Wonders and miracles: a study of how Mockumentaries interrogate sociopolitical issues in South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the extent to which mockumentaries are able to interrogate the socio-political issue of how of the public are being taken advantage of by powerful public figures, such as pastors and politicians. For this research I will be focusing on the mockumentary devices of stereotyping and alienation. I will be looking at these two devices as a means of interrogating the social political issue of how a corrupt ‘pastor’ and fraudulent ‘politician’ abuse the people they serve. The research will use Wonder Boy for President (2016) to illustrate the success and limitations of mockumentary to interrogate the socio-political issue of how people are being abused by political leaders. Following the findings from the case study, this research will, create its own mockumentary that is focused on the thematic concern of how people placed in authority in particular pastor abuse their powers and negate the aspirations of the society they purport to represent. My film will examine how fraudsters use Christianity as a means to exploit people and enrich themselves. Therefore, in investigating how mockumentaries as a film form, are able to deal with this thematic concern through the use of Wonder Boy for President (2016) and creating my own mockumentary as a case study, I will be able to analyze the effectiveness of mockumentaries in interrogating the social political issue.