Mihlali’s Generations cameo reignites calls to ‘open up the industry’

I curse the day the phrase “open up the industry” was introduced because, like many common phrases in our modern lexicon, the meaning behind the term has evolved into something it originally was not.

The phrase trended again recently when it was announced that South African influencer and businesswoman Mihlali Ndamase would be making a cameo appearance on SABC1’s soapie, Generations. 

She initially shared the news via her Instagram stories last week when she shared that she was at the SABC studios in Auckland Park filming scenes for a show she had grown up watching.

She further gushed about what a big deal it would be for her to appear as herself on a show that meant so much to her family growing up.

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A post shared by Mihlali Ndamase (@mihlalii_n)

Entertainment blogger Phil Mphela then announced that Mihlali would be “joining” Generations, implying that she had officially signed on to join the cast the same way an actress would in a new role.

That implication caused immediate outrage amongst social media users who have been rallying against an apparent trend amongst casting agents to hire “pretty people” from social media with little to no acting experience for roles in some of the country’s biggest shows.

Mihlali’s appearance on Generations comes just months after she featured in a local film which debuted on streaming Platform Showmax last December.

Adjacent to the “open up the industry” conversation came the long-held position in South Africa that dictates that one should “stay in their lane.”

A position that, in my opinion, is absolute rubbish.

As a reporter with over a decade of experience, I can attest to the fact that the industry has been opened up time and time again.

And even Mihlali’s cameo on Generations is an example of that “opening up.”

With new shows in the pipeline across a number of channels and platforms, more and more new talent will be plugged into the pipeline.

The outrage about Mihlali coming onto the show to play herself for a brief period will be short-lived and people will forget their anger just as quickly as it bubbled up.

And sadly, because this country seems to have a serious problem with selective amnesia, we will be having this conversation again once an opportunity is granted to someone that people want to be upset with. 

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