Author: Bold, Lisa
Date: 1994
Published. No Type of Product: MA Mini Dissertation, Centre for Cultural and
Media Studies, University of Natal, Durban. 105pp.
Copyright: University of Natal
ABSTRACT
Given
the current debates on the nature and function of the
South African film industry in terms of local themes,
local characters and settings, audience appeal, and
structural questions involving subsidy, and censorship, this study
addresses these issues in a case study of a local film
production, There’s a Zulu on My Stoep
(1993). It investigates two themes in relation to the
film: race and genre. Methodological analysis is
undertaken from an ethnographic perspective which
includes, interviews with the producer/scriptwriter/lead actors,
focus group discussions with audience members, and semiotic
analysis of the film itself. The study addresses the
construction of race within a film text and the audiences’
responses to this construction. Findings, in this regard,
suggest that the racial construction in the film is
ambivalent in terms of racial stereotype. Further, the
audience recognizes the racial theme in the film and
appears to respond to the dominant message system of the
film. Secondly, this study examines the relationship between
the comedy genre and its popularity with the audience. The
findings indicate that the alternating involvement and distance of
the audience in response to the narrative comedy is a
significant contributory factor to their enjoyment of the
film. Recognition and familiarity with characters and
settings also contribute to audience appeal. Furthermore,
the genre, in its condensation of social and historical
experiences provides the audience with an opportunity for
diversion for affirmation of commonly agreed upon values
and symbols.
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