Artiste manager and showbiz personality Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson, commonly known as Bulldog, has called on the “powers that be” to invest in Ghana’s entertainment sector.

Bulldog explained that many countries have hidden behind creative arts, particularly movies and music videos, to paint a rather rosy image of their countries as though they live in a ‘heaven’ when the reality does not support the image painted.

He opined that if Ghana invests in its creative arts sector well enough, the country can use showbiz to create a positive smokescreen image that can project the country positively in the eyes of the world.

Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson made this known through an open statement he published on his facebook page. NEWS-ONE reproduces the full statement unedited:

All over the world, entertainment is an indispensable component of every economy but in Ghana. I remember as a kid growing up, all I wanted to be was an American. I was convinced by what I saw and heard by way of entertainment it was the land of milk and honey.

If anyone my age will remember, those were the days when news broke that a neighbour was leaving for abroad. Eii! So Kpakpo is going to America hmm, were the thoughts and feeling that sends quivers down one’s spine. Wishing and craving for their slot.

That feeling was resident in the company of the have-nots, with the mischance of growing up in compound houses, single rooms and bathed outside and used public toilets. Yes, I used to bath outside in my adolescence.

In my pubescence, if you wanted to use the bathhouse, you need to stay awake, either late or in the wee hours of the morning. Gaining access to the bathhouse was grandeur where I grew up.

Sorry, I had to digress to paint a sordid picture of the circumstances we found ourselves in, and what the outside world meant at that crucial juncture. Back to entertainment and how it can help form a desirable image for our nation in seducing investors.

If the powers that be, endow entertainment with a pivotal outlook in this country the ripple effects will leave one open-mouthed. Entertainment has a SMOKESCREEN EFFECT that is capitalized on, all around the world to fortify the wealth and resources of a nation.

Have you wondered why in almost all the American war films, America comes out as victor? It’s a spin, they’ve lost some wars in the past, but when telling tales in motion pictures they illustrate triumphant outcomes.

Most of their music videos are glossily produced to seduce the onlooker.

Knowingly creating that SMOKESCREEN EFFECT to draw a veil over dire straits within the confines of their social framework.

There are panhandlers on the streets of America and all these other first world countries as they are categorised, “CAN I GET A QUARTER” are snivels of most of these beggars by sidewalks, others hold placards with “I AM HOMELESS” inscriptions.

“Travel and See” is a popular adage I continuously heard growing up. Its meaning was vague until I had the opportunity to “Travel and See”. What that adage really means is “not all that glitters is gold”.

The entertainment industry is of great significance and value, it is used to shape the outlook of a nation, tell our stories, hide our flaws and showcase the positives to create an appealing image for foreign investments.

I pray the powers that be will invest heavily in our entertainment industry to create that SMOKESCREEN EFFECT.