HOUSE musician, Holly Wasserfall (Holly Rey), graduated with an Honours degree in Media and Communication Cum Laude, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) last week.
The Westville resident and artist, well-known for her hit songs, Deeper, Joy, and You, studied towards her BA at Varsity College and then did her post grad at UKZN. Holly said she loved growing up in Westville.
“A lot of the people who grow up in Westville maintain some sort of roots in Westville. There is definitely a “local” culture in Westville with local doctors, dentists and other service providers having treated or serviced generations of Westville families. I love that Westville is such a blended community and there is no tension around race religion or differences of any sort,” she said.
Holly’s research investigated the representation and decoding of gender-based inequality in Uzalo, South Africa’s most-watched soap opera.
Uzalo is an interesting case study in this regard as the two families, initially headed by men, are now headed by women.
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“It is important to understand how these encoded messages of empowerment are decoded by audiences, to understand whether or not they are facilitating or challenging the gender-based inequalities prevalent in society; and as a result empowering women,” she said.
The study is informed by the continued presence of gender-based inequality in forms such as gender-based violence, femicide and uneven pay in South Africa.
“Gender expectations differ from society to society and although patriarchy power structures dominate in most societies globally, the manifestations of these power structures may vary. My research concerns itself with the Zulu culture,” she added.
When asked how she managed to be a hit-maker and graduate in one year, she said, “I did most of my work on the road, planes and airports and good time management is key.”
She added that she feels it is important to be educated, especially an educated woman.
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