Western Influence on Ethiopian Media as Reflected in Amharic Movies

Though cinema is at its early days in Ethiopia in general, and in Addis Ababa in particular, we have reached a time when an average of 5 films are reported to be launched every week in Addis Ababa, showing a very fast numerological growth. Moreover, the number of domestic film watchers has also increased remarkably. Since cinema has a strong power to inspire youngsters and even elders a lot, a scholarly study is necessary to identify, understand and try to influence the kind of messages and potential influences that are at play in these Amharic films, with a particular interest to the connotations. This study have found out that even if the Americanization is happening as replicated by the Addis Ababa filmmakers, there are many complex interwoven reasons that push to this. Finding a way to tell the Ethiopian untold stories in captivating ways, and giving the audience what it needs instead of what it wants are the ways forward. The injection of local and traditional contents should be used as one solution against the over dominating influence for stronger national films with possibilities to reach out to audiences beyond the country.