Brett Murray’s defaced The Spear stands as a monument to intolerance. After thousands of ANC supporters marched to the Goodman Gallery where it had once been on display, the gallery has agreed it will not be displayed publicly again. While representations of the painting now enjoy the ubiquity of the web, what price have we […]
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Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
‘House of Cards’: Machiavelli and Shakespeare all in one
In this South African season of political ambitions, would you like to know what principles the Florentine philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli advised aspiring political leaders — specifically “princes” — to adhere to ruthlessly in the 16th century in his famous (or is it notorious) treatise, The Prince (1515)? Or what Shakespeare, holding up the mirror to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma painting: Spearing the psyche and esteem of a nation
Private parts are just that. They are private. And even though the president is not exactly a private citizen, his privates have no place in the public arena. Not everyone agrees of course. It is, after all, the way of democracy but it seems even democracy has a nasty divisive side to it. The Spear […]
Posted inGeneral
When the defaced Spear is better than the original
So ja, I’ve given in. I’ve decided to talk about that painting. The one that’s transfixed the nation for more than a week now – even on Twitter, a platform known for nothing so much as institutionalised ADD. It is the PR gift that keeps on giving: apparently it’s reached 108 million people and delivered […]
Posted inNews/Politics
#Zumaspear and the politics of the cock
When I first saw the painting of the The Spear I instinctively felt that it was wrong for one reason: if it had been a painting of a female politician with her genitalia (however small) displayed at a public art gallery, I would not have supported it. I would have felt that it was an insult to […]
Posted inLifestyle
Britney Spears in talks to play the Virgin Mary
Before I begin, don’t let me catch anyone sniggering. Just because a person is an alcoholic does not mean she can’t play a sober part. Just because a person is slow doesn’t mean that she can’t play Einstein. Just because a person loses her clothing (and occasionally her hair) if anybody coughs does not mean […]
Posted inMedia
Britney Spears, Vanessa Hudgens and Madeleine — the joke’s on us!
Two “talents” of, at best, limited duration and the tragedy of a child’s disappearance dominating the media’s attention must tell you something. Indonesia is suffering the after-effects of massive quakes, George Bush has outlined his plan for limited troop reduction, the Japanese PM has just resigned and been hospitalised, Putin has just installed a shock […]
Posted inEquality, General
We must remember the call for liberation upon which African Day was founded
African Liberation Day has been numbed down to feel-good festivities and colourful clothing, but we must not forget it is a day upon which the path for liberation was declared
Posted inBusiness, Equality, Lifestyle, News/Politics
If Rhodes must fall, art must burn
By Zinhle Manzini Last week it was reported that the Rhodes Must Fall students had removed paintings from the university’s walls and set them alight. While some people remain unclear about the motive of such an act, some were quick to see it as property damage. Rumours have it that the paintings that were set […]
Posted inNews/Politics
ANC is lost in a fog of doublethink and doublespeak
Military theorists speak of the “fog of war”. It’s that swirling mist of uncertainty where not only the true intentions and capabilities of one’s adversaries are unclear, but so too the true measure of the resources one can deploy. The great Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz wrote that it took a particularly skilled intelligence to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Before blaming the West, let’s shake off our African passivity
So are African lives less important to the international community than Western lives? Following the worldwide attention given to the Paris killings by Islamic militants, it’s a question being widely asked and generally answered in the affirmative. The refrain is that while fewer than two dozen French were killed, during that same week the Islamic […]
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 […]