The hidden truth about Crime in South Africa... and why films fail to reflect a scary reality

I'm writing about this today because of a couple of recent local series/films that have come out on Netflix Africa. For the sake of not appearing bias (or bitter) I'll not be mentioning them here (no free clout). Needless to say after being rejected by Distributors and other numerous funding Institutions, I will try my best to articulate my thoughts here.

Firstly I'd like to talk a bit about crime in SA and how it is handled by the powers that be. People in SA hate crime! This is not a black or white issue. All races, all age groups... hate crime. Okay so you would think that films/series highlighting this issue in SA would be encouraged and/or supported to spread awareness and/or hopefully shame those in power into taking serious action into changing the bad image South Africa has built for itself over the years. But this is not the case. Again, I'm not bitter about rejection because feedback is the only currency that matters. As filmmakers it is very important to know what the gatekeepers are looking for and what the audience is thinking. I know from my own personal experience with crime that it is a sensitive issue often swept under the carpet. All you have to do is search these accounts on Twitter @crimeairnetwork @ Bluehawktactic1 @StolencarRSA @PeeMoTraffic or watch private security firms like NoJack upload weekly videos on their Youtube channel here to know just how bad the Crime issue really is in SA. The second issue I want to touch on here are the powers that be, who by all accounts are supposed to honor the filmmaker creed "shine a light on sensitive issues that impact marginalised communities." And in this case people who are victims of crime and struggle to have their voices heard are the ones marginalised.

I'd like to explore the second issue by quoting a statement from feedback I recently received by a local distributor for a request for development "Local thrillers have not typically drawn wide audiences. The subject matter is also quite controversial with many cases of false invasions becoming a common narrative. May struggle to find an audience." Now typically I might take such feedback about thrillers success in the local market from a distribution company as positive feedback and shift my focus to Comedies or maybe Family friendly Soapies but it was the line about "false invasions" that really stuck with me. Now, in many cases in South Africa
home invasions are typically very very violent and often end deadly and many victims can only sit back and watch it drown in the flood of similar cases in the news. You would have to be ignorant or intentionally blind to say this is not an issue or a reality that most if not all people living in SA face today... and neither of those things are good. The synopsis, rewritten in their own words, ends with "... with the intention of using their trauma and paranoia for financial gain." Honestly this made me chuckle a little because I knew they would misunderstand what the story was really about but I'll get back to this. 

This table shows murders by race in SA

Now this is not to say every other race is exempt of some of the blame. The homicide rate for coloureds has almost always been higher than other race groups exceeding 60 murders per 100,000 since 1980.  FYI the villains in the script are coloured. After 1990 race was no longer officially recorded in the government death records. 

Just in case you're reading this and you're not from SA let me break it down for you, give you a little insight in how the South African suburban mind works. But first let me give you a little background on me and where I come from. I was born in Johannesburg, lived there all my life. Ennerdale is my hometown. A small coloured township in the deep south. Since matriculating I've stayed in suburbs in both the South and West rand my entire adul
t life and even worked in the North rand for a bit (the most affluent of all suburbs in Joburg). The suburbs of Joburg is an interesting place and where majority of all muddle to upper middle class Joburgers live. The suburbs is a contrast to the townships, including the mindset of the people who live there. When I recently moved to the city/CBD basically everyone I know turned and said "you live in the city!" "Is it safe", "are you crazy" basically every cynical and paranoid comment you can expect from a typical suburbanite living in Johannesburg. This is without its merits. People who are born in Joburg do NOT live in Johannesburg CBD. This is often seen as a place where poor migrants live. Do a Google image search of Johannesburg city and Sandton city or watch films depicting Johannesburg. Many film studios use the location as a substitute for a post apocalyptic world (like Dredd) or stereotypical African city (like Avengers), this too is not lost on us. We have the same fears. We know how this makes us look. I use this in my storytelling or else I would not have moved to the CBD. I did this because I wanted to be close to this paranoia, the danger, down on the streets close to the people, the same people who strike fear in the hearts of the middle class. The same people who avoid the city by taking the many highways that teem like blood vessels, deviating  from the grimy streets of Joburg as you make your way back to the safety of the private security protected, walled off, bubble of the suburbs and many estates that shelter the Johannesburg middle class from the criminals. Where my family and friends live. Where most Johannesburg based filmmakers come from. I know this world better than all of them. I live it, even to this day. They have all missed the mark on authentically depicting crime in Joburg from the perspective of the middle class, even in films like Tsotsi, Chappie and most recently Kings of Joburg. So why focus on the middle class? Well, simply put, they are paying customers. They are the majority of Netflix subscribers. They love the theater experience. So why not speak to them? Why not speak to their fears? Why not make films that they can relate to?

Back to the feedback from the distributor who shall not be named (no free clout). My goal with the script "The Pinch Code" is to shine a light on the real issues of crime in SA. Themes touched on in the script include; Racism, Mob Justice, Generational Segregation, White fragility, Societal fears, surrounding race (particularly white people as 'victims of crime'). I knew how this story would be received because this is not the first time I have received feedback on this script. The first ever feedback I received from a government organization for funding was something like "the story makes us look bad." Here is a quote from an Australian production company "The Pinch Code is a high concept and engaging piece. It is fast paced, and action packed while maintaining heart and audience investment. It explores racial and social turmoil within South African society." These two quotes are just as contrasting as the suburbs and Joburg city life. Lets get back to that quote about the protagonists (a white female and mixed race male) "using their trauma and paranoia for financial gain" and "false invasions," now that you know these two sides of Joburg, the privileged and the poor,  let me dive into the most controversial subject around the subject of crime in SA... Race. 

White VS Black. Ever since Apartheid ended the dynamic around race has obviously shifted from white people in power to black people in power. The latter of which makes up the majority. I myself am not black. I am designated with the racial classification of "coloured" which could really mean anything from San (depending on who you ask are not even considered indigenous), mix race or just simply "brown". Anyway this is a whole can of worms that I won't bore you with here but needless to say the issue of race in South Africa is complicated to say the least. But one thing is clear, racism was not solved when apartheid ended. If you ask white people, you might hear something along the lines of "Reverse Apartheid" Black VS White and as someone who is neither of those things, I can tell you that there is one obvious advantage in that, both groups have confided in me some very revealing troubling comments and beliefs about the other. I won't repeat it here but you can go onto either of those Twitter handles above and you can read the comments and see many of those themes repeated. People in SA don't shy away from saying it as it is. 

So what does this have to do with my struggle to get this film made? Well everything actually. The script is nuanced but ladened with controversial topics that make many South Africans very uncomfortable all to illuminate the truth and bath the shadows in blinding light. If you look at the types of films that are being green lit today that glorify crime and make criminals look "cool" we first have to understand why it works in other parts of the world particularly the West. Personally I feel that in the first world they don't have to think about crime the way we do in the third world. In Canada it is common to leave your front door unlocked. Crazy, I know. In America we often see houses without high walls and electric fence. Not unheard of but nonetheless crazy. The first world has evolved to a point where is it so safe, that fiction about mass murderers, psychopaths, criminals, gangsters and even serial killers are often applauded and in the case of the Aurora shootings, mimicked. People get tattoos of the Joker, Scarface, Pablo Escobar, etc the latter of which you will be hard pressed to find someone in Colombia with a poster of Escobar on their wall. People hate crime, in the first world but even more so in the rest of the world. I am not saying there is no crime in the West, there certainly is, but it is so safe in the West that bills reach the highest office of the government like "Defund the Police" that you would never ever see in the developing or third world. You'd never hear anyone even mention defunding the police in SA, that is unthinkable. In the civilised world they live vicariously through villains because they don't live in fear they way we do, they don't envy us but they certainly do love to support films that highlight the extreme dangers suburbanites face in societies around the world. Both fiction and non fiction. That is why they tend to lean towards more flashy crime dramas or action films that glorify crime but where I'm from one thing is certain, we HATE crime. We don't celebrate it. We don't hang posters of Collen Chauke in our bedrooms. "Vigilante Justice" or "Mob justice" is entirely way too common and even celebrated in South Africa, where people come together with one thing in mind, kill the criminal. This is an unwritten, unspoken reality in this country that for obvious reasons no one talks about, not the government, not the media. The types of films/series being sold to the public does not reflect the scary reality of crime in SA, which is why I chose the horror genre. 

I'll end it on this, a quote by Gavin Silber and Nathan Geffen in their thesis about Race, class and violent crime in South Africa. 

"Everyone in South Africa is affected by crime, and the consequent sense of insecurity that comes with living in fear. Some encounter it directly, others through the experiences of friends and family, and just about all of us through news media, which routinely reminds us of the abundant violence that has come to characterise our society. Yet despite his collective concern, far too little has been done both to mobilise people across class, gender, national and racial barriers to advocate for improved crime reduction strategies; and to call on all people in South Africa to contribute personally towards creating safer communities." 

See the script packet here