Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose and Lucian Msmati in "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."
Gentle readers, I hereby plug something that’s given me an inordinate amount of pleasure recently: HBO’s mini-series “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.” I’ve been a fan of Alexander McCall Smith’s mystery series of the same name for many years–they’re an understated, graceful and wise look at life, with an unforgettable heroine: Precious Ramotswe of Gaborone, Botswana, the lady detective of the title.
The series is a gentle, often witty, portrayal of modern African life–a stark contrast to the atrocity reports from the 24-hour news cycle, or the grit and violence of South Africa’s recent Oscar winner Tsotsi. From the soaring vocals of “Botswana wa Tsabakela” in the opening credits to the brilliant desert light that bathes every scene, the series is an unashamed love letter to Botswana. In fact, Botswana is such a central character that author Alexander McCall Smith–who was born and raised in Southern Africa–insisted that the series be filmed there, using local talent for its film crews, extras and bit players.
American R&B singer Jill Scott is a revelation as Precious Ramotswe. This series may be the first time I’ve ever seen a “traditionally built” black woman entirely avoid the “sassy sista” stereotype. In a lovely, subtle performance, Scott’s every word and gesture speaks to her character’s innate decency, compassion and love of justice. It reportedly took two years to cast the role, and when he first saw the Philadelphian-born Scott in character, McCall Smith told her she was Mma Ramotswe “just as I’ve always envisioned her.” American actress Anika Noni Rose and Zimbabwean actor Lucian Msmati play Mma Ramotswe’s assistant and friend, Mma Makutsi, and her ever-patient love interest, Mr. JLB Matekoni. There are multiple cameos by notable English and American actors, including CCH Pounder, Colin Salmon, Paterson Joseph, and His Handsomness, Idris Elba (again playing a suavely evil crime boss). The one false note for me was the addition of a gay hairdresser character not in McCall Smith’s books–who, while charming, is straight out of gay sidekick central casting.
Although this quintessentially African story was produced and written by white filmmakers, there are no Caucasian characters. No white folks drop in to “educate” black Africans, or admire the nobility of indigenous cultures or give us hokey warm fuzzies about racial harmony. The small-town mysteries of life in Mma Ramotswe’s Gabarone are mercifully free of the usual Western stereotypes and agendas.
The series is also an homage to the extraordinariness of ordinary women. Alexander McCall Smith wrote of Precious Ramotswe: “There is no real person on whom I have based these books, but there are many women in Botswana who are very much like her – tolerant, kind, and possessed of a dignity that defies cynicism. Again, I think that people throughout the world want to believe in such a person. Our age has a violent face; we feel the need of somebody like Mma Ramotswe who offers forgiveness rather than confrontation and recrimination. Such people are there; we need only give them the space to breathe, the chance to talk to us.”
Hear, hear! I love this series of books so much. I feel more whole and peaceful somehow when I read them. SO refreshing to have something on tv that doesn’t involve violence and self-indulgent white Americans. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
At first I didn’t like Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe, but she’s growing on me. Everyone else is perfectly cast, and while I hear you about the gay sidekick stereotype, I love that character.
Alexander McCall Smith lives in Scotland now, but visits Botswana every year to renew his relationship with Africa and its people. His other books are worth checking out, but the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is the best.
I love this series too. I think gentle is a good way to describe it. Everyone is basically a good person, except the bad people, who are really bad. And you know everything will turn out ok in the end. Plus, Precious has the best dresses!
I totally agree. I wasn’t a big fan of the promotion work that HBO did for it, but I decided to give it a chance and was very grateful that I did.
I totally love the miniseries also, but every time i watch, my pleasure is marred by three things:
(1) while the author was born in Africa, he’s white, and has British heritage and education.
(2) the principles of the show are American women. (though I totally love them both and wish they had higher profiles!)
(3) the producers are American and British.
I wonder, is it easier for big publishers and producers to deal with white voices who “interpret Africa”? Can that ever be called an honest portrayal?
And while I believe the producers made an effort to hire local talent, another way to interpret that practice is in the traditional sense of the privileged white bosses deciding to train natives to perform the work for less, rather than importing semi-skilled labor.
Are the next generation of Africans going to watch or read “#1 Ladies’”in a generation and be angry or laugh at the portrayal (similarly to how perceptions of, say Harriet Beecher Stowe’s work have changed over time)?
I hear you, and other people have voiced similar criticism. There are always concerns about cultural appropriation, white privilege, neo-colonialism, etc. with regard to movies/books like this. But in its defense:
1). Yes, cultural appropriation can be a problem with white authors, but Alexander McCall Smith was born and raised in Africa–he’s not a cultural tourist like Isaak Dinesen. He knows whereof he writes. By the same token, I would never tell an non-white or first-generation immigrant author born and raised in the US that he couldn’t/shouldn’t write about Americans because he wasn’t white/native born. Nor would it prevent me from enjoying his work, or regarding it as authentic. (A similar example: Japanese-born Kazuo Ishiguro wrote the ultimate novel of British upper-class manners–The Remains of the Day.)
2) Many actresses auditioned for those roles. I wouldn’t want African actors to be told they couldn’t play any roles but African ones, so I wouldn’t say that there’s something inherently wrong with American actresses playing African characters, especially since they did such a great job.
3) Artistic collaboration doesn’t automatically equal colonialism. Botswana had no film industry at all–the movie business in that part of Africa is concentrated in S. Africa and Namibia–so the show never would have been made there if it weren’t for British and American money. It probably never would have been made at all.
As for the Harriet Beecher Stowe comparison, I don’t know. I hope not. When I was in Botswana, I saw the novels prominently displayed everywhere, and when I discussed them with Botswanans, they all told me that they thought McCall Smith’s portrayal of Botswana was accurate and respectful, and liked the fact that someone from Africa–white or not–was portraying Africa as a positive, humane place. Will that change over time? Maybe. I hope there will be future generations of African novelists who will also write about Botswana. But for now, I’ve never heard anyone voice the opinion that the novels or the series have been bad for Botswana or Africa.