Hi guys,
It’s been a year since the first COVID case was reported in South Africa and many people have said that they can’t believe its’ been a year. But honestly, for me, its felt longer. I can’t believe that a year ago, I had a formal job, used to drive myself all the way to Town every day, that I woke up before 6 am, that I didn’t take afternoon naps. It feels like a lifetime ago.
Like most of the country, this week I have been sucked into and horrified by Love Island SA. The show began on Sunday and was a MESS. For those of you who don’t know it (1) had a big diversity problem - for a show that is set in a country that is 80% black, 6 of the original 10 were white, 2 were coloured and 2 black. Also, everyone coupled up in their race groups, it was embarrassing. (2) The quality of the show was terrible, there were scenes with no sound. The editing was clunky and incoherent. But eventually, M-Net opened up about their mistakes and the episodes have been getting consistently better.
^ the cast of Love Island SA
But I’m not going to lie I’m still watching because I’m curious. I want to know how people are going to date within the racial lines. It will be interesting to see if South Africa is really as progressive as people think it is.
If you want to hear me and some other super fans chatting about Love Island SA we will be releasing mini-episodes of the podcast every Saturday where we will be recapping and reviewing the week’s worth of episodes. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts or check out our social media accounts for links. You can find the first episode here.
the royal family is in its’ flop era
I’ve always said that as much as I might like a celebrity I will never stan them. Because the minute you start to stan a real person it sets you up to either blindly support them despite their facts or to be hella disappointed. But saying that I honestly believe that Meghan Markle is a good person, and the fact that she has had to endure so much vitriol and hate has made me support her more.
I’m very excited to watch her and Harry’s interview with Oprah (which will be broadcast on M-Net (DStv 101) at 19:30 on Monday, 8 March. I’m ready for her to actually have her say. I know the royal family are trying everything short of throwing Camilla in front of a car to make sure that the interview does not get broadcasted. But they were smart, and their deal was with a US broadcaster (CBS) and CBS doesn’t care about the Royal Family’s feelings, all they care about is money and ratings. And this interview will give them both.
So one of the Royal Family’s dodgy tricks has been bringing out this ‘bullying in the workplace’ narrative. Now, I’m not going to invalidate someone else’s lived experience but the timing of this is fishy AF. Two-year-old claims, and all of a sudden these palace staff is speaking out. Also, according to Deuxmoi, there’s a lot more to the story. But the palace’s stance that they are going to ‘investigate’ these claims are even more sinister. And it has caused many of Meghan’s friends who are gatvol to just talk out against this circus.
I can’t embed Patrick J Adams’ whole thread in here because it would be unprofessional, but I implore you to read the whole thing. I, too, am gatvol.
golden globes and the lack of diversity
I feel like I am done talking about the Golden Globes nonsense but I thought I would explain a little more about why we say GG are nonsense and the new controversy. And then I’ll do a little note about which winners I liked.
So the Golden Globes are awards given out each year by the Hollywood Foreign Press. Who are the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)? Well it is a group of about 90 foreign journalists (in comparison the Oscars voting body is around 10 000 people) who live in Los Angeles and are basically correspondents for international publications. There is apparently a long list of criteria to belong to this little group, which makes it difficult to join and they are not transparent about who is in this group. And it’s very easy to sway and bribe them (for example, they were sent on a very expensive junket to Paris by the Emily in Paris production team). We say that the awards don’t affect the Oscars as much as the Screen Actors Guild and others because the voters don’t overlap, they barely even know each other. It only affects if the Oscar voters are looking at some votes to copy and then checking who has won awards at other award shows.
The latest controversy was about the lack of diversity. It was first very obvious when the greatest show of probably the decade I May Destroy You was not nominated, which I still can’t believe. And then due to some investigative journalism from the LA Times and others, they discovered HFPA has not had a black member in over two decades. And that member might’ve come from Belize or something. I’m not even joking, do they not keep records? A Google Sheet? Also the members they do have are sketchy as hell, some haven’t written an article in years, others only produce content for the Golden Globes website. TBH I would love to not actually have to write anything and just judge who should be the winner of something.
I actually did my own investigation prior to this, because when I see international journalists I want to see what African journalists are being represented. I knew that Margaret Gardiner (an apartheid Miss Universe turned TV Plus reporter) joined the HFPA because there was a lot of fanfare when she was accepted like 10 years ago. But I don’t remember hearing anything since. I found a list by Vulture in 2015 which investigated the members and saw that the only Africans were like a handful of Egyptians and Margaret Gardiner. A white South African woman.
So who do the HFPA represent? A bunch of Europeans and maybe a few Asian people? They did address their lack of diversity at the ceremony on Sunday, which makes people think they will start to relook at black journalists who they previously rejected. This is starting to sound like the Love Island SA producers’ plan. They released a statement last night that Times Up! and other organisations are saying is ‘too little, too late.’
So the event did take place on Sunday, it was really awkward. I can’t watch two hours of Zoom calls, it’s triggering. What makes these award shows worth watching, is the cadence’s between the hosts and presenters, seeing who is sitting at whose table, the red carpet, now it just feels awks. I did watch it though because it came on after Love Island, and I think Amy Poehler and Tina Fey did a great job of hosting despite being in two different cities.
Wins I’m glad about:
I am so happy that Nomadland took best drama film and best director because I think it is one of the best films of the year, the other best film is Minari which won Best Foreign Language Film. And if I had to vote in these award shows these two would be my top 2.
My man Sacha Baron Cohen deserves for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. He truly pushed the boundary and delivered not only a shocking film but a coherent one with a good message.
I haven’t seen Judas and the Black Messiah yet but my man Daniel Kaluuya ain’t ever dropped the ball so I have no doubt he was excellent in here.
I will follow Rosamund Pike into hell, so I just loved her in a red poufy dress giving a speech.
Yay, for Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor winning for The Crown both were excellent in their roles. I wasn’t as much of a fan of Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher but Gillian Anderson is lovely regardless. But I do wish Annie Murphy had won for Schitt’s Creek.
Talking about Schitt’s Creek, I’m happy it won Best Comedy and Best Actress for Catherine O’Hara but Catherine’s speech was wacky AF
My queen Anya Taylor Joy looked STUNNING in her green dress as she won for Best Actress for The Queen’s Gambit
Chadwick Boseman won the award for Best Actor for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and his wife Taylor Simone Ledward accepted on his behalf and gave a beautiful and heartbreaking speech.
recs
Series: Ginny and Georgia - This series about a mom and a teenage daughter hooked me left right and centre. I spent 10 hours watching this and afterwards I couldn’t stop thinking about the plot points, what’s going to happen next and the actual love of my life, Joe. You can read my review for Channel24 here and you can watch it on Netflix.
Documentary: Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution - This documentary tells the story of a camp for people with disabilities in the US in the 50s - 70s and how the former campers changed legislation and living conditions for people with disabilities around the country. It was so enlightening to learn about a subject and a movement that I had no idea about, also I cried buckets, it was beautiful. You can watch it on Netflix here.
Comedy: Neal Brennan: 3 Mics - This was a random Netflix algorithm choice. I was like, let me see if Netflix is right in choosing comedy for me. And I’m shocked to say, that they were. I had never heard of Neal Brennan before. He is the co-creator of the Chappelle Show, and this special is a mixture between stand-up, monologuing and one-liners. Some sections work better than others, the monologuing is excellent (he talks about his relationship with his father, his depression, how he handles fame and dating), the stand-up is really good, but the one-liners seemed to fall flat for me. You can watch it on Netflix.
Film: Wind River - Another The Movie Club Club choice (I’m trying to make my way through the ones I haven’t seen). This is a neo-Western murder mystery film based on a Native American Reservation, and it has Elizabeth Olsen as a FBI agent and Jeremy Renner as a tracker trying to solve the mystery of a death of a teenage girl. Elizabeth is amazing as ever, and this both intrigued and horrified me. You can watch it on Showmax.
Podcast: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - I’ve been a fan of Conan O’Brien since his late night show used to come on MSNBC on Fridays. I’ve always liked his cooky but sincere interview style, and his very absurdist humour. That being translated into podcast form is just a dream, his interviews with well-known figures are just as hilarious as his interactions with his assistant and his producer before and after the interviews. You can listen to his podcast here.
Article: Maps Maponyane’s Top 5 Local Getaways - This is just a shameless plug. I intereviewed South African entertainer Maps Maponyane for the launch of new digital mag, ASA Magazine about his top 5 places to travel to in South Africa. You can read it here.
what’s ign crushing on podcast
In our latest podcast episode we have decided to shake up the format of the show and feature two amazing guests. First, we have a pop-culture chat with filmmaker Stephen Phillipson about everything from the filmmaking process to Jurassic Park to The Queen’s Gambit and more.
We then interviewed actor, Lea Vivier from the new Showmax series DAM. You would know Lea from Wonderlus, Fynskrif and the new film The Day We Didn’t Meet. We spoke about the character, filming DAM and more.