Hungry for action

Yes, I am back.

It’s been bloody terrible etc etc but I read something this morning that perked me right up.

Apparently, the SABC is planning on slashing it’s budget for local content by half a billion rand next year. Apparently, this also means that some of the popular shows will end up in the rubbish bin. Obviously, this is quite a blow to the local TV industry.

While I do own a TV and pay my yearly TV license for the privelage of owning one (the fact that you need a TV license to buy a TV is a rant for another day), I don’t actually watch TV. You see, our TV is purely used for DVDs and video games. Mostly because DSTV replays everything a million times so it doesn’t seem worth the cost and well, the SABC and eTV don’t really have any shows that I like to watch, and when there is something, I have to endure 20 minutes of adverts in a 30 minute program. So all this being said, I’m not entirely sure what popular shows there are that could be cancelled. I’m sure the Boyf’s mother will let us know.

Considering what a blow this is to the local industry, Johannesburg based producer and director, Michael Lee, has been on a hunger strike as a form of protest. He is now entering his third week of eating absolutely nothing and only drinking water.

What a noble cause Michael.

I mean, if we look at the hunger strikes that have occurred in the past, yours has to be the most important of all:

Gandhi, despite being a racist asshole, has become the father of non-violent protests due to the hunger strikes he embarked on to protest British rule in India.

Bobby Sands, an Irish republican paramilitary prisoner, was the first of ten prisoners to die whilst striking to protest against the revocation by the British government of a prisoner-of-war-like status for paramilitary prisoners in Northern Ireland in 1981. (There was another movie released recently about his story by the way. It’s called ‘Hunger’. I must still watch it but it should be fascinating.)

In 2005, Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist being held prisoner since 2000, went on a hunger strike for 3 months for freedom, or something, I’m not too clear on these details.

Anyway, there are tons of reasons people have gone on hunger strikes in the past. Most of those that we know about have been for politcal reasons. Some have been for human rights. I guarentee you, none of them have been in support of local television content.

Now while I have acknowledged that I don’t watch TV, I will agree that it is tragic that the SABC has allegedly decided to cut their spending and damage our local industry. As our national broadcaster, they should be wholeheartedly behind the industry and supporting it.

This being said, I will still form the opinion that Mr. Lee is an absolute tit.

I read about his story on a little known website. I haven’t seen it anywhere else and god knows, people looked confused when I asked them if they had heard about it. Now, if I’m not mistaken, a hunger strike isn’t really effective if people don’t know about it.  You can’t evoke feelings of guilt if those you’re trying to evoke guilt in are blissfully unaware that you are turning up your nose at your beloved sushi.

Personally, I think a better move would have been to embark on the favourite form of protest in Africa. A march, some misspelled placards and some toyi-toying. Get those in the local industry together, organise a massive little walk down to the SABC offices and make a noise. Get your voice heard. Don’t whisper through the crack in your door that you aren’t eating for a little while.

There’s nothing like someone behaving like a git to get me back into the swing of things though, so, thank you for that.

In other news, like the Boyf said, I have a surprise coming tomorrow. I’m going to ask for a little participation and for you to spread the word around quicker than the mortality rate of H1N1 is climbing in this country. I’ll let you know

Related posts:

1. Press conferences and other things
2. One crazy day
3. Pigs can fly
4. So, a pirate sat at home downloading Yvonne Chaka Chaka…