ABSTRACT

In 2012, The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Education launched 90 Plein Street, an entertainment education (EE) television series whose mission was to offer education in democracy. The series followed in the footsteps of the highly successful EE predecessors like Yizo Yizo and Soul City which delivered education through highly compelling drama format based on raw South African social realism. While most of the seasons of this drama followed the SABC’s tried and tested approach to educational television, the last season, which was commissioned in the months preceding the 2017 ANC Elective Conference, bore very close resemblance to the political campaign themes of the faction associated with former President Jacob Zuma. Through the former president’s wife, the faction sought to create an alternative avenue for Zuma to continue access to state resources and maintain his influence. This article seeks to critically assess this state-funded drama to answer the question of whether and in what ways themes favourable to forces of “state capture” were encoded in the series. The article seeks to explore the fine line between educational television and political interest by paying attention to discursive and social practices that form the important context within which the drama was produced and broadcast.

摘要

2012 年，南非广播公司 (SABC) 教育推出了90 Plein Street，这是一部娱乐教育 (EE) 电视连续剧，其使命是提供民主教育。该系列紧随伊佐伊佐和灵魂之城等非常成功的EE前辈的脚步它通过基于南非原始社会现实主义的极具吸引力的戏剧形式提供教育。虽然这部剧的大部分剧季都遵循 SABC 久经考验的教育电视方法，但在 2017 年非国大选举会议前几个月委托制作的最后一季与该派系的政治竞选主题非常相似。前总统雅各布祖马。通过前总统的妻子，该派系试图为祖马创造一个替代途径，以继续获得国家资源并保持他的影响力。本文试图批判性地评估这部由国家资助的戏剧，以回答有利于“国家俘获”力量的主题是否以及以何种方式编码在该系列中的问题。