Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 183

The reality of fear
Gideon J. Wabvuta
Gideon Jeph Wabvuta was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, the oldest son of an electronics technician
and a former teacher. He grew up in Mbare, a ghetto in Harare, where his love for the arts was born.
He grew up with dance and theater around him, but only participated briefly as a writer when he
was 16. A few years later he returned to the arts as a performer and writer at a community theater
group in Mbare. This strengthened his love for the arts, and led to him enroll at the University of
Zimbabwe where he received arts training as an actor and writer. During his time in University, he
worked with a Zimbabwean-American organization Almasi Arts as an actor, writer, and director.
This resulted in him being invited to the Ojai Playwrights Conference where he wrote and performed
his solo show Mbare Dreams. Soon after graduation, he joined Savanna Trust, where he was part
of a troop of actors that went around the country performing on issues that include, human rights,
gender equality, poverty alleviation, and domestic violence. He is currently living in the US where he
is receiving his MFA in Dramatic Writing at the University of Southern California.
Global village is a term that gained pre-eminence around �� years ago,
becoming the descriptor for the phenomenon of globalization. Some argue
that globalization is a historically recent development while others may
contend that it is as old as time. Yet while the desire to expand, interact and
integrate has always been part of human nature, the shine of globalization
has started to wane over the past few years. What accounts for that trend?
Interaction and integration are phenomena that create cultural hybrids.
Cultures do remain distinct, but carry elements of the other. This is from
where the problem of globalization originates: the idea that a group’s
unique cultural identity is threatened, or ‘polluted’, by foreign influences. It
is important to understand that most people primarily identify with a salient
aspect of their culture: Christian, Muslim, black,
gay, etc. If we understand groups of people who
share these identities as analogous to animal
packs, it is easier to understand the visceral
reactions that occur when groups feel threatened.
For example, a religious person may condone
violence on homosexuals because their presence
makes him fears the eradication of his own
group’s values and existence. Similar conclusions
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