South Africa needs to address the systems that enable predators of all kinds to delay equity
Adam Haupt
Adam Haupt writes about film, media, culture and copyright law. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and is the author of Stealing Empire: P2P, Intellectual Property and Hip-Hop Subversion (HSRC Press, 2008) and Static: Race & Representation in Post-Apartheid Music, Media & Film (HSRC Press, 2012). In 2010, he was a Mandela Mellon Fellow at Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, General, News/Politics
Comrades Without Irony
For as long as I can remember, I have been dealing with lefter-than-thou comrades and more-authentically-revolutionary-than-thou types. Their judgemental bullshit has been harsh and unwavering. Their righteous certainty without irony. #ZumaMustFall protesters clash with BLF. (Delwyn Verasamy, M&G) And, yet, among those very comrades I have seen (and continue to see) men fuck female and […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
News media should decolonise
Journalists Adrian Basson and Mohammed Jameel Abdulla offer important insights into the difficulty of working as a journalist in volatile contexts where protesters, private security and the police may harass, threaten or assault journalists. Abdulla speaks to key themes we touch on in our Media Studies lectures at UCT. I think that his account of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
#ZumaMustFall: Whose hashtag is it anyway?
In the build-up to the #ZumaMustFall marches on December 16 (Reconciliation Day), a number of critical voices came to the fore. I wondered whether some #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall activists were perhaps not proprietary in their response to the new hashtag and the planned marches, which appeared to be driven largely by white, middle and upper-class […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Revolution, Minuted
The revolution will be bureaucratised Sanitised, civilised Minuted in committee With truth sitting pretty Waiting for approval by sub-committee By the executive with every consecutive directive, objective Formalised, circumscribed You might wonder why We even tried We even cried For positive change For positive days… — (colony)
Posted inNews/Politics
Rhodes Fell
Rhodes tripped on the steps and fell Rhodes skid on a piece of soap in the shower and fell Rhodes slipped from the window of the tenth floor of Caledon Square and fell Rhodes accidentally broke his ribs and cracked his skull in his prison cell and fell Rhodes drowned in the shower and fell […]
Posted inNews/Politics
10 signs that SA democracy is toast
In case you’ve missed it in the midst of media frenzies about puppets in court, murder trials dismissed, or beauty competitions won, South Africa’s democracy is in trouble. Here are 10 reasons why our constitutionally enshrined democratic rights are under threat: 1. Threats of establishing a media appeals tribunal Not so long ago, the ruling […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Crime’s wake-up call…
My five days back in SA from the UK: one foiled armed carjacking, one petrol bomb hurled at a house, an armed carjacking and house robbery — all within a 400m radius of my house. Let’s not forget an alleged dealer’s friend looking to intimidate me within earshot of the cops. I live in a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A state of emergency?
There was a time when journalists knew not to ask too many questions. A time when they knew not to dig too deep. There was a time when they had a healthy respect for authority and knew their place. The Mail & Guardian‘s leak of the Nkandla report marks that moment when the journalistic profession […]
Posted inMedia
Age of Truth…revolution betrayed?
Many hip-hop fans from the current generation may not know much about Prophets of da City (POC). Largely credited by academics for getting Cape Afrikaans hip-hop off the ground and paving the way for Spaza rappers, POC also put their heads on a block for their political principles … literally. The banned video “Understand Where […]
Posted inGeneral
Sexism – catch them young with lollypops
Which kid doesn’t enjoy Saturday morning cartoons? My kid is no exception and I join him often enough, but this Saturday I am annoyed by Pin Pop’s very obviously sexist TV commercial on e.tv. Why is it being screened at a time when toddlers are bound to be tuning in? Does the answer lie in […]
Posted inNews/Politics
My black president does me wrong
A friend recently posted rare footage of Steve Biko in an interview on German TV on his blog. The week of the 35th anniversary of Biko’s murder was a difficult one for South Africa. In a hard-hitting op-ed for the Mail&Guardian, Andile Mngxitama argues that we are not talking about a dream deferred, but a […]