhile outside, a decked patio offers cool comfort while the lush garden is offset by the sparkling plunge pool, which is every good diver’s delight (from first-hand experience).
According to Biola Alabi, managing director, M-Net Africa, “whilst this is the Big Brother house, we understand that it’s also home to our housemates so we wanted a space where they would feel welcome, relaxed and at ease. It’s challenging to be in the Big Brother house and the aim with this season was to provide an oasis, to make the house as pleasant on the eye and as accessible as possible. The vision of the show’s design team was clear from the start and, with their creativity and passion, they have made it reality.”
In this revolutionary season of Big Brother Africa, there are 100 microphones and 40 cameras, including manned, remote and miniature ‘lipstick’ cameras, at work.
At the inauguration of BBA 4: The Revolution, DStv viewers across Africa witnessed curious happenings in the Big Brother house. First was the admittance of four ‘mystery guests’ who got viewers thinking the real housemates had arrived. Then came a bout of shock – only male contestants were going to be in the house! Just when everyone was grumbling about the lack of female presence, the host IK Osakioduwa announced that the female housemates were going to be joining them the upper week, much to the relief of the viewers who could not imagine a groovy Big Brother house without African beauties.
Another twist in the entire ‘maze’ was the presentation of two identical twin brothers, Edward and Erastus Mongoo from Namibia, as housemates. But their identities were going to be hidden in the house, and both stand to be evicted should their cover be blown by three housemates. In other words, they both will be existing as an individual, at least from the housemates’ perception.
Within the first 24 hours, the wind of eviction had begun to blow. Big Brother told the housemates in the Diary Room that they had to nominate people for eviction, much to everyone’s surprise. When the confusion had cleared up, Edward had received the most nominations – 6, followed by Hannington and Kaone with 5 apiece. The housemates struggled to recall everyone’s names as they stumbled through the nomination process, shocked at the prospect of losing their newfound friends so soon. The nominations also brought discussions of alliances to the fore, with conspiracy allowed for the first time in the Big Brother competition.
The general format of Big Brother provides interesting demographic and sociological perspectives on human behaviour. Confining 14 people from different backgrounds and countries, with the only connection being the English language, to a house for three months, they are forced to interact with one another. Living together under continuous observation, the programme relies on four basic props for providing these perspectives: the stripped-bare back-to-basics environment in which they live; the evictions; the weekly tasks set by Big Brother and the Diary Room in which the housemates individually convey their thoughts, feelings, frustrations and of course their nominees for eviction. Forced to live with total strangers for three months, Big Brother helps viewers see how people react when they are removed from their usual environment and placed among total strangers. Without the aid of cameras and microphones and the television and the internet, it is not normally possibly to observe such interactions vividly. But with the aid of technology, insights are gained into the motivations and actions of people when removed from their comfort zones and forced to put up with strangers for a lengthy period of time.
BBA housemates this season are drawn from Nigeria, Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ethiopia – a collection of diverse people from countries with different cultures, creating a melting pot of personalities, tempers, and ambitions.
This time you vote to keep your favourite contestants in the house, and not otherwise as in previous seasons. You can do this via www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother, via the www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother WAP site on your WAP-enabled phone or via MXIT; and also by texting your favourite housemate’s name to the appropriate number. To vote via text message, send the word ‘Vote ‘followed by the name of your favourite housemate to 34350 for MTN, 34350 for Zain, 34701 for ZOOMmobile, 3435 and 34701 for Glo. Each SMS costs N75, and you can vote 100 times by text per mobile number during each voting period.