Fear, fluency and control
“I was thinking all the time that shall I put a knife under my pillow? The time was of fear, but some people can overcome fear and some people can fight.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Apparently fear is expected of women.” – Caroline Paul
When author and former firefighter Caroline Paul finds herself constantly confronted with questions about whether her line of work frightens her, she is never confused about the difference between the way she is confronted with these questions versus the very different way her colleagues, who are men, are asked questions about their work. In this chapter, I endorse her statement that “fear is expected of women”, recognising this as a sentiment that will be familiar to women across the world. Beyond agreement, however, I am interested in how this expectation – which is a test of fluency on the Female Fear Factory – is set up. To do so, it is important to pause and reflect on fluency, its meanings, its pro
Fear, fluency and control: an excerpt from Pumla Dineo Gqola s Female Fear Factory news24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The African romantic comedy genre is part of a trend in the cinema of the global South, projecting images of the “global city”. In South Africa, most black romcoms are set in Johannesburg and they too portray it as a glamorous setting for affluent lifestyles and aspirations. But in their storylines and images the films also remind audiences of the city’s real social conflicts and socioeconomic inequalities. They are not simply a celebration of consumerist lifestyles.
In today’s episode of Pasha, Pier Paolo Frassinelli, a professor in communication and media studies at the University of Johannesburg, talks about the rise of the black romantic comedy in South Africa and how it dovetails with the advent of streaming services like Netflix and Showmax.