Skip to main content

WHY WE LOVE AND HATE BONANG




As fans of pop culture in South Africa, we are quite a fickle bunch. Our entertainment industry is filled with a lot of talented individuals, mostly television presenters. I think we are one of the few countries where television presenters have reached monumental levels of fame that can be equated with the level of fame that American celebrities have acquired. There is one celebrity though,whose star shines above the other stars of the South African entertainment industry. This star is Bonang Matheba and it can be stated that she is one of the most adored and hated celebrities in South Africa.


Bonang Matheba has reached a level of fame that a handful of celebrities have managed to achieve. Nonhle Thema was close to reaching this level but 'twittergate' put the brakes on that rise to greatness. She is a renowned and celebrated television presenter, has an international contract with cosmetics giant Revlon, has a popular reality show and is adored by her 2.98 million followers.

These are very impressive strides but it seems like everytime her star rises we are quick to diminish it instead of celebrating her and her accomplishments. This can be stated as the same attitude that people have towards one of the greatest entertainers of our time, Beyonce. What is it about a succesfull, ambitious and driven woman that makes us want to log on twitter and cuss her out or hype up songs that promote misogyny.



The answer would be that we don't want to see a powerful black woman making strides that have never been done by men before. This was the same case of Winnie-Madikizela Mandela whose contributions were just recently highlighted when she passed away. We as South Africans were quick to celebrate Trevor Noah when he was announced as the host of The Daily Show but we never celebrated When Bonang nabbed the Revlon contract. This needs to stop if we want to inspire young girls to look up to positive role models instead of girls, I mean grown-ass women, who make a career out of parading their thighs (Zodwa Wabantu). In order for more females to thrive in the local entertainment industry we must applaud the ones who are currently killing it and not throw random shade for relevance on social media.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Can a reality show thrive without the drama?

  The fabulous ladies of 'The Mommy Club: Sugar & Spice ' have proven you can have the sweetness and the sass. Image source: X (@NowInSa) It can be said that the ultimate ingredient to every reality show is drama but is The Mommy Club: Sugar and Spice proving that wrong? In a perfect world when asked ‘Why do you watch reality television shows’ we might be quick to say we watch those shows because of the insights into the different lives and cultures of the cast members and so forth but if we are honest, it is the ongoing drama and conflict that has us tuning in to every episode of that specific shows. The reality show that is changing it all These reality shows such as The Real Housewives  franchises, The Mommy Club franchise, Big Brother  etc. are what we call our guilty pleasures. There is a new debate of whether reality tv can educate without the mess of drama, which was brought forward by one of these shows, The Mommy Club: Sugar & Spice which is ...

The countdown until the crowning of a new king of Jozi

I must say Netflix did not disappoint with the viewing that they brought to us in December. They are the gift that keeps on giving with the new season of Kings of Jozi which will be streamed from 27 January.  I am looking forward to the season for the following reasons: I want to see how they fit in Connie Ferguson as a lead character outside of her being the Masire mermaid. The death of Shona Ferguson who portrayed Simon Masire will obviously be showcased on the show, I can't wait to see how they will blend it in the storyline The rise of Mo Masire as the new king of Jozi The set of new characters that were teased in  the trailer  of the new season which includes Thapelo Mokoena as a detective hellbent on bringing down the Masire empire. Here are some of the fabulous red carpet looks from the launch of the second season held this past weekend.

Roundup: ‘Blood Legacy’

The latest release from Gambit Productions ‘Blood Legacy’ has just rightfully earned its spot on the list of the productions that have set the bar amongst this year’s releases with its stellar cast and quality production aesthetic that has had South Africa buzzing with excitement. You know those goosebumps you feel after watching a trailer for an upcoming Netflix or Showmax release, that is what I felt after I watched the trailer for Blood Legacy for the first time. The show which is set in Durban lived up to the standards that were set by the trailer. A great cast is the key ingredient The first aspect of the show that grabs your attention when you watch the first episode is the amazing casting. The combination of the legendary, veteran and the up-and-coming actors that we are lucky to have here in South Africa can be found on the show.   The legendary would be the late Connie Chiume and Sello Maake Ka-Ncube, the veterans would be Xolile Tshabalala, Pallance Dladla, Enhle...