Rebuilding the South African black family in Khumbul'ekhaya: a textual and reception study
Date
2014-01-24
Authors
Matlala, Mabogoshi Sylvia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study critically investigates whether or not, and how, the show called Khumbul’ekhaya
(which is aired on SABC 1 at 9pm on Wednesdays at the time of writing) could be seen as a
nation-building programme. This is in line with its concept of uniting estranged families and
belief that through healing and building the family, the nation is in turn built up and united.
This is both a textual and reception analysis study. It firstly looks at how the show makes a
link between concepts of the family and nation. It then further engages with the SABC’s
mandate, to explore the extent to which the show meets and fulfils the requirements of being
a nation-building programme. It also explores how far the audiences subscribe (if they do) to
the ideas and messages encoded by both the show and its producers of family and nation.
This is done through randomly selecting and analysing four episodes of the show using
critical discourse analysis, semiotic analysis, and also interviewing the audience (young
women) about their views of the show.
Therefore, through undertaking both a textual and reception analysis study regarding the
concept of nation-building, this study contributes extensively to the field of media studies, as
most studies of nation-building focus on the text alone.
The study found that the show could be seen to be a nation-building programme in principle,
from the SABC mandate’s perspective. However, upon further study, it is revealed that it
presents contradictory and questionable images, which in the long term leads to a mixed
reaction from the audience about the show’s status as a nation-building programme.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Media Studies, 2013