FIRSTLY: To understand this blog clearly, start reading at the first entry: Identification In A Rainbow Nation: Introduction - posted on the 18th of July 2011.
I would like to thank the authors whose work I have cited in this blog.
Thank you: Zimitri Erasmus, Cheryl Hendricks, Daniel Hammett, Adam Haupt, Dylan Valley, Tanja Bosch and Colin Miller.
I would also like to thank the participants who allowed me to interview them for this project.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Conclusion
The coloured youth of today, therefore, have different views with regard to their identity and their cultural beliefs and attitudes. They do not conform to the same type of culture of what they did before except for the fact that they still form part of monoculture which, as mentioned earlier, is observed in all cultures, races, religions and ethnicities across the world.
The coloured race of South Africa is one of the most complicated yet interesting factors of the country with regard to historical context, culture and racial identity. While some coloureds are proud of the fact that they are distinguished from all the other races by a term given to their skin colour under the apartheid system, there are others who prefer the concept of being regarded as black. This results in conflict with the coloured community and the concept of their racial identity, culture and heritage.
Erasmus does not wish to employ certain terminology in order to validate a racial identity of a certain group of people or an individual. She does not believe that a racial identity formulates a cultural identity and therefore contradicts the concept of the Afrikaaps documentary to a certain extent. Erasmus and Afrikaaps both verify the fact that there is a certain cultural identity to coloured people in Cape Town, and South Africa, regardless of whether they have positive or negative connotations.
Haupt’s argument of the coloured race defining itself as ‘black’ on a cultural level is also played into Afrikaaps with regard to the historical element of the production and the documentary because of the roots of ‘coloured’ people in Khoi-San and other ‘black’ racial groups that were later re-classified, such as Griquas. It is, therefore, evident to state that coloured people do not exist as a separate racial group but rather as entity that forms part of a greater nation.
Bosch’s and Hammett’s concept of coloured youth follow the American hip-hop subculture and popular culture is evident but it rather forms part of a coloured youth’s identity and does not validate their identity. This results in the fact that there does not seem to be a pure unified form of coloured identity amongst coloured youth today apart from the fact that they are all individual in the way they express themselves.
The concept formulated by Bosch and Hammett in their arguments is a result of their music tastes, the trends in which they follow and what they consider as their influential factors. The hip-hop subculture of Cape Town does not seem to play a strong prominent role as what it did during the apartheid years and just after South Africa became a democracy in 1994. It still exists, however, but as the interviews concluded, it has just become a form of entertainment rather than an uplifting factor within communities.
The coloured youth of today are, therefore, not formulated under a certain construction by their racial or cultural heritage but rather formulate their own concept of identity in order to validate themselves as people. This means that, as mentioned above, there is no set culture as to what it is to be a coloured person but rather that each person is validated according to their own means. This creates a sense of diversity and extinguishes the concept of exclusion. It also, therefore, creates a sense of unity and equality among human beings as people are able to be whatever they want to be, regardless of racial heritage and cultural identity.
The coloured race of South Africa is one of the most complicated yet interesting factors of the country with regard to historical context, culture and racial identity. While some coloureds are proud of the fact that they are distinguished from all the other races by a term given to their skin colour under the apartheid system, there are others who prefer the concept of being regarded as black. This results in conflict with the coloured community and the concept of their racial identity, culture and heritage.
Erasmus does not wish to employ certain terminology in order to validate a racial identity of a certain group of people or an individual. She does not believe that a racial identity formulates a cultural identity and therefore contradicts the concept of the Afrikaaps documentary to a certain extent. Erasmus and Afrikaaps both verify the fact that there is a certain cultural identity to coloured people in Cape Town, and South Africa, regardless of whether they have positive or negative connotations.
Haupt’s argument of the coloured race defining itself as ‘black’ on a cultural level is also played into Afrikaaps with regard to the historical element of the production and the documentary because of the roots of ‘coloured’ people in Khoi-San and other ‘black’ racial groups that were later re-classified, such as Griquas. It is, therefore, evident to state that coloured people do not exist as a separate racial group but rather as entity that forms part of a greater nation.
Bosch’s and Hammett’s concept of coloured youth follow the American hip-hop subculture and popular culture is evident but it rather forms part of a coloured youth’s identity and does not validate their identity. This results in the fact that there does not seem to be a pure unified form of coloured identity amongst coloured youth today apart from the fact that they are all individual in the way they express themselves.
The concept formulated by Bosch and Hammett in their arguments is a result of their music tastes, the trends in which they follow and what they consider as their influential factors. The hip-hop subculture of Cape Town does not seem to play a strong prominent role as what it did during the apartheid years and just after South Africa became a democracy in 1994. It still exists, however, but as the interviews concluded, it has just become a form of entertainment rather than an uplifting factor within communities.
The coloured youth of today are, therefore, not formulated under a certain construction by their racial or cultural heritage but rather formulate their own concept of identity in order to validate themselves as people. This means that, as mentioned above, there is no set culture as to what it is to be a coloured person but rather that each person is validated according to their own means. This creates a sense of diversity and extinguishes the concept of exclusion. It also, therefore, creates a sense of unity and equality among human beings as people are able to be whatever they want to be, regardless of racial heritage and cultural identity.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Interviews, results and discussion (part three)
Trends seemed mostly most to be followed through the form of influence by peers. This, however, was also related to as to whether the coloured youth was interested in the trend or not and whether it formed part of their identity. Erasmus further imposes two views to the concept of race with regard to identity. The first to ignore racial categories and this within itself is something impossible, particularly within a country such as South Africa which, through historical context, based itself on the concept of racial categories and white supremacy (Erasmus, 2005: 22). The second, or alternative, view of race is to “treat it as though it determines everything we do and all that we are, and as if it limits what is available to us” (Erasmus, 2005: 24). The second view does not seem to exist with regard to the people that were interviewed because they do not feel that they have certain cultural appropriations to maintain in order to be defined as a coloured individual:
Matthew: Do you follow the trends that you follow because they form part of your identity or do you follow them because you’re influenced by peers?
Shannon: Perhaps both.
Matthew: Why?
Shannon: Well let’s say I would necessarily follow a trend because my friends do it but if it’s something that they follow that I liked, then it would form a part of my identity and I would follow it.
Matthew: So following onto to that, do you follow the trends that you do, in fashion for example, because they form part of your identity or because you are influenced for example by peers?
Adam: Both I think. Your peers do influence you because you influence your friends and your friends influence you. You hang around people that are similar to you in identity, in that sense yes and the sense where you are relating to the clothing that you’re wearing is maybe because of what you see on TV and what style because each brand has its own feel to it and attitude or beliefs and there is something relation to what your friends would see in that brand and yourself. So you do identify with a brand and your friends as well.
The answers given in both these interviews relates to Hammett concept of peer influence with regard to cultural identity. This influential concept, however, seems to be prominent in youth of all different cultures, races, religions and ethnicities. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, some coloured youth were influenced the use of hip-hop as a tool against oppression. This, however, did not relate to all coloured youth because the concept that was expressed hip-hop artists such as Prophets of da City (POC), Black Noise and Brasse vannie Kaap (BVK) did not want to be defined as coloured but rather as black with regard to identity. This played a key role during apartheid and pre-1994.
Cape Town-based hip-hop artists, or crews as they were called, used ‘gamtaal’ in order to create a connection with their communities through the use of music, with a particular focus on hip-hop. Haupt uses a quote from Prophets of Da City (POC)’s Shaheen to explain why the use of ‘gamtaal’ was incorporated in POC’s music. (Haupt, 2001: 178) Shaheen stated when POC did interviews they spoke ‘gamtaal’ so that the community could relate to the fact that POC’s were speaking a language that they could understand. Shaheen also validated the fact that POC were not only using ‘gamtaal’ so that they could be understood by the average individual in the township but also the fact that they were there to represent the community, i.e., the townships on the Cape Flats and other townships, in general. (Haupt, 2001: 178)
While the coloured youth of today found that hip-hop played an important role during the apartheid struggle, they were unaware of the groups mentioned above:
Matthew: Okay, moving onto my last theme now. With regard to the historical perspective of South Africa, do you feel that Hip-Hop played an important role as a tool against oppression and the fight for freedom?
Riyaan: Yes I do think so. I think Hip-Hop became a form of expression for people who were marginalised and it was of describing their history and what their experiences were, challenges were, what it was like to live in a particular area and face certain sort of challenges. I think it has become a form of expression.
Matthew: With regard to that answer that you just gave me now, do you think that Hip-Hop artists from Cape Town such as Black Noise, Prophets of da City and Brasse vannie Kaap, do you know any of them?
Riyaan: I don’t know any of them sorry.
Matthew: With regard to the historical perspective of South Africa, do you feel that Hip-Hop played an important role as a tool against oppression, i.e. apartheid, and the fight for freedom, i.e. democracy?
Mogamat: Um, where coloureds are concerned?
Matthew: Ja.
Mogamat: Okay, I think it has. I think that in apartheid’s time, there was always means, people looking for means of escape and Hip-Hop was one of those means where they didn’t have to listen to the conventional white music, if I can say that. And they formed an identity that represented their race. So in that aspect I think it was a means of, of, of identification in the apartheid time and it geared toward democracy where they didn’t conform to what apartheid wanted them to listen to or do but they formed their own identity.
Matthew: With regard to this answer, do you think that Hip-Hop artists from Cape Town such as Black Noise, Prophets of Da City and Brasse vannie Kaap had a positive impact on the coloured and black communities of South Africa?
Mogamat: I wouldn’t know. I don’t listen to them.
Matthew: So you don’t know any of them?
Mogamat: No. Not at all. I didn’t know they exist.
*************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
Haupt, Adam, 2001, “Black thing: Hip-hop nationalism, ‘race’ and gender in Prophets of da City and Brasse vannie Kaap,” Coloured by History: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), pp. 173 - 191, Kwela Books and South African History Online.
*************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADAM HAUPT - VISIT:
http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Adam
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
*************************************************************************
FREE DOWNLOAD OF "STATE OF THE NATION: SOUTH AFRICA 2004 - 2005" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2042&cat=1&page=3
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
Matthew: Do you follow the trends that you follow because they form part of your identity or do you follow them because you’re influenced by peers?
Shannon: Perhaps both.
Matthew: Why?
Shannon: Well let’s say I would necessarily follow a trend because my friends do it but if it’s something that they follow that I liked, then it would form a part of my identity and I would follow it.
Matthew: So following onto to that, do you follow the trends that you do, in fashion for example, because they form part of your identity or because you are influenced for example by peers?
Adam: Both I think. Your peers do influence you because you influence your friends and your friends influence you. You hang around people that are similar to you in identity, in that sense yes and the sense where you are relating to the clothing that you’re wearing is maybe because of what you see on TV and what style because each brand has its own feel to it and attitude or beliefs and there is something relation to what your friends would see in that brand and yourself. So you do identify with a brand and your friends as well.
The answers given in both these interviews relates to Hammett concept of peer influence with regard to cultural identity. This influential concept, however, seems to be prominent in youth of all different cultures, races, religions and ethnicities. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, some coloured youth were influenced the use of hip-hop as a tool against oppression. This, however, did not relate to all coloured youth because the concept that was expressed hip-hop artists such as Prophets of da City (POC), Black Noise and Brasse vannie Kaap (BVK) did not want to be defined as coloured but rather as black with regard to identity. This played a key role during apartheid and pre-1994.
Cape Town-based hip-hop artists, or crews as they were called, used ‘gamtaal’ in order to create a connection with their communities through the use of music, with a particular focus on hip-hop. Haupt uses a quote from Prophets of Da City (POC)’s Shaheen to explain why the use of ‘gamtaal’ was incorporated in POC’s music. (Haupt, 2001: 178) Shaheen stated when POC did interviews they spoke ‘gamtaal’ so that the community could relate to the fact that POC’s were speaking a language that they could understand. Shaheen also validated the fact that POC were not only using ‘gamtaal’ so that they could be understood by the average individual in the township but also the fact that they were there to represent the community, i.e., the townships on the Cape Flats and other townships, in general. (Haupt, 2001: 178)
While the coloured youth of today found that hip-hop played an important role during the apartheid struggle, they were unaware of the groups mentioned above:
Matthew: Okay, moving onto my last theme now. With regard to the historical perspective of South Africa, do you feel that Hip-Hop played an important role as a tool against oppression and the fight for freedom?
Riyaan: Yes I do think so. I think Hip-Hop became a form of expression for people who were marginalised and it was of describing their history and what their experiences were, challenges were, what it was like to live in a particular area and face certain sort of challenges. I think it has become a form of expression.
Matthew: With regard to that answer that you just gave me now, do you think that Hip-Hop artists from Cape Town such as Black Noise, Prophets of da City and Brasse vannie Kaap, do you know any of them?
Riyaan: I don’t know any of them sorry.
Matthew: With regard to the historical perspective of South Africa, do you feel that Hip-Hop played an important role as a tool against oppression, i.e. apartheid, and the fight for freedom, i.e. democracy?
Mogamat: Um, where coloureds are concerned?
Matthew: Ja.
Mogamat: Okay, I think it has. I think that in apartheid’s time, there was always means, people looking for means of escape and Hip-Hop was one of those means where they didn’t have to listen to the conventional white music, if I can say that. And they formed an identity that represented their race. So in that aspect I think it was a means of, of, of identification in the apartheid time and it geared toward democracy where they didn’t conform to what apartheid wanted them to listen to or do but they formed their own identity.
Matthew: With regard to this answer, do you think that Hip-Hop artists from Cape Town such as Black Noise, Prophets of Da City and Brasse vannie Kaap had a positive impact on the coloured and black communities of South Africa?
Mogamat: I wouldn’t know. I don’t listen to them.
Matthew: So you don’t know any of them?
Mogamat: No. Not at all. I didn’t know they exist.
*************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
Haupt, Adam, 2001, “Black thing: Hip-hop nationalism, ‘race’ and gender in Prophets of da City and Brasse vannie Kaap,” Coloured by History: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), pp. 173 - 191, Kwela Books and South African History Online.
*************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADAM HAUPT - VISIT:
http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Adam
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
*************************************************************************
FREE DOWNLOAD OF "STATE OF THE NATION: SOUTH AFRICA 2004 - 2005" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2042&cat=1&page=3
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Interviews, results and discussion (part two)
Dylan Valley’s award-winning documentary, Afrikaaps, explores the racial and cultural identity of coloured people through the use of artistic and creative expressions such as film, music, dance and poetry. This interlinks with academic research and the formula of the documentary in order for coloured people to share their lived experiences and how they define themselves racially and culturally. The documentary explores the formulation of the coloured race by analysing the historical perspective of slavery and the reality of miscegenation. According to Cheryl Hendricks, the concept of miscegenation led onto coloured people being a hybrid group (Hendricks, 2001: 29). She discusses how the representations of those who were considered to be of ‘mixed’ descent are tied to racial and sexual politics and through this explanation, she makes an aside to the fact that the term ‘mixed descent’ has become a signifier of the coloured race within South Africa (Hendricks, 2001: 29).
It seems that with regard to the responses of the interviewees, the coloured youth of today prefer to ignore the concept of race and its validation of culture. This interlinks to what Bosch and Hammett stated in his article about coloured youth drawing on aspects of American hip-hop culture and popular culture in general. In order to understand why they listen to the type of music they do, I went on further to ask if the music that they listen to influenced their identity:
James: Um, jup, because I’m very involved with music and that is my interest so ja.
Shannon: I suppose so because like I said I don’t conform to one subculture or stereotypical identity so the fact that I listen to a lot of music kind of reflects that I don’t conform to one particular subculture or identity.
The answer given by Shannon seems to be relevant to most coloured youth today as they do not conform part of a particular culture but rather that they compose a culture from taking aspects from other cultures and making it their own. This means that both Bosch and Hammett are right and wrong in their argument of the coloured youth adopting American hip-hop subculture and popular culture as their own culture because the coloured youth of today also extract elements from other cultures to formulate their identity. In relation to both Bosch and Hammett concepts that coloured people draw on American pop culture and hip-hop subculture is debatable. There is no denial in the fact that it is evident within their culture but, however, it is also evident within other races, ethnicities, cultures and populations not only in South Africa but across the world. There seems to be a monoculture to which all people are able to relate. This monoculture is an influence, and extension of, Western culture and, more so today, Americanisation. Nevertheless, the influence is predominant in the coloured youth:
Matthew: Do you think that music has just become a form of entertainment or do you feel that it still has an impact on communities?
Mogamat: It’s definitely become a form of entertainment.
Matthew: Why?
Mogamat: If I asked my friends why do you listen to particular music, like the majority of my friends will say because they enjoy it. Not because it has anything to do with their community. I don’t think the younger generation of today particularly listen to music for any other reason but for enjoyment. However if you had to look at the older generation like my grandfather or my father’s friends or whatever, they would say they enjoy music that relates to their community such as the coloured community where listen to Jazz and Blues and all those other things. And this thing that goes on in Cape Town . . .
Matthew: Ghoema?
Mogamat: Not Ghoema, this thing man. Um, the Klopse.
Matthew: The Klopse, ja, the Minstrels.
Mogamat: Yes, they like that so. I think there’s a difference between the youth and the older generation. Or that’s just my opinion.
It is not only shown that the cultural aspects of coloured identity are changing but it also reflects the monoculture of Americanisation is evident in the fact that the interviewee does not like South African music despite being a South African. Race has been replaced by the concept of class as an individual is not determined by their skin colour but rather by their ability, education and wealth. This, however, leaves out those living in poverty regardless of race. Erasmus explains that while wealthy black South Africans are maintaining high standards in education and employment, poor black South Africans are still suffering and feel alienated from their wealthier counterparts (Erasmus, 2005: 12) This results in the two conflicting classes being labelled defamatory names by their counterparts, such as “coconuts” and “dusty-crusties.” (Erasmus, 2005: 27) With regard to coloureds and their identification of themselves, the concept of class is related to their choices in other trends which they follow. Whether they were popular culture, fashions or any forms of trends:
Matthew: Do you follow any other trends that are considered pop culture?
Carla: Pop culture? What do you mean? Like fashion?
Matthew: Ja, like mainstream fashion?
Carla: I think I do but I don’t think I follow, no. I would say I do but I don’t
follow something just because everyone else is following it. I will something because I will make it my own. And I will follow it because I will stick to it. I won’t follow something, like the way I dress, that will just be, that will always be the way I dress. You know what I mean.
Matthew: What other pop culture trends do you follow? If any, like mainstream line fashion or something like that?
Tasneem: Wow, none actually. I think that I’m very commercial that way. So whatever’s mainstream, if I like it, I’ll buy into it. If not, then . . . I think maybe that’s why I think that subculture’s . . . is not even applicable any more. Because I mean like something such as Die Antwoord which is meant to be something of a subculture but because it became such a huge frenzy, everything they doing now is actually quite mainstream so I don’t think there’s even place for something subculture these days.
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hendricks, Cheryl, 2001, “‘Ominous’ Liaisons: Tracing the interface between ‘race’ and sex at the Cape,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DYLAN VALLEY - VISIT:
http://www.plexusfilms.co.za/team-detail.php?&teamid=212
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHERYL HENDRICKS - VISIT:
http://www.impumelelo.org.za/who-we-are/trustees/dr-cheryl-hendricks
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
*************************************************************************
VIEW THE "AFRIKAAPS" TRAILER - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYifENqE3hU
TO VIEW OTHER CLIPS OF "AFRIKAAPS" - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Afrikaaps&aq=f
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
FREE DOWNLOAD OF "STATE OF THE NATION: SOUTH AFRICA 2004 - 2005" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2042&cat=1&page=3
It seems that with regard to the responses of the interviewees, the coloured youth of today prefer to ignore the concept of race and its validation of culture. This interlinks to what Bosch and Hammett stated in his article about coloured youth drawing on aspects of American hip-hop culture and popular culture in general. In order to understand why they listen to the type of music they do, I went on further to ask if the music that they listen to influenced their identity:
James: Um, jup, because I’m very involved with music and that is my interest so ja.
Shannon: I suppose so because like I said I don’t conform to one subculture or stereotypical identity so the fact that I listen to a lot of music kind of reflects that I don’t conform to one particular subculture or identity.
The answer given by Shannon seems to be relevant to most coloured youth today as they do not conform part of a particular culture but rather that they compose a culture from taking aspects from other cultures and making it their own. This means that both Bosch and Hammett are right and wrong in their argument of the coloured youth adopting American hip-hop subculture and popular culture as their own culture because the coloured youth of today also extract elements from other cultures to formulate their identity. In relation to both Bosch and Hammett concepts that coloured people draw on American pop culture and hip-hop subculture is debatable. There is no denial in the fact that it is evident within their culture but, however, it is also evident within other races, ethnicities, cultures and populations not only in South Africa but across the world. There seems to be a monoculture to which all people are able to relate. This monoculture is an influence, and extension of, Western culture and, more so today, Americanisation. Nevertheless, the influence is predominant in the coloured youth:
Matthew: Do you think that music has just become a form of entertainment or do you feel that it still has an impact on communities?
Mogamat: It’s definitely become a form of entertainment.
Matthew: Why?
Mogamat: If I asked my friends why do you listen to particular music, like the majority of my friends will say because they enjoy it. Not because it has anything to do with their community. I don’t think the younger generation of today particularly listen to music for any other reason but for enjoyment. However if you had to look at the older generation like my grandfather or my father’s friends or whatever, they would say they enjoy music that relates to their community such as the coloured community where listen to Jazz and Blues and all those other things. And this thing that goes on in Cape Town . . .
Matthew: Ghoema?
Mogamat: Not Ghoema, this thing man. Um, the Klopse.
Matthew: The Klopse, ja, the Minstrels.
Mogamat: Yes, they like that so. I think there’s a difference between the youth and the older generation. Or that’s just my opinion.
It is not only shown that the cultural aspects of coloured identity are changing but it also reflects the monoculture of Americanisation is evident in the fact that the interviewee does not like South African music despite being a South African. Race has been replaced by the concept of class as an individual is not determined by their skin colour but rather by their ability, education and wealth. This, however, leaves out those living in poverty regardless of race. Erasmus explains that while wealthy black South Africans are maintaining high standards in education and employment, poor black South Africans are still suffering and feel alienated from their wealthier counterparts (Erasmus, 2005: 12) This results in the two conflicting classes being labelled defamatory names by their counterparts, such as “coconuts” and “dusty-crusties.” (Erasmus, 2005: 27) With regard to coloureds and their identification of themselves, the concept of class is related to their choices in other trends which they follow. Whether they were popular culture, fashions or any forms of trends:
Matthew: Do you follow any other trends that are considered pop culture?
Carla: Pop culture? What do you mean? Like fashion?
Matthew: Ja, like mainstream fashion?
Carla: I think I do but I don’t think I follow, no. I would say I do but I don’t
follow something just because everyone else is following it. I will something because I will make it my own. And I will follow it because I will stick to it. I won’t follow something, like the way I dress, that will just be, that will always be the way I dress. You know what I mean.
Matthew: What other pop culture trends do you follow? If any, like mainstream line fashion or something like that?
Tasneem: Wow, none actually. I think that I’m very commercial that way. So whatever’s mainstream, if I like it, I’ll buy into it. If not, then . . . I think maybe that’s why I think that subculture’s . . . is not even applicable any more. Because I mean like something such as Die Antwoord which is meant to be something of a subculture but because it became such a huge frenzy, everything they doing now is actually quite mainstream so I don’t think there’s even place for something subculture these days.
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hendricks, Cheryl, 2001, “‘Ominous’ Liaisons: Tracing the interface between ‘race’ and sex at the Cape,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DYLAN VALLEY - VISIT:
http://www.plexusfilms.co.za/team-detail.php?&teamid=212
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHERYL HENDRICKS - VISIT:
http://www.impumelelo.org.za/who-we-are/trustees/dr-cheryl-hendricks
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
*************************************************************************
VIEW THE "AFRIKAAPS" TRAILER - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYifENqE3hU
TO VIEW OTHER CLIPS OF "AFRIKAAPS" - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Afrikaaps&aq=f
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Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Interviews, results and discussion (part one)
After conducting eight interviews, it is evident to me, as a researcher, that there is a strong difference between the coloured youth of today in comparison to that of apartheid and post-democracy. The concept of identity holds a different definition for every person that was interviewed. An individual is defined by their identity, but what exactly does this mean? The concept of identity is one that is a broad context as it relates to a racial, cultural, societal and political identity. In South Africa, the term identity is a contested one especially with reference to the historical context of the country. Individuals were defined and segregated by racial groups under the apartheid system in order for the ‘white’ race to be the superior race. When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, the concept of racial identity was slowly being replaced the concept of cultural identity. In order to get an understanding of the people that I interviewed, I would begin by asking them how they would define themselves and these are some of the findings:
Matthew: How would you define yourself?
Mogamat: Um, as in race?
Matthew: If somebody just had to come up to and asked you to define yourself, what would you say?
Mogamat: Um, that I’m a 21 year old guy, living in Cape Town, and ja, I would tell them that.
Matthew: If somebody had to come up to you and say to you how would you define yourself, what would you say?
Sasha: I definitely define myself as someone who is outgoing and positive and try to, when I meet people influence them in a positive way. So definitely a positive person.
Through the analysis of these answers, it is evident that each of them has a different concept of how they define the people they are. One aspect that I found that in the interviews is that most people reflect the views of Mogamat when I asked them the question of how they would define who they are. Many South Africans still think in terms of the racial grouping that the apartheid system implemented. Zimitri Erasmus, however, extends on this concept of racial identity when discussing the label “coloured.” She states that it is not only a label that was given by the apartheid government but that it is reconstructed by the coloured people themselves according to their beliefs, morals, values and attitudes. This, however, differs from one person to the next as there is no set definition as to what it is to be a coloured person in South Africa. The label ‘coloured,’ therefore, is not only a term that was imposed on a group of ‘mixed’ race people by the apartheid system but is made, re-made and constructed by coloured people themselves “in their attempts to give meaning to their everyday lives” (Erasmus, 2001: 16). Erasmus’ words are reflected in the interviews with regard to coloured people and their cultural identity:
Matthew: Do you self-identify as a coloured by identity, not by your race, but by your identity?
Carla: Do you self-identify as a coloured with regard to my identity? No because I look like a white person but I speak like a coloured person but I get asked if I’m from another country so I wouldn’t say I’m coloured but it is a part of who I am. The culture and everything is a part of who I am. But it’s so hard for me because if I go, if I go with white people, I feel uncomfortable, especially if they speak like white people so I will feel uncomfortable because they don’t speak like me and I don’t speak like them. Rather I don’t speak like them so the way I look will fit in but then with coloured people it’s like . . .
Matthew: The other way round?
Carla: Ja. Exactly. You’re a white girl. A lot of people will say you’re a girl white trying to be coloured. So it’s hard. But I wouldn’t, no I wouldn’t.
Matthew: So do you self-identify as coloured with regard to your identity, not your race?
Riyaan: No I don’t. Not in terms of my identity. My race yes because I am mixed race. I would identify it as coloured but not my identity.
Matthew: Do you self-identify as a coloured with regard to your identity?
Adam: In some aspects I do and in some aspects I don’t. In the aspects where I do identify myself as a coloured is where my racial heritage comes from and where I wouldn’t is where I’m a person and I shouldn’t be labelled as being a coloured.
It seems as though the coloured youth of today would rather not identify themselves as coloured when it came to culture. This, however, does not mean that they are not aware of their culture but rather that they do not want to be boxed into one particular culture. Erasmus states that there are two views which are taken when it comes to culture and race. One of these views is that race should be ignored whereas the other is to “treat it [race] as though it determines everything we do and all that we are, and as if it limits what is available to us.” (Erasmus, 2005: 24)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
**************************************************************************
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Matthew: How would you define yourself?
Mogamat: Um, as in race?
Matthew: If somebody just had to come up to and asked you to define yourself, what would you say?
Mogamat: Um, that I’m a 21 year old guy, living in Cape Town, and ja, I would tell them that.
Matthew: If somebody had to come up to you and say to you how would you define yourself, what would you say?
Sasha: I definitely define myself as someone who is outgoing and positive and try to, when I meet people influence them in a positive way. So definitely a positive person.
Through the analysis of these answers, it is evident that each of them has a different concept of how they define the people they are. One aspect that I found that in the interviews is that most people reflect the views of Mogamat when I asked them the question of how they would define who they are. Many South Africans still think in terms of the racial grouping that the apartheid system implemented. Zimitri Erasmus, however, extends on this concept of racial identity when discussing the label “coloured.” She states that it is not only a label that was given by the apartheid government but that it is reconstructed by the coloured people themselves according to their beliefs, morals, values and attitudes. This, however, differs from one person to the next as there is no set definition as to what it is to be a coloured person in South Africa. The label ‘coloured,’ therefore, is not only a term that was imposed on a group of ‘mixed’ race people by the apartheid system but is made, re-made and constructed by coloured people themselves “in their attempts to give meaning to their everyday lives” (Erasmus, 2001: 16). Erasmus’ words are reflected in the interviews with regard to coloured people and their cultural identity:
Matthew: Do you self-identify as a coloured by identity, not by your race, but by your identity?
Carla: Do you self-identify as a coloured with regard to my identity? No because I look like a white person but I speak like a coloured person but I get asked if I’m from another country so I wouldn’t say I’m coloured but it is a part of who I am. The culture and everything is a part of who I am. But it’s so hard for me because if I go, if I go with white people, I feel uncomfortable, especially if they speak like white people so I will feel uncomfortable because they don’t speak like me and I don’t speak like them. Rather I don’t speak like them so the way I look will fit in but then with coloured people it’s like . . .
Matthew: The other way round?
Carla: Ja. Exactly. You’re a white girl. A lot of people will say you’re a girl white trying to be coloured. So it’s hard. But I wouldn’t, no I wouldn’t.
Matthew: So do you self-identify as coloured with regard to your identity, not your race?
Riyaan: No I don’t. Not in terms of my identity. My race yes because I am mixed race. I would identify it as coloured but not my identity.
Matthew: Do you self-identify as a coloured with regard to your identity?
Adam: In some aspects I do and in some aspects I don’t. In the aspects where I do identify myself as a coloured is where my racial heritage comes from and where I wouldn’t is where I’m a person and I shouldn’t be labelled as being a coloured.
It seems as though the coloured youth of today would rather not identify themselves as coloured when it came to culture. This, however, does not mean that they are not aware of their culture but rather that they do not want to be boxed into one particular culture. Erasmus states that there are two views which are taken when it comes to culture and race. One of these views is that race should be ignored whereas the other is to “treat it [race] as though it determines everything we do and all that we are, and as if it limits what is available to us.” (Erasmus, 2005: 24)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
**************************************************************************
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Coloured Identity in a Democratic South Africa
Zimitri Erasmus further explicates and unravels the concept of race within a post-apartheid South Africa in her article, “Race and identity in the nation.” She begins by explaining how race is a socio-historical and political construct rather than a biological factor within South Africa (Erasmus, 2005: 9). Race has been replaced by the concept of class as an individual is not determined by their skin colour but rather by their ability, education and wealth. This, however, leaves out those living in poverty regardless of race. Erasmus explains that while wealthy black South Africans are maintaining high standards in education and employment, poor black South Africans are still suffering and feel alienated from their wealthier counterparts (Erasmus, 2005: 12) This results in the two conflicting classes being labelled defamatory names by their counterparts, such as “coconuts” and “dusty-crusties” (Erasmus, 2005: 27)
The Employment Equity Act of 1998 was implemented in order to create racial equity amongst all South Africans. The act employed the concept of equality in education, employment and other aspects and standards of living within South Africa. Racial segregations, however, do still exist within South African borders and Erasmus uses the example of learners in schools post-apartheid who still interact within their own apartheid given racial categories and she states their ability to interact with children from other population groups remains limited (Erasmus, 2005: 14). This, however, was not only restricted to learners but was to a heavier degree within the working environment and results in a perpetuation of apartheid race categories and a racial way of thinking (Erasmus, 2005: 21).
Erasmus further imposes two views to the concept of race. The first to ignore racial categories and this within itself is something impossible, particularly within a country such as South Africa which, through historical context, based itself on the concept of racial categories and white supremacy (Erasmus, 2005: 22). The second, or alternative, view of race is to “treat it as though it determines everything we do and all that we are, and as if it limits what is available to us” (Erasmus, 2005: 24). She uses the example of Nhlanhla Ndebele, a political analyst who found it disgraceful that black South Africans voted for the Democratic Alliance in the elections (Erasmus, 2005: 25). Ndebele believed that black South Africans should vote for the party that most represented them by race and did not take into consideration other factors as to why black South Africans voted for the particular parties that they wanted to vote for (Erasmus, 2005: 25).
Towards the end of her article, Erasmus focuses on the coloured race of South Africa and how they appeared to be, on one hand, not white enough under apartheid, and on the other hand, not black enough under affirmative action (Erasmus, 2005: 27). This can be interlinked to the first article mentioned about her at the beginning of this essay and the analysis that she did on the coloured race as a whole.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
**************************************************************************
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The Employment Equity Act of 1998 was implemented in order to create racial equity amongst all South Africans. The act employed the concept of equality in education, employment and other aspects and standards of living within South Africa. Racial segregations, however, do still exist within South African borders and Erasmus uses the example of learners in schools post-apartheid who still interact within their own apartheid given racial categories and she states their ability to interact with children from other population groups remains limited (Erasmus, 2005: 14). This, however, was not only restricted to learners but was to a heavier degree within the working environment and results in a perpetuation of apartheid race categories and a racial way of thinking (Erasmus, 2005: 21).
Erasmus further imposes two views to the concept of race. The first to ignore racial categories and this within itself is something impossible, particularly within a country such as South Africa which, through historical context, based itself on the concept of racial categories and white supremacy (Erasmus, 2005: 22). The second, or alternative, view of race is to “treat it as though it determines everything we do and all that we are, and as if it limits what is available to us” (Erasmus, 2005: 24). She uses the example of Nhlanhla Ndebele, a political analyst who found it disgraceful that black South Africans voted for the Democratic Alliance in the elections (Erasmus, 2005: 25). Ndebele believed that black South Africans should vote for the party that most represented them by race and did not take into consideration other factors as to why black South Africans voted for the particular parties that they wanted to vote for (Erasmus, 2005: 25).
Towards the end of her article, Erasmus focuses on the coloured race of South Africa and how they appeared to be, on one hand, not white enough under apartheid, and on the other hand, not black enough under affirmative action (Erasmus, 2005: 27). This can be interlinked to the first article mentioned about her at the beginning of this essay and the analysis that she did on the coloured race as a whole.
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2005, “Race and identity in the nation,” State of the Nation: South Africa 2004 – 2005, John Daniel, Roger Southall and Jessica Lutchman (eds.), pp. 9 – 33, HSRC Press and Michigan State University Press: Cape Town and East Lansing, 2005.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT:
http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
**************************************************************************
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Identification and the Modern Coloured Youth
In his article, “Local beats to global rhythms: coloured student identity and negotiations of global cultural imports in Cape Town, South Africa,” Daniel Hammett discusses and researches the influence of globalisation and popular culture on the coloured youth in Cape Town focusing mainly on high school students. He focuses on two schools in Cape Town which are pre-dominantly made up of coloured students and questions them on their lifestyle in order to relate it to their identity (Hammett, 2009: 407). In his research, he finds that many of the coloured youth interviewed identify themselves through American popular culture, particularly that of the hip-hop sub-culture (Hammett, 2009: 408). He discovers that the coloured youth identify themselves with American hip-hop culture and this results in them desiring the elements and aspects of this culture which include lavish items at unaffordable prices (Hammett, 2009: 408). Financial constraints of these students do not, however, allow them to obtain their objects of desire and this concludes in them recreating these products according to their means to validate their perception of the image of success. These replications of American hip-hop are therefore the student’s confirmation of their self-identity as a coloured youth.
In relation to both Bosch and Hammett concepts that “coloured” people draw on American pop culture and hip-hop subculture is debatable. There is no denial in the fact that it is evident within their culture but, however, it is also evident within other races, ethnicities, cultures and populations not only in South Africa but across the world. There seems to be a monoculture to which all people are able to relate. This monoculture is an influence, and extension of, Western culture and, more so today, Americanisation.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hammett, Daniel, 2009, “Local beats to global rhythms: coloured student identity and negotiations of global cultural imports in Cape Town, South Africa,” Social & Cultural Geography, Vol. 10, No. 4, June 2009, pp. 404 – 417, Routledge.
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FOR INFORMATION ON DANIEL HAMMETT - VISIT:
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In relation to both Bosch and Hammett concepts that “coloured” people draw on American pop culture and hip-hop subculture is debatable. There is no denial in the fact that it is evident within their culture but, however, it is also evident within other races, ethnicities, cultures and populations not only in South Africa but across the world. There seems to be a monoculture to which all people are able to relate. This monoculture is an influence, and extension of, Western culture and, more so today, Americanisation.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hammett, Daniel, 2009, “Local beats to global rhythms: coloured student identity and negotiations of global cultural imports in Cape Town, South Africa,” Social & Cultural Geography, Vol. 10, No. 4, June 2009, pp. 404 – 417, Routledge.
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FOR INFORMATION ON DANIEL HAMMETT - VISIT:
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/dhammett/
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE "SOCIAL & CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY" VOLUMES - VISIT:
http://www.citeulike.org/journal/routledg-rscg/page/1
Coloured Identity in Online Media
Tanja Bosch’s article, “Online coloured identities: A virtual ethnography,” explores the diversity of coloured identity by researching the website, www.bruin-ou.com. The website was formulated by two brothers, Charles and Lester Ash, and provides an online platform for coloureds all over the world to express their opinions on coloured identity through the use of message boards and online discussions. In order for one to understand the coloured race, Bosch provides a brief history of how coloured people in South Africa came into existence. She validates an opinion expressed by Zimitri Erasmus which states that coloured identity is not based on the fact that they are people of mixed race but rather that they are validated by their cultural creativity (Bosch, 2008: 187).
She goes on further to explain how coloured identity is conceptualised as a racial identity midway between black and white (Bosch, 2008: 188). This, however, does not validate coloured identity as on a cultural level, coloured people do not identify with white or black cultural aspects and therefore formulate their own culture. It is argued that much of coloured identity is related to African-American hip-hop, particularly amongst the coloured youth (Bosch, 2008: 188). This relates to African-Americans and their struggle against discrimination and oppression in the United States (Bosch, 2008: 188). Elements of African-American hip-hop are evident in coloured culture with regard to their choices of fashion and music.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bosch, Tanja, 2008, Power, Politics and Identity in South African Media, Hadland et al (eds.), pp. 184 – 202, HSRC Press.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TANJA BOSCH - VISIT:
http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Tanja
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She goes on further to explain how coloured identity is conceptualised as a racial identity midway between black and white (Bosch, 2008: 188). This, however, does not validate coloured identity as on a cultural level, coloured people do not identify with white or black cultural aspects and therefore formulate their own culture. It is argued that much of coloured identity is related to African-American hip-hop, particularly amongst the coloured youth (Bosch, 2008: 188). This relates to African-Americans and their struggle against discrimination and oppression in the United States (Bosch, 2008: 188). Elements of African-American hip-hop are evident in coloured culture with regard to their choices of fashion and music.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bosch, Tanja, 2008, Power, Politics and Identity in South African Media, Hadland et al (eds.), pp. 184 – 202, HSRC Press.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TANJA BOSCH - VISIT:
http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Tanja
**************************************************************************
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Hoe Ruk Die Ding? Coloured Consciousness
The reconstruction of coloured identity in apartheid is evident in cultural elements such as music. In 2004, a trio of “coloured” males from the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town formulated a group which they so fittingly called Kallitz. Their debut album, Die Ding Ruk Mal (2004), expressed the views of the predominant coloured culture in Cape Town, or at least what they, as a group, perceived it to be. The lyrical content of most of the songs reflect the negative associations that Erasmus pointed out that are interlinked with the “coloured” race in Cape Town such as drunkenness, sex and partying. Songs such as “Die Ding Ruk Mal,” “Oppie Yaat,” and “Duidelik” all deal with these negative associations and in a sense, the Kallitz degrade themselves instead of uplifting their communities.
The views expressed in the lyrical content of these by the Kallitz contradicts that of Hip-Hop crews such as Prophets of da City (POC) who state in the song, “Understand Where I’m Coming From” how people of colour were controlled like puppets under the apartheid system through elements such as alcohol and being drunk. These elements are also reflected in their “Dallah Flet” songs:
Don’t let F.W. puzzle you.
Hy praat jou kop vrot.
In sy oe is jy nog altyd ‘n kaffer en ‘n hotnot.
Hulle sponsor township violence en gee vir smokkelhuise licence.
Want hy wiet die wyn fok op die brein
Want dan van jy kak aan dan word jy geblame.
Die move is beplan wat jy gat nou mang jy gat nou hang
Want die vark is ‘n slang. (“Dallah Flet 2,” POC, 1993)
Post-democracy bands such as Moodphase5ive reflected the message of POC in their lyrical content in songs such as “Geto @ Sunset” and “Paradise Syndrome” off their debut album, Steady On (2000). The strongest opposing force, however, to the Kallitz celebration of the negative associations with “coloured” people would be all female Hip-Hop trio, Godessa, who released their mainstream album, Spillage (2004), the same year that the Kallitz released their debut album. Godessa challenged political systems and the social contexts of identity, culture and race in songs such as, “propAgenda,” “Newsflash,” and “These Times”:
I’m calmly looking for an answer.
Amongst all the news reports and courts, announcing it was a gangster.
Is it a youth who couldn’t deal with this anger?
Or is he a product of what the system renders?
Are politicians not offenders?
Shouldn’t proper housing be first on the agendas?
Why is an arms deal replacing education?
Just press unemployment – the button for criminal activation. (“Newsflash,” Godessa, 2004)
Both POC and Godessa raise the negative issues that are associated with coloured people in their lyrical context. POC focus on the political elements of apartheid and the manipulation of a white government on “coloured” and black people. EJ von Lyrik, of Godessa, comments on the issues of gangsterism, the lack of education and proper housing as well as the increase of crime rates.
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TO PURCHASE GODESSA'S "SPILLAGE" - VISIT:
http://www.africanmusicstore.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=19_2&products_id=264
TO PURCHASE MOODPHASE 5IVE'S "STEADY ON" - VISIT:
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/23118/
TO PURCHASE KALLTIZ "DIE DING RUK MAL" - VISIT:
http://rhythmmusicstore.com/music/77/KALLITZ/Die-Ding-Ruk-Mal
The views expressed in the lyrical content of these by the Kallitz contradicts that of Hip-Hop crews such as Prophets of da City (POC) who state in the song, “Understand Where I’m Coming From” how people of colour were controlled like puppets under the apartheid system through elements such as alcohol and being drunk. These elements are also reflected in their “Dallah Flet” songs:
Don’t let F.W. puzzle you.
Hy praat jou kop vrot.
In sy oe is jy nog altyd ‘n kaffer en ‘n hotnot.
Hulle sponsor township violence en gee vir smokkelhuise licence.
Want hy wiet die wyn fok op die brein
Want dan van jy kak aan dan word jy geblame.
Die move is beplan wat jy gat nou mang jy gat nou hang
Want die vark is ‘n slang. (“Dallah Flet 2,” POC, 1993)
Post-democracy bands such as Moodphase5ive reflected the message of POC in their lyrical content in songs such as “Geto @ Sunset” and “Paradise Syndrome” off their debut album, Steady On (2000). The strongest opposing force, however, to the Kallitz celebration of the negative associations with “coloured” people would be all female Hip-Hop trio, Godessa, who released their mainstream album, Spillage (2004), the same year that the Kallitz released their debut album. Godessa challenged political systems and the social contexts of identity, culture and race in songs such as, “propAgenda,” “Newsflash,” and “These Times”:
I’m calmly looking for an answer.
Amongst all the news reports and courts, announcing it was a gangster.
Is it a youth who couldn’t deal with this anger?
Or is he a product of what the system renders?
Are politicians not offenders?
Shouldn’t proper housing be first on the agendas?
Why is an arms deal replacing education?
Just press unemployment – the button for criminal activation. (“Newsflash,” Godessa, 2004)
Both POC and Godessa raise the negative issues that are associated with coloured people in their lyrical context. POC focus on the political elements of apartheid and the manipulation of a white government on “coloured” and black people. EJ von Lyrik, of Godessa, comments on the issues of gangsterism, the lack of education and proper housing as well as the increase of crime rates.
**************************************************************************
TO PURCHASE GODESSA'S "SPILLAGE" - VISIT:
http://www.africanmusicstore.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=19_2&products_id=264
TO PURCHASE MOODPHASE 5IVE'S "STEADY ON" - VISIT:
http://www.lookandlisten.co.za/view/23118/
TO PURCHASE KALLTIZ "DIE DING RUK MAL" - VISIT:
http://rhythmmusicstore.com/music/77/KALLITZ/Die-Ding-Ruk-Mal
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Coloured Identity and Hip-Hop Music
Afrikaaps goes on further to explore the language of Afrikaans and how it was formulated in order to understand why it is used in a certain dialect by ‘coloured’ person. The artists participating in the documentary predominantly speak Afrikaans in the dialect of what is known as ‘kombuis taal.’ The concept of ‘kombuis taal’ can be interlinked to what Adam Haupt, and Cape Town-based hip-hop artists, call ‘gamtaal.’ The dialect of ‘gamtaal’ is a Cape Flats dialect of Afrikaans that consists of non-standard dialects of English, Xhosa and Zulu (Haupt, 2001: 173). Cape Town-based hip-hop artists, or crews as they were called, used ‘gamtaal’ in order to create a connection with their communities through the use of music, with a particular focus on hip-hop. Haupt uses a quote from Prophets of Da City (POC)’s Shaheen to explain why the use of ‘gamtaal’ was incorporated in POC’s music (Haupt, 2001: 178). Shaheen stated when POC did interviews they spoke ‘gamtaal’ so that the community could relate to the fact that POC’s were speaking a language that they could understand. Shaheen also validated the fact that POC were not only using ‘gamtaal’ so that they could be understood by the average individual in the township but also the fact that they were there to represent the community, i.e., the townships on the Cape Flats and other townships, in general (Haupt, 2001: 178). In Afrikaaps, Emile YX? Jansen takes the cast and crew of the documentary to a high school in Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats to discuss the issue of the Afrikaans language with some of the students. The students are able to interact with the cast as they speak the dialect of Afrikaans that Afrikaaps presented in their production and documentary.
Artistic creativity is one of the ways in which individuals are able to express themselves in order to portray a certain message to a wider audience. Afrikaaps makes use of this artistic creativity through the use of music, dance and poetry. In his book, Stealing Empire: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion, Adam Haupt explores the influence of hip-hop, its technological subversion and its cultural, racial, social, political and gender dynamics. In chapter six, “Hip-Hop, Counterpublics and Noise In Post-apartheid South Africa,” Haupt discusses hip-hop in the context of identity and places particular focus on coloured identity with regard to the hip-hop subculture. He uses the works of Cape Town based hip-hop artists in order to validate his discussions and arguments. This can be interlinked as to what Erasmus and Afrikaaps are contextualising in their concepts of the ‘coloured’ identity and how it is, or is not, defined.
Haupt states that during the 1990s, Cape Town based hip-hop challenged issues of neo-colonisation, such as apartheid, and explored the politics of identity, history and location. (Haupt, 2008: 184) In the exploration of identity, Haupt refers to Zimitri Erasmus and her concept that “multicultural discourse obscures relations of power” and the concluding statement on coloured identity being reduced to minstrelsy (Haupt, 2008: 187). An interesting concept that Haupt discovers in his research is that most Cape Town based hip-hop artists who, under apartheid, would be defined as ‘coloured’ on racial levels do not conform to this identity, particularly on cultural levels but rather refer to themselves as ‘black.’ This aligns the concept of Black Consciousness thinking and the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) which was initiated by anti-apartheid activists, such as Steve Biko (Haupt, 2008: 190).
Afrikaaps does not only employ hip-hop music in order to explore the cultural identity of the ‘coloured’ race and the history of the Afrikaans language. Jazz music is also used in Afrikaaps as the ‘coloured’ culture in Cape Town have been associated with the genre of the jazz since before the formation of the terminology ‘coloured.’ In the production and the documentary, jazz music is contrasted with hip-hop elements through collaborations by artists such as Kyle Shepherd and Jitsvinger. Shepherd, who is a multi-instrumental jazz musician from Cape Town, employs different forms of jazz into his own style. Many of the styles that he employs are local South African jazz rhythms such as marabi, kwela and what is known as Cape Jazz.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Haupt, Adam, 2001, “Black thing: Hip-hop nationalism, ‘race’ and gender in Prophets of da City and Brasse vannie Kaap,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
Haupt, Adam, 2008, “Hip-Hop, Counterpublics and Noise In Post-apartheid South Africa,” Stealing Empire: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion, HSRC Press.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADAM HAUPT - VISIT:
http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Adam
**************************************************************************
FREE DOWNLOAD OF "STEALING EMPIRE: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2219
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
Artistic creativity is one of the ways in which individuals are able to express themselves in order to portray a certain message to a wider audience. Afrikaaps makes use of this artistic creativity through the use of music, dance and poetry. In his book, Stealing Empire: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion, Adam Haupt explores the influence of hip-hop, its technological subversion and its cultural, racial, social, political and gender dynamics. In chapter six, “Hip-Hop, Counterpublics and Noise In Post-apartheid South Africa,” Haupt discusses hip-hop in the context of identity and places particular focus on coloured identity with regard to the hip-hop subculture. He uses the works of Cape Town based hip-hop artists in order to validate his discussions and arguments. This can be interlinked as to what Erasmus and Afrikaaps are contextualising in their concepts of the ‘coloured’ identity and how it is, or is not, defined.
Haupt states that during the 1990s, Cape Town based hip-hop challenged issues of neo-colonisation, such as apartheid, and explored the politics of identity, history and location. (Haupt, 2008: 184) In the exploration of identity, Haupt refers to Zimitri Erasmus and her concept that “multicultural discourse obscures relations of power” and the concluding statement on coloured identity being reduced to minstrelsy (Haupt, 2008: 187). An interesting concept that Haupt discovers in his research is that most Cape Town based hip-hop artists who, under apartheid, would be defined as ‘coloured’ on racial levels do not conform to this identity, particularly on cultural levels but rather refer to themselves as ‘black.’ This aligns the concept of Black Consciousness thinking and the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) which was initiated by anti-apartheid activists, such as Steve Biko (Haupt, 2008: 190).
Afrikaaps does not only employ hip-hop music in order to explore the cultural identity of the ‘coloured’ race and the history of the Afrikaans language. Jazz music is also used in Afrikaaps as the ‘coloured’ culture in Cape Town have been associated with the genre of the jazz since before the formation of the terminology ‘coloured.’ In the production and the documentary, jazz music is contrasted with hip-hop elements through collaborations by artists such as Kyle Shepherd and Jitsvinger. Shepherd, who is a multi-instrumental jazz musician from Cape Town, employs different forms of jazz into his own style. Many of the styles that he employs are local South African jazz rhythms such as marabi, kwela and what is known as Cape Jazz.
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Haupt, Adam, 2001, “Black thing: Hip-hop nationalism, ‘race’ and gender in Prophets of da City and Brasse vannie Kaap,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
Haupt, Adam, 2008, “Hip-Hop, Counterpublics and Noise In Post-apartheid South Africa,” Stealing Empire: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion, HSRC Press.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADAM HAUPT - VISIT:
http://www.cfms.uct.ac.za/faculty/staff-directory/Adam
**************************************************************************
FREE DOWNLOAD OF "STEALING EMPIRE: P2P, intellectual property and hip-hop subversion" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2219
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
Afrikaans, Afrikaaps and Kombuis Taal
Dylan Valley’s award-winning documentary, Afrikaaps, explores the racial and cultural identity of ‘coloured’ people through the use of artistic and creative expressions such as film, music, dance and poetry. This interlinks with academic research and the formula of the documentary in order for ‘coloured’ people to share their lived experiences and how they define themselves racially and culturally. The documentary explores the formulation of the ‘coloured’ race by analysing the historical perspective of slavery and the reality of miscegenation. According to Cheryl Hendricks, the concept of miscegenation led onto ‘coloured’ people being a hybrid group (Hendricks, 2001: 29). She discusses how the representations of those who were considered to be of ‘mixed’ descent are tied to racial and sexual politics and through this explanation, she makes an aside to the fact that the term ‘mixed descent’ has become a signifier of the ‘coloured’ race within South Africa (Hendricks, 2001: 29). The production and the documentary explore the roots of the Afrikaans language to understand how it came into existence. The director of the production, Catherine Henegan, explains how she wanted the production to explore the Java and Khoi-San roots in order to contextualise how they made a contribution to the Afrikaans language and its creation (www.citypress.co.za, 2011). She also aimed to deconstruct the ‘white Afrikaner identity’ because of the fact that Afrikaans was not a language that was formulated by the ‘white’ Dutch settlers but rather was a formation of creole languages combined with Dutch and aspects of other languages (www.citypress.co.za, 2011).
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hendricks, Cheryl, 2001, “‘Ominous’ Liaisons: Tracing the interface between ‘race’ and sex at the Cape,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
ONLINE RESOURCE:
www.citypress.co.za/Entertainment/News/Afrikaaps-evolves-cuzzie-20100403
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DYLAN VALLEY - VISIT:
http://www.plexusfilms.co.za/team-detail.php?&teamid=212
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHERYL HENDRICKS - VISIT:
http://www.impumelelo.org.za/who-we-are/trustees/dr-cheryl-hendricks
*************************************************************************
VIEW THE "AFRIKAAPS" TRAILER - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYifENqE3hU
TO VIEW OTHER CLIPS OF "AFRIKAAPS" - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Afrikaaps&aq=f
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hendricks, Cheryl, 2001, “‘Ominous’ Liaisons: Tracing the interface between ‘race’ and sex at the Cape,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
ONLINE RESOURCE:
www.citypress.co.za/Entertainment/News/Afrikaaps-evolves-cuzzie-20100403
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DYLAN VALLEY - VISIT:
http://www.plexusfilms.co.za/team-detail.php?&teamid=212
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHERYL HENDRICKS - VISIT:
http://www.impumelelo.org.za/who-we-are/trustees/dr-cheryl-hendricks
*************************************************************************
VIEW THE "AFRIKAAPS" TRAILER - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYifENqE3hU
TO VIEW OTHER CLIPS OF "AFRIKAAPS" - VISIT:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Afrikaaps&aq=f
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
Coloured Identity and Jazz Music
The history of jazz in Cape Town, and South Africa, is one that tells a story of the struggle against apartheid and racial oppression to a stronger degree than that of hip-hop. The reason behind this is because jazz musicians were exploited and many of them went into exile when their music and performance was banned from South Africa (Miller, 2007: 133). Jazz music plays into the concept of what Afrikaaps is trying to portray because as Miller states, with reference to David Coplan, imported slaves from regions such as “Java, Malaya, the Malabar Coast of India, Madagascar, Mozambique and East Africa also brought with them a rich musical heritage” (Miller, 2007: 135). The musical heritage of the slaves combined with European influences and local Khoi-Khoi musical practices formulated what was known as ‘creolised’ forms of music such as ‘ghoemaliedjies’ (Miller, 2007: 135). Through these forms of music, a creolised language was created which is where the formulation of Afrikaans started occurring.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Miller, Colin, 2007, “Julle kan ma New York toe gaan, ek bly in die Manenberg: an oral history of jazz in Cape Town from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s,” Imagining The City: Memories and Cultures in Cape Town, Field et al (eds.), HSRC Press: Cape Town.
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FREE DOWNLOAD OF "IMAGINING THE CITY: MEMORIES AND CULTURES IN CAPE TOWN" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2193
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Miller, Colin, 2007, “Julle kan ma New York toe gaan, ek bly in die Manenberg: an oral history of jazz in Cape Town from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s,” Imagining The City: Memories and Cultures in Cape Town, Field et al (eds.), HSRC Press: Cape Town.
**************************************************************************
FREE DOWNLOAD OF "IMAGINING THE CITY: MEMORIES AND CULTURES IN CAPE TOWN" - VISIT:
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2193
Friday, July 22, 2011
Coloured Identity and Zimitri Erasmus
An individual is defined by their identity, but what exactly does this mean? The concept of identity is one that is a broad context as it relates to a racial, cultural, societal and political identity. In South Africa, the term identity is a contested one especially with reference to the historical context of the country. Individuals were defined and segregated by racial groups under the apartheid system in order for the ‘white’ race to be the superior race. When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, the concept of racial identity was slowly being replaced the concept of cultural identity. One racial group in South Africa that was confused and never quite understood very well was the ‘coloured’ race. The term ‘coloured’ was given to a group of people who were of mixed descent and formulated through miscegenation. They were, on racial grounds, the mid-point between the ‘white’ and ‘black’ racial groups. Researchers of the ‘coloured’ race relate their roots back to the Khoi-San. Some elements, however, are not discussed with regard to their cultural identity.
The concept of ‘coloured’ identity is a factor that has been discussed in order to explore the historical perspective of South Africa and the people that live within it. This relates to the historical context of slavery and the domination of ‘white’ superiority in South Africa. Zimitri Erasmus explores the concept of ‘coloured’ identity in a book she complied of essays by various South African authors and academics titled, Coloured by History, Shaped by Place. Erasmus begins the book with an introduction where she explains the concept of ‘coloured’ identity and how it shapes South Africans who were defined by the term ‘coloured’ under the apartheid system. She uses her own experiences as a ‘coloured’ female to define the concept of ‘coloured’ by stating that she felt as though she was consigned to being a “half-caste outcast” (Erasmus, 2001: 13). She goes on further to explain that as she faced the possibilities of respectability and shame with regard to her racial identity as a ‘coloured’ (Erasmus, 2001: 13).
The term ‘coloured’ did not only relate to the racial identity of a ‘coloured’ person but also their cultural identity (Erasmus, 2001: 14). According to Erasmus, and the apartheid system in South Africa (Hendricks, 2001: 29), a ‘coloured’ person was considered to be more privilege than a ‘black’ person but “not quite [the] white” person (Erasmus, 2001: 14). The cultural identity of the ‘coloured’ has also been associated with negative connotations such as drunkenness and sexualised shame (Erasmus, 2001: 14). The identity, however, is reconstructed by the people themselves according to their beliefs, morals, values and attitudes. This, however, differs from one person to the next as there is no set definition as to what it is to be a ‘coloured’ person in South Africa. The label ‘coloured,’ therefore, is not only a term that was imposed on a group of ‘mixed’ race people by the apartheid system but is made, re-made and constructed by ‘coloured’ people themselves “in their attempts to give meaning to their everyday lives” (Erasmus, 2001: 16). Criticism of the ‘coloured’ race are, however, still prevalent and existent in South Africa. For example, ex-wife of former South Africa president F.W. de Klerk, Marike de Klerk, referred to ‘coloured’ people as a “‘negative group,’ ‘the leftovers,’ and as ‘people that were left after the nations were sorted out’” (Erasmus, 2001: 18). This is a result of why ‘coloured’ people are left with the problem of defining their racial and cultural identity.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2001, “Re-imagining coloured identities in post-Apartheid South Africa,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
Hendricks, Cheryl, 2001, “‘Ominous’ Liaisons: Tracing the interface between ‘race’ and sex at the Cape,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT: http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHERYL HENDRICKS - VISIT:
http://www.impumelelo.org.za/who-we-are/trustees/dr-cheryl-hendricks
**************************************************************************
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
The concept of ‘coloured’ identity is a factor that has been discussed in order to explore the historical perspective of South Africa and the people that live within it. This relates to the historical context of slavery and the domination of ‘white’ superiority in South Africa. Zimitri Erasmus explores the concept of ‘coloured’ identity in a book she complied of essays by various South African authors and academics titled, Coloured by History, Shaped by Place. Erasmus begins the book with an introduction where she explains the concept of ‘coloured’ identity and how it shapes South Africans who were defined by the term ‘coloured’ under the apartheid system. She uses her own experiences as a ‘coloured’ female to define the concept of ‘coloured’ by stating that she felt as though she was consigned to being a “half-caste outcast” (Erasmus, 2001: 13). She goes on further to explain that as she faced the possibilities of respectability and shame with regard to her racial identity as a ‘coloured’ (Erasmus, 2001: 13).
The term ‘coloured’ did not only relate to the racial identity of a ‘coloured’ person but also their cultural identity (Erasmus, 2001: 14). According to Erasmus, and the apartheid system in South Africa (Hendricks, 2001: 29), a ‘coloured’ person was considered to be more privilege than a ‘black’ person but “not quite [the] white” person (Erasmus, 2001: 14). The cultural identity of the ‘coloured’ has also been associated with negative connotations such as drunkenness and sexualised shame (Erasmus, 2001: 14). The identity, however, is reconstructed by the people themselves according to their beliefs, morals, values and attitudes. This, however, differs from one person to the next as there is no set definition as to what it is to be a ‘coloured’ person in South Africa. The label ‘coloured,’ therefore, is not only a term that was imposed on a group of ‘mixed’ race people by the apartheid system but is made, re-made and constructed by ‘coloured’ people themselves “in their attempts to give meaning to their everyday lives” (Erasmus, 2001: 16). Criticism of the ‘coloured’ race are, however, still prevalent and existent in South Africa. For example, ex-wife of former South Africa president F.W. de Klerk, Marike de Klerk, referred to ‘coloured’ people as a “‘negative group,’ ‘the leftovers,’ and as ‘people that were left after the nations were sorted out’” (Erasmus, 2001: 18). This is a result of why ‘coloured’ people are left with the problem of defining their racial and cultural identity.
**************************************************************************
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Erasmus, Zimitri, 2001, “Re-imagining coloured identities in post-Apartheid South Africa,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
Hendricks, Cheryl, 2001, “‘Ominous’ Liaisons: Tracing the interface between ‘race’ and sex at the Cape,” Coloured by History, Shaped by Place: New Perspectives on Coloured Identities, Zimitri Erasmus (ed.), Kwela Books and South African History Online.
**************************************************************************
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ZIMITRI ERAMSUS - VISIT: http://www.soc.uct.ac.za/erasmus.html
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHERYL HENDRICKS - VISIT:
http://www.impumelelo.org.za/who-we-are/trustees/dr-cheryl-hendricks
**************************************************************************
TO PURCHASE "COLOURED BY HISTORY: SHAPED BY PLACE" - VISIT:
http://www.amazon.com/Coloured-History-Shaped-Place-Perspectives/dp/1588681645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311316928&sr=1-1
Monday, July 18, 2011
Identification In A Rainbow: Introduction
When someone is posed with the question ‘how do you define yourself?’ it seems fairly simple at first glance but once time is given to think about it most people are not aware of how to answer it. The question relates to a person’s identity and how they would define it in terms of their race, culture, class, religion and national identity. There is, however, a certain depth to this form of identification which most people do not think about as people are structured according to the society which they live in. This means that they live according to a certain routine on a daily basis which they define as their identification. The concept of identification can be classified further for each individual if time is given to the individual to think about who they are as a person.
In a country like South Africa, identity is a complex issue because of the historical evidence of colonialism and the oppressed governmental system of apartheid during the twentieth century. The apartheid government defined individuals according to their skin tone and not according to culture, religion, class or national identity. People were defined as either black, white, coloured or Indian. This did not give much leeway for the expansion of different cultures within these racial contexts. For example, black South Africans can be further divided into cultural groups through language, i.e. Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi etc. The same can be said about religion as in the coloured racial group, as an example, there are Christians as well as Muslims. National identity can be extended further than just South African as there are individuals who have a historical heritage of being of Irish, Scottish or Malay descent. These concepts began being dealt with when South Africa became a democracy in 1994, allowing research to be done into an individual’s identity as a person.
Today, the concept of identity is of extensive research based upon an individual’s historical heritage as well as their personal preferences. The idea of personal preferences interlinks with the establishment of sub-culture. Sub-cultures have existed for years but have just not been named, particularly within South African borders. They relate to an individual’s interest in a particular lifestyle such as a Gothic or Hip-Hop lifestyle. Most sub-cultures draw influence from forms of media that allow an individual to express their individuality within their society. The concept of sub-cultures, however, has become a dominating factor in most societies, as well as communities, because of its popularity status amongst the youth of South Africa and other countries around the world. The media portray that it is ‘cool’ to be different from other individuals and therefore, present, what they term, ‘alternative’ lifestyles. The question to ask is: how ‘alternative’ are these lifestyles if they are being followed by a certain amount of individuals around the world?
Sub-cultures relate to non-conformity. They design their own set of rules despite the fact that most of them claim that they are against the rules and regulations of the societies in which they exist. This means that there is still a certain structure that comes along with a sub-culture as well. Individuals who enter into sub-cultures usually fall into the basic standards of the sub-culture. For example, an individual who decides to be Goth will wear black clothing and listen to a certain genre of music in order to be validated by the Gothic sub-culture. Sub-cultures view these basic standards as stereotypes of the sub-culture as these standards become a ‘norm’ for individuals who are part of the sub-culture. In the same context, however, an individual who has differing views in a sub-culture is seen as an outcast of that sub-culture as they do not conform to the non-conformity of the sub-culture. This results in the individual being a non-conformist of the sub-culture’s non-conformity coming to the conclusion that even within sub-cultures there is no concept of individuality for an individual as they do not identify completely with the views and expressions of the sub-culture of which they form part of. This leads onto the next question: Is there a true reflection of an individual’s self-identification within society?
In order to understand this, I have researched a particular racial group in South Africa in order to understand the meaning of identity through the use of a sub-culture and the influence of the media on this particular racial group. I conducted interviews with individuals who, by societal standards and historical approaches, would fall under the classification of this particular racial group. I have used the works and research of other authors who have dealt with the particular racial group, the sub-culture and media in order to come to, what I hope will be, concluding statements about an individual’s identity within society.
In a country like South Africa, identity is a complex issue because of the historical evidence of colonialism and the oppressed governmental system of apartheid during the twentieth century. The apartheid government defined individuals according to their skin tone and not according to culture, religion, class or national identity. People were defined as either black, white, coloured or Indian. This did not give much leeway for the expansion of different cultures within these racial contexts. For example, black South Africans can be further divided into cultural groups through language, i.e. Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi etc. The same can be said about religion as in the coloured racial group, as an example, there are Christians as well as Muslims. National identity can be extended further than just South African as there are individuals who have a historical heritage of being of Irish, Scottish or Malay descent. These concepts began being dealt with when South Africa became a democracy in 1994, allowing research to be done into an individual’s identity as a person.
Today, the concept of identity is of extensive research based upon an individual’s historical heritage as well as their personal preferences. The idea of personal preferences interlinks with the establishment of sub-culture. Sub-cultures have existed for years but have just not been named, particularly within South African borders. They relate to an individual’s interest in a particular lifestyle such as a Gothic or Hip-Hop lifestyle. Most sub-cultures draw influence from forms of media that allow an individual to express their individuality within their society. The concept of sub-cultures, however, has become a dominating factor in most societies, as well as communities, because of its popularity status amongst the youth of South Africa and other countries around the world. The media portray that it is ‘cool’ to be different from other individuals and therefore, present, what they term, ‘alternative’ lifestyles. The question to ask is: how ‘alternative’ are these lifestyles if they are being followed by a certain amount of individuals around the world?
Sub-cultures relate to non-conformity. They design their own set of rules despite the fact that most of them claim that they are against the rules and regulations of the societies in which they exist. This means that there is still a certain structure that comes along with a sub-culture as well. Individuals who enter into sub-cultures usually fall into the basic standards of the sub-culture. For example, an individual who decides to be Goth will wear black clothing and listen to a certain genre of music in order to be validated by the Gothic sub-culture. Sub-cultures view these basic standards as stereotypes of the sub-culture as these standards become a ‘norm’ for individuals who are part of the sub-culture. In the same context, however, an individual who has differing views in a sub-culture is seen as an outcast of that sub-culture as they do not conform to the non-conformity of the sub-culture. This results in the individual being a non-conformist of the sub-culture’s non-conformity coming to the conclusion that even within sub-cultures there is no concept of individuality for an individual as they do not identify completely with the views and expressions of the sub-culture of which they form part of. This leads onto the next question: Is there a true reflection of an individual’s self-identification within society?
In order to understand this, I have researched a particular racial group in South Africa in order to understand the meaning of identity through the use of a sub-culture and the influence of the media on this particular racial group. I conducted interviews with individuals who, by societal standards and historical approaches, would fall under the classification of this particular racial group. I have used the works and research of other authors who have dealt with the particular racial group, the sub-culture and media in order to come to, what I hope will be, concluding statements about an individual’s identity within society.
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