Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Twitter and reality TV ‘are good for our constitution’
FAMILIES tussle over the remote control on Sunday evenings – a high-volume time for DStv’s Mzansi Magic.
That’s also the night when seasoned academic and political commentator Pierre de Vos relaxes on the couch and tweets away with enthusiasm.
No different, then, from the throng of ordinary people and celebrities who comment on the jaw-dropping, bizarre and hilarious events that unfold on Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding – two of South Africa’s biggest reality TV shows and huge hits for the channel.
But who would have thought De Vos would be tuning in?
Yet his witty contributions about the shows have often raised an eyebrow or two, with some users astonished to find a white constitutional law expert in the midst of the craze dubbed “Black Twitter”.
Race, though, has nothing to do with it.
De Vos was very much part of the response to last week’s episode of Our Perfect Wedding, which featured a groom-to-be who proposed on the social messaging network, WhatsApp.
The revelation about the unconventional proposal set off a frenzy on Twitter, with some suggesting that cow emojis were needed to show your significant other how much lobola you would be paying.
De Vos couldn’t help but marvel at the Date My Family episode in which a Christian bachelorette met the intrusive family of a young bachelor, who sported a nose and nipple ring, showing that opposites don’t necessarily attract.
The University of Cape Town scholar giggles especially that the bachelorette prayed for every plate of food placed before her by the bachelor’s family.
“I find it amusing. We have so many TV shows about American people that have nothing to do with our reality.
“I like ( Our Perfect Wedding and Date My Family). It’s fun. It’s also a guilty pleasure for me and a time where I can put politics and law matters aside and be entertained.” And entertained he is. But how in the world did De Vos come across programmes largely designed for the African community?
He chuckles. “I was sitting on the couch with my partner going through Twitter and saw the two shows trending. At the time Date My Family had a guy begging to get his Tupperware back from a bachelorette he had his sights on.
“I clicked on the hashtag and was blown away by the funny comments. I saw that people were having fun and wanted in on it, so I watched the rerun of the show and have been hooked ever since.”
De Vos is also an avid viewer of SABC1’s Khumbul’ekhaya, a programme that tracks down missing people and reunites families with their loved ones.
He says that, despite two decades of freedom, South Africans lag behind in understanding cultural and traditional differences.
“The problem is people don’t know much about each other. What appears to be reality for some is often misconstrued. The only way to get full knowledge about someone or their background is when you walk a mile in their shoes.”
He is careful about how he premises his remarks on social media about families and people on the shows. Black Twitter gave him a chance to learn more about other cultures.
“I wish more white people would watch shows that are perceived to be for black people.”
The concept of marriage and how it is conducted in some African cultures reminds him of Afrikaans weddings.
“The Zulu weddings, for example, may not bear an exact resemblance, but the ambience, some of the food and the kind of formalities are quite similar.
“I find that refreshing because there are often views that our societies are far different from each other. We don’t always see ourselves reflected in these shows.”
Although he is no master at, say, broadcasting matters, the man behind the Constitutionally Speaking blog says South Africa has made some headway in keeping pace with the possibilities of a digital and broadcast environment. He feels the scope is getting wider, with a greater variety of stories on line and on air.
“It reflects more broadly the population and experience of people. Even shows such as Idols, which were dominated by a specific demographic, have changed over time. I think it’s good.”
But De Vos’s position is that, no matter what we see or experience, South Africans owe it to themselves to protect the good enshrined in the constitution against the social ills that threaten it.
“There’s a need for people to take more responsibility. Responsibility for the wrongs of the past. Responsibility for wrongs of the present and future. Whether you’re a white person who stuffed up during apartheid or whether you are a black person who has been hurt by it, is up to us to protect the constitution, which guarantees a bright future.”
But in Michael Jackson’s words, for De Vos it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white.