my movie

identity crisis

What is identity? Is it the place a person is from, their skin colour or their religion? Is it the language they speak or the clothes they wear that? Are they born with an identity or is it acquired? The truth is that no one thing truly makes up an identity. Each person has their own identity and it cannot be stolen or removed. A person’s identity is developed and because no two people are exactly the same, each person has their own identity which comes from their ability to think freely and make rational choices. Identity is an ever-changing concept. We are all shaped by our histories and the contexts in which we live. We treasure our identity; but each of us is also unique, with a unique perspective on the world. Each of us has the capacity to decide for ourselves what we believe and what we value.

As a South African our identity is one which has changed through imperialism and it is one that has changed through apartheid and it is one which will continue changing in order for us as a people to move forward. This topic will invariably take you back to that day in 1994 at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first democratically elected President, when he stated that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. Our need to belong is real and important. South Africans are, increasingly, choosing to value each other by what can only be described as the content of our characters, not the colour of our skins. We are choosing to come together on a platform of shared values – integrity, fairness, service, tolerance, the quest for excellence. All of these override the things that separate us to us all. I believe that most people in South Africa are trying hard to work and live in harmony with one another and move on from the injustice of Apartheid. From the ruins of a racially polarised order, we have built a nation driven by a strong commitment to the values of justice and equality. We recall the wise words of our icon, Oliver Reginald Tambo who said:

(2)“It is our responsibility to break down barriers of division and create a country where there will be neither whites nor blacks, just South Africans, free and united in diversity.”
This powerful vision can be achieved, in line with the preamble of our Constitution which states clearly that: “South Africa belongs to all those who live in it.”

South Africa is seen by many as a land of opportunity and new beginnings. I consider myself a South African and indeed an African because I was born and raised here. it is important for all those who live in south Africa to respect each other. We must stop labelling each other by ethnicity. We need to demonstrate tolerance of diversity and culture. Although we come from opposing ideological and cultural backgrounds, there is a need for continued dialogue on the future of South-Africa and its people. So as long as we continue with the dialogue that we have already begun, our future is then in our hands. Isn’t it time that we normalize and treat each other equally? Our role remains solidly as that of creating unity and harmony amongst the people of the country, and ensures that we all collectively combat the injustices and inequalities created by colonialism and Apartheid.

media tribunal

From the various interviews that we conducted we were able to get a much more substantiate view of this bill they want to implement, the media tribunal proposal. The media professors that we interviewed felt strong about this bill; they were strongly opinionated when it came to expressing how they felt about the bill.

One of the media professors that we interviewed was Marc Caldwell, who was infuriated about this. He stated that, “South Africa is a load of sheep”, and as a democratic country we should be allowed free speech. He continued to say that South Africa is not necessarily going back to apartheid but it shows a lot of backwardness (follow the leader). He added that they were ‘idiots’, and that there is no impartiality.He also said that South Africa is implementing the Media Tribunal as it failed in other countries like China, China is moving away from the Bill as the country is more open to free speech. Dr. Carwell expressed clearly that he is totally against this bill as it will make South Africa backward. According to Dr. Caldwell Media Freedom is vital for a democratic country like South Africa since there are theoritical evidence that freedom importance is vital.


this was done by my group in uor internet studies tut.i thought everyone should know what my group thought about this recent controversy.

exams

hey guys.sorry I haven't posted anything in a while but everything is so hectic now.exams are coming up and everyone is all stressed out about it,including me.I think the most important thing I learned is that if you don't go to lectures there is little chance of doing well.sometimes everything gets to be a bit much and one of the best ways to de-stress,I've found is just to go jogging or reading a book.I hope everyone else isn't having as tough a time as I am on concentrating on studying.well good luck with the exams and stuff everyone.

student protest in pmb

today a small group of students in PMB held a peaceful protest against the protection of information bill.I think that before the bill is passed some aspects of it must be changed and/or removed.these peaceful protests will hopefully make government take notice of the views of students and hopefully take heed before it is too late.big-ups to the guys in pietermaritzburg for making their voices heard.

hi guys this is my blog.a little late in coming but better late than never right?with this i hope you can learn more about me.enjoy

today in class we watched a movie called 'goodnight and good luck'.interesting does not begin to cover it.my view is that the movie illustrates beautifully the power that television has with regard to politics.basically it's about a news programme that aims to buckle the positions of power some of the government officials seemingly abuse.what makes it more interesting and quite extraordinary is that the film is set I a time where such programmes were unheard of.needless to say it caused quite a stir.i really enjoyed this screening and i'm sure every one else in class did too.