Browsing by Author "Moodley, Subeshini."

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Africa in travel journalism : a postcolonial comparative study of the representation of Africa in the travel magazines Getaway, Africa geographic and Travel Africa.
(2010) Dickinson, Ian.; Moodley, Subeshini.
My research examines how Africa is represented within the meaning-making arena of travel journalism specifically focusing on the travel publications Travel Africa, Getaway and Africa Geographic. The principal focus for many postcolonial theorists is the (mis)representation of “less-developed”, “third-world” countries, often focusing on literature in the creation and maintenance of structures of discursive oppression. I have used the work of postcolonial theorists Said (1978), Spurr (1993) and Pratt (1992) to form the theoretical foundation of my analytical framework. A discourse analysis of the magazines for the years 2006 and 2007 reveal Africa to be a discursively constructed cultural package. Touristic understandings of what constitutes ‘real’ African experiences are underpinned and portrayed through eloquent and articulate descriptions or imagery which interpellates the prospective Western traveler. To borrow Spurr’s (1992) terminology Africa is portrayed as ‘absence’ metaphorically or through the rhetorical strategy of negation in an attempt to create a void which can only be filled through intervention by ‘the civilized’. However, in addition to this, the magazines offer active systematic proposals to foster change and appeal to audiences to trans-code representations, a notion that postcolonial theorist Elfriede Fürsich (2002) has discussed in studies focusing on television travel journalism. I am arguing that in some instances the travel journalists in these magazines challenge conventional, traditional journalistic practices in order to create more balanced representations of the African continent. It is these forms of writing that can harness social change and represent African people, places and politics in alternative depictions. These strategies may include various narrative or linguistic techniques such as an altering of the conventional, commercial travel discourse, or an increased and liberated feedback loop between the publication and its readers.
The construction and negotiation of the notion of the identity in a print sector of the media : a case study of the Sunday Tribune Herald.
(2005) Maharaj, Thrusha.; Garside, Damian John.; Moodley, Subeshini.
In post apartheid South Africa, the country's citizens have undergone much change in terms of their identity. No longer are people bound by the disenfranchisement and the constraints that the erstwhile apartheid regime dictated, which placed people in distinct categories of identity. In this regard, South African citizens can now freely explore and exhibit their identities without having to act within the confines of 'specific' identities, which were once imposed upon them. Yet, despite this freedom some people within these groups remain committed to maintaining their cultural identity through certain mediums and practises. The Indian population of South Africa is one such group and the Sunday Tribune Herald is one such newspaper which caters for the Indian South African in this regard. This study examines how a print medium, that is, the Sunday Tribune Herald attempts to validate their target audience's notion of identity. Thus, the main focus of this research project is to explore, through the method of interviews, and a semiotic reading of the text, how the Sunday Tribune Herald and therefore those who are responsible for producing this newspaper, namely, staff members', play a role in constructing and negotiating the notion of identity. The project analyses what the Sunday Tribune Herald staff members' perception of the notion of identity is, and how, in their capacity as editors and journalists, they are able to provide a medium for a particular community, which is representative of, and addresses, the community's needs in terms oftheir identity.
An investigation into the presentation of diverse sources in television news broadcasts : an analysis of Lesotho Television (LTV) news bulletins.
(2005) Motjamela, Lineo.; Tomaselli, Keyan Gray.; Moodley, Subeshini.
The aim of the study is to investigate the presentation of diverse sources of news in Lesotho Television (LTV) news bulletins. The sources of news in this case study are divided into two categories namely the 'knowns' (prominent people in society who occupy well-known positions) and the 'unknowns' (average citizens). The study measured the frequency with which the 'unknowns' appear as sources of news and/or as protagonists of news stories as well as subjects. The diversity of opinion was measured in terms of age and gender. The study is informed by public service broadcasting (PSB), news and source theories. The public service broadcasting theory highlights the hypothesis that LTV as a nation-builder has failed to fulfill its obligation of representing all the members of the society equitably. News theories highlight the notion that news selection favours the dominant or known sources and that newsworthiness is determined according to the broadcasting organisational demands. This study thus demonstrates that news stories at LTV are selected in terms of the economic, social and political requirements of the station. The findings of this research confirmed the assumption that news sources are the prominent members of the society while the ordinary or average people are mostly featured in news bulletins as subjects. The time and space allocated to them is not equal. More time is allocated to sound bites on 'knowns'. Although the station assumes the responsibility of a public service broadcaster by following its tenets of informing, educating and entertaining as well as being a nation-builder, this study has shown that it is a state broadcaster. The station serves the elite most of whom are middle-aged men from the government organisations, reporting on government policies. The study also confirmed that LTV editors and reporters are not as editorially independent as claimed in some writings. There is a tradition of self-censorship among journalists at LTV, as they are treated as public servants and are reminded that they serve the government and cannot 'bite the hand that feeds them'. As a result some information is withheld from the public and journalists rarely expose the malpractices of the government. This has resulted in limited dissenting or alternative views from the general public.
Narrative possibilities in a postcolonial context : exploring self-reflexive film as a critical articulation of the stories of South African Hindu women.
Moodley, Subeshini.; Van der Hoven, Anton.
Abstract available in pdf file.
Postcolonial feminisms speaking through an 'accented' cinema : the construction of Indian women in the films of Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta.
(2004) Moodley, Subeshini.; Loots, Lliane Jennifer.
This thesis proposes that the merging of the theories of ‘accented’ cinema and postcolonial feminisms allows for the establishment of a theoretical framework for the analysis of (what will be argued for) an emerging postcolonial feminist film practice. In An Accented Cinema: Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking (2001), Hamid Naficy argues that even though the experiences of diaspora and exile differ from one person to the next, films produced by diasporic filmmakers exhibit similarities at various levels. These similarities, he says, arise as a result of a tension between a very distinct connection to the native country and the need to conform to the host society in which these filmmakers now live. Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta are women filmmakers of the Indian diaspora whose films depict Indian women – in comparison with their popular cinematic construction - in unconventional and controversial ways. These characters, at some crucial point in the films, transgress their oppressive nationalist representation through the reclaiming of their bodies and sexual identities. This similarity of construction in Nair and Mehta’s female protagonists, as a result, facilitates a filtering of postcolonial feminisms throughout the narrative of their films. Even though the postcolonial feminist writings of Chandra Talpade Mohanty (1991, 1994, 1997) and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (1990, 1994, 1996, 1999) do not relate directly to the study of film or cinematic practices, their works, specifically those regarding the construction, maintenance and perpetuation of nation and nationalism in postcolonial narratives, serve as a specifically gender-focused appropriation of Naficy’s theories. Mohanty and Spivak’s arguments surrounding the use of text and, particularly, narrative as tools for the representation and empowerment of Third world women, women of colour and subaltern women, work toward illustrating how postcolonial feminisms articulate through a specific moment of ‘accented’ filmmaking: that of women filmmakers of the Indian diaspora.
The role of bloggers in the construction of Zimbabwean national identities : a case study of three Zimbabwean blogs during the 2008 presidential elections.
(2011) Ndhlovu, Nothando.; Moodley, Subeshini.
Blogging continues to get attention in the field of communication studies for reasons such as its differences with traditional media and its various effects in societies. The first part of this dissertation provides the reader with a background of the use of the Internet in Zimbabwe highlighting how it has offered individuals a platform to publish their own content, thus increasing the documentation of the 2008 Zimbabwean elections. This research analyses how national identity and the construction thereof emerges from online personal narratives. The research also investigates the discourses shaping the country‘s identities such as humanitarian, anti-Mugabe and democratic discourses that emerge from the blogs and how these blogs communicate events that occurred during the polls. This dissertation is primarily concerned with how citizens have arguably become recognized as sources of information and how Zimbabwe is perceived. Finally, the blogs are critically examined for how they create spaces of resistance. I argue that the blogs challenged and destabilized the older patterns of identity creation within Zimbabwe. Whereas national identity constructions have been largely a result of the majority or ruling class, the production of counter discourses in the blogs suggests that at an individual level, citizens use the Internet as a platform to express their dissent and do not automatically internalize these projected national identities.
Using the participatory mode of documentary filmmaking for knowledge exchange and empowerment: a case study of house-hold food security in the uMgungundlovu district of South Africa.
(2016) Makhanya, Mzwandile.; Moodley, Subeshini.
This study explores the usefulness of a participatory video approach in facilitating knowledge exchange and community empowerment. In this vein, participatory video is used as a methodological approach to conduct a participatory communication research project that seeks to enable positive communication between Willowfontein (a peri-urban1 community of South Africa) and numerous other stakeholders. Participatory video is being used to examine and address issues around food security/insecurity in this community. This participatory approach empowers the community with a rare opportunity to participate in a decision-making process and to communicate at a constructive level with persons such as governmental practitioners, and agricultural and academic experts. These key stakeholders are usually recognised in decision-making processes, unlike the people of these peri-urban communities. This community-based participatory research, through a series of workshops and focus group sessions, enabled the Willowfontein community to advise on the production of a documentary film that documents their experiences, focusing on food security and food gardening. This community experiences a severe lack of food security as a result of various factors. The community relies on household crop gardening in order to have food, since unemployment and the cost of food are very high. However, crop gardens are failing too, which means that there is a serious hunger problem. Lack of food access leads to lack of nutrition, which inevitably leads to daunting repercussions such as a high level of child malnutrition and mortality. In South Africa, there have been many interventions and projects from the government and other community out-reach organisations in an attempt to assist such communities with crop production. However, most of the projects are consistently unsuccessful. This research examined, through participatory video, the factors that contribute to failing crop gardens in this community. Findings reveal that, at the root of any community development cause, positive participation between different stakeholders, including the community, is vital. However, conventional strategies from community out-reach and government do not facilitate collaboration that encourages the contribution of community members. As a result, community development projects fail since they lack this most fundamental component of community development. This project argues that participatory video, as a process that works in collaboration with the community, offers an appropriate approach to explore any community development cause, including food security/insecurity. The documentary film, Freedom from Hunger, Hunger for Freedom, produced with the community therefore comprises 50% of this project submission and the dissertation that reflects on the participatory process comprises the other 50%.