Opinion
LitNet contributors voice their opinions about current affairs.
RQTN: Simplicity with French flair
2013-11-12 “You probably haven’t heard of RQTN. The name is far from ubiquitous in South African musical circles. However, this regional anonymity is not due to a lack of talent. Far from it. It’s a matter of proximity. The one-man musical project hails from France, some 9 000 km away.”
South Africans should celebrate Halloween
2013-10-28 "After speaking to a few friends and consulting a religious group, it became clear to me that many people think that Halloween is evil."
African languages in the print media
2013-10-23 "The dominant view is that African languages have no future as languages of print. For purposes of this talk the designation 'African language' excludes Afrikaans, and the word 'print' is used inclusively to refer to both paper and digital print."
Rethinking Thinking: Modernity’s “Other” and the transformation of the University
2013-10-10 "This book is about the need for the transformation of higher education in South Africa. It problematises thinking about universities, and thinking in universities."
A response to Jonathan Jansen’s Percy Baneshik Memorial Lecture to The English Academy of South Africa
2013-10-08 "One cannot, therefore, have a sustained democracy operating in a language in which most people are functionally illiterate. President Zuma is probably the only post-democratic president to have realised that (and to some extent former President Mandela), often speaking in isiNguni (collectively understood by approximately 45% of the population)."
Why English should be the language of South African universities
2013-10-08Jonathan Jansen, Percy Baneshik Memorial Lecture of 2013: "What English does is level the playing fields in the historically Afrikaans universities for common engagement."
Some thoughts on Jonathan Jansen's call for English
2013-10-07 Tessa Dowling, Adjunct Professor of African Languages in the School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Cape Town, responds to Jonathan Jansen's Percy Maneshik Memorial lecture.
In the flesh
2013-10-02 "Back by popular demand, the Body Worlds exhibition returned to South Africa. Kim Harrisberg went to find out why humans can’t get enough of seeing themselves skinned."
Being coloured, a complexity in itself
2013-10-01 "Maybe the problem is not race, but the embracing of one’s roots. Like black South Africans are Xhosa or Zulu, etc, coloured people need to know which “tribe” they come from and celebrate it and live with the South African heritage in all its complexities."
Add hope: Socially conscious advertising
2013-09-27 Two major South African award ceremonies in the advertising industry took place recently: the Pendoring awards on the 20th and the Loeries on the 21st of September 2013. Humour and social commentary on the South African situation seemed to be common themes. After attending the Pendoring awards, Naomi Meyer noted with interest the new marketing campaign of Kentucky Fried Chicken by Ogilvy Johannesburg.
Heritage Day interview: Mamelodi for a Month
2013-09-23 National Braai Day? Nope. A photo taken in Mamelodi by a privileged white South African family (who is under public scrutiny after moving into a squatter camp for a month in an attempt to see how the other half lives).
No more blurred lines – putting misogyny on parole
2013-09-23 "'Suggestive', 'misogynistic' and 'demeaning' are three words which came to mind while I was watching the music video for Robin Thicke’s song 'Blurred Lines'."
Popping the Potchefstroom bubble
2013-08-27 "Next time you’re driving into Potchefstroom, you may hear a plop sound. Don’t worry, none of your tyres has burst. You’re just entering the Puk (Potchefstroom University) bubble. You’re perfectly safe from the outside world. In fact, there is no need to stress too much about anything that extends further than the Mooi River from now on."
About Beauty: A love letter
2013-08-12 "This is a love letter to some of the most remarkable full stops in the world, and to their friends. It could also have been an essay about beauty, but I’d rather treat it as the former."
lKh? da !hoa 2013: Press release
2013-08-06 "By means of the first Namibian Word Festival, the lKh? da !hoa, I want the public to acknowledge and give hope to the people in our country who create art even if they are poor and not always in a position to have the luxury of studying."
The spokespeople that won’t speak
2013-08-05 Why is the beautiful but earwormish “Adiemus” one of the theme tunes to a Johannesburg journalist’s life? It is provincial government’s ”hold” tone.
St James Church shooting: Twenty years on
2013-07-25 On 25 July 1993 a shooting was carried out at the St James Church in Cape Town. Twenty years on, Naomi Meyer speaks to the rector, Mervyn Eloff.
A history of violence – and bullfighting
2013-06-28 "South African writer John M Coetzee’s public appeal to Spain’s Cultural Committee contemplating the decision of whether or not to legally protect bullfighting as a 'cultural pastime' essentially pleads with the country’s lawmakers ... to be 'nicer' to unaware and unfortunate bulls."
World Press Freedom Day 2013
2013-05-03 Pieter Dirk-Uys launched a political "movement" on World Press Freedom Day 2013 to unite those seeking an alternative democracy in the country. He addressed journalists at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town on 3 May 2013. Read the full text of his speech.
Our needs differ. What to do? (Advice from a life coach)
2013-02-11"If you are the partner who pretends to be asleep to avoid your partner’s sexual advances, then – out of your love for and commitment to your mate – please seek the help you need."