Witchcraft dominates soapies
TELEVISION: FROM HUMAN SACRIFICES TO ZOMBIES REIGN SUPREME
What happened to entertaining and educational television?
Primetime is a time for most people to unwind in front of the television after a long day at the office and catch up on some much needed relaxation, watching something that is not too demanding, like a soapie that is informative and educational.
SA has some of the greatest soapie production, with the Fergusons Production being one of the few that are getting the formula fairly right.
But the growing mediocre prime time television that depict witchcraft becoming more prominent in soapies featuring black families is disturbing.
Relevant topics such as women abuse, homosexuality and political dominance should be some of the topics that make it on soapie storylines, but South African viewers are being subjected to storylines that disregard key elements of television production, such as education and entertainment, for theatrical scenes depicting scary rituals, which involve the supernatural transmission of powers and human sacrifices – to name a few.
Isibaya has been at the forefront of such unexceptional storylines, with the resident witchdoctor Sunday Nkabinde (Zweli Msibi) creating a booming industry by apparently giving people great powers – and at some point turning the lead character, Mpiyakhe Zungu (portrayed by Siyabonga Thwala), into an zombie.
The drama series which is also unsurpassed is the recent Mzansi Magic drama series, The Herd, on at 8pm in the Sunday evening slot.
Following the trend, its first episode featured Bhekisizwe Mthethwa (played by Sello Maake Ka-Ncube) sacrificing his wife by cutting her throat so that he could thrive financially, gaining a herd of cattle and be one of the richest men in the village, following the instructions of the village witch, MaMngadi (portrayed by Winnie Ntshaba), who later becomes his wife.
Mzansi Magic’s Igazi, with its talking black cat was basically telling viewers the only way for black people to reach riches is through witchcraft, giving a negative and false depiction of the black community.
It is spreading the stereotype to the masses that, for a black person to be wealthy, witches and witchcraft have to come in to play.
SABC 2’s Muvhango is also one of those long standing soapies that have become known for their strong portrayal of witchcraft in the Venda culture.
With lions appearing and disappearing on screen, and the dead being discovered as zombies, many question the level of research that went into the writing of the storyline.
With television being so bombarded with witchcraft as the prime storyline, a formula that some producers seem to believe works, one wonders if life’s hardships and the expensive standard of living haven’t made many resort to it in order to survive.
Perhaps shooting it down as a relevant topic is not the answer, but pairing it with other social ills affecting Mzansi is making for good prime-time television.