In this week’s episode of The Conversation Weekly, as new scientific guidelines are released on embryo research and the use of stem cells, we talk to experts about what’s changed – including a recommendation to relax the 14-day time limit for human embryo research. And we hear about a wave of romantic comedy films emerging from South Africa that are re-imagining the city of Johannesburg.
It’s been five years since the last set of guidelines from the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) were published. Since then, scientists have made significant developments in stem cell and embryo research – including the creation of human embryo models and the first human-monkey embryos.
Romcom revolution: Black romantic comedies steal the sh dailymaverick.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymaverick.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
When Netflix went live in South Africa
, the streaming platform became a game changer for the country s film and television industry.
During this period, the black romantic comedy genre gained popularity in South Africa.
Set in Johannesburg’s upper-class cityscapes, the films portray affluent, heterosexual black characters falling in love with each other.
Netflix went live in South Africa on 6 January 2016. The arrival of the subscription-based content streaming service was a game changer for the country’s film and television industry, as it had been for other countries.
At about the same time – in 2015 and 2016 – there was another turning point for South Africa’s film industry: the arrival of a new, commercially successful genre, the black romantic comedy.
Netflix went live in South Africa on 6 January 2016. The arrival of the subscription-based content streaming service was a game changer for the country’s film and television industry, as it had been for other countries.
At about the same time – in 2015 and 2016 – there was another turning point for South Africa’s film industry: the arrival of a new, commercially successful genre, the black romantic comedy.
For the first time, the country’s black filmmakers were able to make an impact at the box office – and go on to licence their films to streaming platforms.
In South Africa, Netflix signalled the turn to streaming for watching films and television series. Despite a recent slowing of subscriber growth, Netflix has over 200 million paid subscribers worldwide. These numbers – and the way streaming services are reshaping content production, distribution and consumption – represent the most radical change in the film industry in recent years.