Browsing by Author "Onuh, Janet Atinuke."

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Changes and continuities? Investigating the representations and readings of female characters in South African soap operas Uzalo and Scandal!
(2024) Onuh, Janet Atinuke.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
This study explores the construction and readings of female characters concerning their gender roles within localised South African soap operas Uzalo and Scandal! Concerning the issue of female representation, it is not just crucial to have a significant presence of women in television, it is equally important that these characters represent women fairly. This is particularly important within a country like South Africa, where gender inequality is a problem and gender-based violence is declared a second pandemic as femicide remains is prevalent. Since characterisation is one of the most important elements in any soap opera, this study investigates how female characters are represented. It explores the changes and continuities in how female characters are intentionally constructed in South African soap operas and if these representations support or subvert previous representations and dominant discourses in society. It is theoretically framed within feminist media theory, with a particular emphasis on intersectionality and the active audience theory guided by the circuit of culture model. Located within the interpretive paradigm, its qualitative methodology ascertains the perceptions of individual viewers (University of KwaZulu-Natal students) and Uzalo and Scandal! production staff. The data, gathered via interviews and focus group discussions, were organised through reflexive thematic analysis. The study found that the representation of mistress, mother, and matriarch are some of the roles still prominent in soap opera depictions. However, a shift exists in that conventional characters such as the villainess and matriarch are still central but are represented differently, based on the South African context, particularly that of the township locale. Female characters are also included in the storylines, such as CEOs, businesswomen, and other prominent roles often associated with male characters and public domains. Contemporary and traditional-styled characters are aspirational depending on the preference of lifestyle values held by the viewer of the soap operas. Soap opera has the potential to educate audience members about socio-economic, socio-political, and other developmental issues that will enhance social change. The study contributed new knowledge to understanding the construction of female representations and the possible subversions these texts offer to normative societal representations. It is unique in that it considers both a production and viewer perspective, which is a gap within South African scholarship that typically includes one of these perspectives. Through this study, an analytical matrix combining the circuit of culture and intersectionality has been developed that could be used for further research.
Representation of the matriarch in South African soap opera: a case study of Uzalo.
(2017) Onuh, Janet Atinuke.; Steenfeldt-Kristensen, Sarah Elizabeth.; Dyll, Lauren Eva.
The portrayal of strong female characters, often known as matriarchs, is one of the conventions of the soap opera genre. The genre is considered a ‘female genre’ based on the regular depiction of powerful, influential and independent-minded female figures. Limited study on the construction of this prominent character within the context of South African soap opera led to this study, using the relatively new soap opera, Uzalo: Blood is forever as a case study. The study aimed to explore how the two matriarchal figures in the soap were represented by the producers and the reasons motivating this portrayal. A qualitative research methodology was adopted and data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with selected production team and cast members of Uzalo, and a basic textual analysis of episode 4, season 2. Interpretation of this data was achieved through the mobilization of genre and narrative theory. The study found that the two matriarchs were constructed within the binary oppositions of crime-Christian values, tradition-modern, religion-secular and good-bad. However, their portrayal is more complicated than a straightforward binary model, showing the complexity of the characters in their roles as mothers, wives, business-woman/church leader and de-facto heads of their homes. Representations of the characters conformed to both international and local conventions of matriarchal depiction but were subverted due to their construction within the South African KwaMashu township context that is defined by its Zulu culture. The decisions and actions of two Uzalo’s matriarchs depict their similarity to both international and local matriarchal soaps, however, their construction as Black African matriarchs distinguishes them from international matriarchs, and their setting within township reveals their uniqueness from local South African soap operas. Though the representation was aimed at representing strong independent women, the construction of the matriarchs was influenced by a patriarchal ideology.