The use of language(s) in media is very important as it can determine inclusion or exclusion. As ... more The use of language(s) in media is very important as it can determine inclusion or exclusion. As such, the use of language in the media is contentious. This paper traces two language issues in one of the SABC's longest-running soap operas, Generations: The Legacy, language ideology and a tool against that language ideology. The former refers to a linguistic dominance of isiZulu and the latter refers to translanguaging. With the use of transcription data analysis and audio-visual analysis, the current study has concluded that there are issues of linguistic dominance and translanguaging in Generations: The Legacy. These language issues are perpetuated through the narrative and characters of the story. The appropriate theoretical framework for this paper is the use of language in popular culture, with the view that the use of languages in popular culture can exclude and include, can empower, and disempower. Focusing on the dialogues of the soap using selected episodes as case studi...
Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the re... more Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017
It is widely accepted that popular culture is a product of the masses, for the masses. But even t... more It is widely accepted that popular culture is a product of the masses, for the masses. But even then, popular culture is embedded with ideologies of control, manipulation, power dynamics, exclusion and inclusion, empowerment, and disempowerment. For a long time, the South African mainstream music industry has been dominated by artists and groups from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. These two provinces have produced many musical artists, film productions, television shows and many other artistic personnel. Language has always been a key factor in the South African mainstream music industry. IsiZulu, isiXhosa and instances of codeswitching have dominated the songs in the country. This has left other social groups and their languages outside mainstream music. However, what happens when a culture of self-representation emerges among a social group? What happens when a social group mobilises itself and claims the space? What about the power of languages in achieving self-representat...
This study examines Nigeria's political leaders' framing during the #BringBackOurGirls mo... more This study examines Nigeria's political leaders' framing during the #BringBackOurGirls movement campaign using two selected national newspapers in Nigeria, i.e., the Guardian and the Vanguard newspapers. Using 46 news stories culled during the periods of April 14, 2014, to June 14, 2014, and May 29, 2015, to July 29, 2015, which represent two significant eras, i.e., when the schoolgirls were abducted, and when there was a change in government, the study argued that four frames of government failure, the desperation of citizens, politicization of government actions and heroism were dominant in both presses reportage. During the first period of study, both presses were critical of President Goodluck Jonathan and his inability to secure the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirl as they used frames of “liar”, “clueless”, and “failure” amongst others to characterize his government actions and inactions. However, during the second study period, both presses were less critical ...
Online Media and Elite Accountability in Africa: The Case of Sahara Reporters and the amaBhungane, 2019
The study was conducted with the purpose of assessing the role of online media in enforcing accou... more The study was conducted with the purpose of assessing the role of online media in enforcing accountability and helping citizens understand problems of elite accountability in Africa. The focus was on an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters from Nigeria and amaBhungane, a South African investigative unit that publishes online. Textual analysis was used as an appropriate research methodology to gather data, and elitism and accountability were used as key literature review entries. Critical findings were that both media play a significant role in enforcing elite accountability in these two different contexts, however, their modes of reporting (tabloid and broadsheet) have a significant impact on how their stories are received and whether they have effect. It was discovered that Sahara Reporters follows tabloid reporting while amaBhungane follows broadsheet reporting. The question of whether they achieve their aims of ensuring that there is accountability lies on their ideological differences in reporting.
A positive development emerged in the early 1990s in the South African film industry when the gov... more A positive development emerged in the early 1990s in the South African film industry when the government started to see cinema as one of the institutions to forge social cohesion in the processes of democratization and development (Botha, 2005). However, the country’s industry is still struggling with many problems such as establishing and developing the local audience for its products, domination of international films in both cinemas and television, insufficient film-funding development and paying too much attention on Hollywood standards. This dissertation critically studies the state of post-apartheid South African cinema. The main feature this study addresses is that no critical framework exists for analyzing post-apartheid film in terms of how they address or represent socio-political factors, especially factors relating to black sensibility. It is important to understand the role that filmmakers have played to incorporate issues of black sensibility in South African cinema since the end of apartheid. As a result, the author developed the first framework of its kind, referred to as a ‘cinema of Black Consciousness’.
The use of language(s) in media is very important as it can determine inclusion or exclusion. As ... more The use of language(s) in media is very important as it can determine inclusion or exclusion. As such, the use of language in the media is contentious. This paper traces two language issues in one of the SABC's longest-running soap operas, Generations: The Legacy, language ideology and a tool against that language ideology. The former refers to a linguistic dominance of isiZulu and the latter refers to translanguaging. With the use of transcription data analysis and audio-visual analysis, the current study has concluded that there are issues of linguistic dominance and translanguaging in Generations: The Legacy. These language issues are perpetuated through the narrative and characters of the story. The appropriate theoretical framework for this paper is the use of language in popular culture, with the view that the use of languages in popular culture can exclude and include, can empower, and disempower. Focusing on the dialogues of the soap using selected episodes as case studi...
Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the re... more Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017
It is widely accepted that popular culture is a product of the masses, for the masses. But even t... more It is widely accepted that popular culture is a product of the masses, for the masses. But even then, popular culture is embedded with ideologies of control, manipulation, power dynamics, exclusion and inclusion, empowerment, and disempowerment. For a long time, the South African mainstream music industry has been dominated by artists and groups from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. These two provinces have produced many musical artists, film productions, television shows and many other artistic personnel. Language has always been a key factor in the South African mainstream music industry. IsiZulu, isiXhosa and instances of codeswitching have dominated the songs in the country. This has left other social groups and their languages outside mainstream music. However, what happens when a culture of self-representation emerges among a social group? What happens when a social group mobilises itself and claims the space? What about the power of languages in achieving self-representat...
This study examines Nigeria's political leaders' framing during the #BringBackOurGirls mo... more This study examines Nigeria's political leaders' framing during the #BringBackOurGirls movement campaign using two selected national newspapers in Nigeria, i.e., the Guardian and the Vanguard newspapers. Using 46 news stories culled during the periods of April 14, 2014, to June 14, 2014, and May 29, 2015, to July 29, 2015, which represent two significant eras, i.e., when the schoolgirls were abducted, and when there was a change in government, the study argued that four frames of government failure, the desperation of citizens, politicization of government actions and heroism were dominant in both presses reportage. During the first period of study, both presses were critical of President Goodluck Jonathan and his inability to secure the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirl as they used frames of “liar”, “clueless”, and “failure” amongst others to characterize his government actions and inactions. However, during the second study period, both presses were less critical ...
Online Media and Elite Accountability in Africa: The Case of Sahara Reporters and the amaBhungane, 2019
The study was conducted with the purpose of assessing the role of online media in enforcing accou... more The study was conducted with the purpose of assessing the role of online media in enforcing accountability and helping citizens understand problems of elite accountability in Africa. The focus was on an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters from Nigeria and amaBhungane, a South African investigative unit that publishes online. Textual analysis was used as an appropriate research methodology to gather data, and elitism and accountability were used as key literature review entries. Critical findings were that both media play a significant role in enforcing elite accountability in these two different contexts, however, their modes of reporting (tabloid and broadsheet) have a significant impact on how their stories are received and whether they have effect. It was discovered that Sahara Reporters follows tabloid reporting while amaBhungane follows broadsheet reporting. The question of whether they achieve their aims of ensuring that there is accountability lies on their ideological differences in reporting.
A positive development emerged in the early 1990s in the South African film industry when the gov... more A positive development emerged in the early 1990s in the South African film industry when the government started to see cinema as one of the institutions to forge social cohesion in the processes of democratization and development (Botha, 2005). However, the country’s industry is still struggling with many problems such as establishing and developing the local audience for its products, domination of international films in both cinemas and television, insufficient film-funding development and paying too much attention on Hollywood standards. This dissertation critically studies the state of post-apartheid South African cinema. The main feature this study addresses is that no critical framework exists for analyzing post-apartheid film in terms of how they address or represent socio-political factors, especially factors relating to black sensibility. It is important to understand the role that filmmakers have played to incorporate issues of black sensibility in South African cinema since the end of apartheid. As a result, the author developed the first framework of its kind, referred to as a ‘cinema of Black Consciousness’.
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This dissertation critically studies the state of post-apartheid South African cinema. The main feature this study addresses is that no critical framework exists for analyzing post-apartheid film in terms of how they address or represent socio-political factors, especially factors relating to black sensibility. It is important to understand the role that filmmakers have played to incorporate issues of black sensibility in South African cinema since the end of apartheid. As a result, the author developed the first framework of its kind, referred to as a ‘cinema of Black Consciousness’.
This dissertation critically studies the state of post-apartheid South African cinema. The main feature this study addresses is that no critical framework exists for analyzing post-apartheid film in terms of how they address or represent socio-political factors, especially factors relating to black sensibility. It is important to understand the role that filmmakers have played to incorporate issues of black sensibility in South African cinema since the end of apartheid. As a result, the author developed the first framework of its kind, referred to as a ‘cinema of Black Consciousness’.