Global and Local Media and the Making of an Ethiopian National Icon

Abstract

This paper analyzes the global and local media coverage of Melaku Belay, an acclaimed Ethiopian dancer and social entrepreneur. How have the media mythologized his story? How does Melaku participate in the mediated narration of his life? I address these questions by historically situating Melaku's biography and by juxtaposing media representations with my interviews with the artist and observation of his performances. This inquiry illuminates the signifying power of Melaku's masculine dancing body for both neoliberal ideology and Ethiopian nationalism. The media have rendered Melaku's story into a myth that promotes the neoliberal ethos valorizing private ownership. Melaku, however, remains agential by selectively engaging with the media, and by sharing his own vision of nation and self. These layered analyses illuminate the complex relationship between agency and representation in the contexts of neoliberalism/neocolonialism, nationalism, and globalization.