By 
Creator of Africa’s first ever animated series on Netflix, Malenga Malendema, says it is important for creative writers to make content that is relatable to the children on the continent.
Malendema told CNN in an interview on Friday that relatable content gave a sense of belonging to the consumers.
Read more: Zambia’s Zowa Ngwira to star in Netflix animation series
The animation dubbed ‘Supa Team 4’ was created by a Zambian writer and released by the world’s leading streaming entertainment platform, Netflix on Friday.
‘Supa Team’ was staged in the futuristic version of Lusaka, Zambia with the main characters who are four teenage girls being selected by a special agent to save the world.
She pointed out that it felt special for consumers of content to follow characters that looked like them but in an animated form.
“We are here and we are living and we are thriving and it’s wonderful to tell stories through your perspective and environment through characters that look like you. We enjoy stories from all over the world but once in a while we want to see the world sort of explode through something as fun as this,” Malendema said.
Malendema said her production focused more on bringing out the feel of Zambia’s capital when coming up with the animation as opposed to concentrating on stereotypes about Africa.
She said her team struck a balance of capturing the true essence of Lusaka despite the show having a dramatic plot.
Malendema added that Zambia was similar to other African countries which made it easier to relate to from a continental perspective.
“We are leaning into what is our world and that is what our great team of artists looked at. We were inspired by Lusaka and as people can see when they tune into the show. You can see the patterns, we make it a bit more vibrant but you can see that it still captures the essence of Lusaka city.
“There are certain things that are quite familiar to people living in Zambia but also I think across the continent, there are so many elements of this city that feel very familiar to Lusaka (residents) and also people across the continent,” she said.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments