I would also like to encourage students to apply for out Writing Lab, which starts on 13 April. I know its quite far in advance, but we have skills at Perdeby that we would love to share. If you need help with your writing, want to get some insight into the way we write, or would just like to learn some handy tips, please apply.
Finally, I would like to raise an issue that I could hopefully get some input on from our readers. It involves the ruling around Inxeba. This movie has been rated as X18, a rating given to pornography, but as far as the Film and Publications Board (FPB) indicates, there is no sex in the movie. The movie contains homosexual themes, which according to the report by the Appeal Tribunal of the FPB, as reported on by the Daily Maverick, is “harmful and disturbing to [the 16 year old] age group”. Apparently, the 16 year old age group does understand what is happening, but that this understanding “does not necessarily relate to moral behaviour”, and that “when repeatedly exposed to acts of such low moral standards he may show the propensity to engage in morally unacceptable, antisocial behaviour as reflected in the film.”
There is the question about revealing too much information about Ulwaluko, the Xhosa initiation ritual, but the film’s director, producer and other people working on the film have all denied this.
How can a movie like this can be rated the same as porn. Isn’t this ruling unconstitutional, homophobic and unfair. It’s also starnge that another LGBTIAQ+ movie, Call me by your name, is showing at theatres across the country. Inxeba has been well recieced internationally, and as far as I can find out, has been nominated for 9 different awards.
If you have a comment about this, or would just like to add your say, send me an email at perdeby@up.ac.za.
Go wild
Shaun Sproule
