An unwillingness to be honest keeps celebrities from understanding #OpenUpTheIndustry

#OpenUpTheIndustry is trending at number one on South African Twitter after two simple tweets from disgruntled media personalities – and though there have been demands to put this three-year-old conversation to bed, the mere fact that a consensus still has not been reached proves the conversation is far from over.

#OpenUpTheIndustry has been discussed as a notion in various forms long before 2016, but a 702 Night Talk interview featuring Bonang Matheba allowed everyone to put a name (read: hashtag) to it.

https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702/videos/10153423122620689/

The topic of discussion had been put on the shelf only to be reignited by Lerato Kganyago when she quipped: “Rihanna sings, gets endorsements, starts acting! Mzansi: ‘YAS QUEEN’. Beyoncé sings, gets endorsements, starts acting, Mzansi: ‘YAS QUEEN TAKE THEM ALL!’ South African artist starts singing, gets a role in a movie, and bags huge endorsement. MZANSI: ‘Open up the Industry’”.

Social media users wasted no time in ensuring Kganyago was “corrected” by reminding her she was comparing apples with oranges.

And just as the furore was beginning to die down, actress and DJ Thando Thabethe fanned the flames with a tweet she sent after midnight, presumably in response to the overall discussion.

https://twitter.com/Thando_Thabethe/status/1090383273069559808

Thabethe, like many other South African media practitioners who have misunderstood the premise of the discussion, assumed the calls to #OpenUpTheIndustry were for existing practitioners to stop working.

There also seems to be a laughable belief in South Africa’s very small entertainment industry that calls to #OpenUpTheIndustry are made by people who believe there is no hard work involved in becoming a producer, videographer, photographer, presenter or actress.

I think SA ‘celebs’ don’t understand what #OpenUpTheIndustry is about. No one is saying give up your bag. Also no one is saying these kids don’t work hard and go to audition after audition. They aren’t entitled.

— ThotMonger (@BurnOutGyal) January 30, 2019

South African “celebrities”* are unable to engage the subject matter of the debate in a meaningful and constructive way due to their perceptions being built on this foundation of misunderstanding.

*Sidenote: We call them “celebrities” in inverted commas because there is no real celebrity culture in our country and therefore very few real celebrities to speak of.

ALSO READ: Thando Thabethe gets dragged for supporting Lerato Kganyago

“Celebrities” such as Siv Ngesi, Altovise Lawrence and Shalima Mkongi all weighed in on the chat, with very few landing on the right side of the discourse.

Issue is , many of you think talent is enough! #OpenUpTheIndustry

— Siv Ngesi (@iamSivN) January 30, 2019

OPPORTUNITY vs ACCESS
————————————————

Until this is understood, the #OpenUpTheIndustry conversation won’t progress beyond a certain point. We’re going to talk in circles until we address who & what really matters.

— Altovise Lawrence (@Altovise_L) January 30, 2019

https://twitter.com/ShalimaMkongi/status/1090593709387890688

Perhaps our celebrities fail to broach this topic in a meaningful way because they are led by the fear of working in such a fleeting environment. An environment in which one has no other choice than to take every job that comes your way just to be able to earn enough to cover monthly expenses. An environment in which you can’t specialise in your field because specialisation could mean going hungry every few months when you haven’t booked the right project.

So any project becomes enticing and, before you know it, you’re acting in a soapie, anchoring a politics-based television show and hosting a hip-hop show on radio while trying to convince your fan base that your desperation is in fact versatility.

Maybe our celebs are so blinded by the rag-to-riches tales they peddle in every interview that they have started to believe the hype of the hard work they all supposedly put in to being an averagely talented person on a production that is just getting by in terms of ratings.

In this discussion, there are a few facts we can all hopefully agree on no matter which side of the fence we’re on:

• The South African entertainment industry is small
• There isn’t much money to go around
• What little money there is is badly managed
• There are a high number of unemployed graduates who have lots to offer in terms of talent, creativity and new ideas.

With that said, there are a few more facts not many would disagree with:

• Having a contact within any organization helps
• Using said contacts to get a foot in the door (and admitting to having done this) will not invalidate your journey or work
• A small industry means a smaller pie for everyone to want a piece of
• The fact that the entertainment industry is small results in less of a talent pool to pick from, resulting in seeing the same faces everywhere, and this can get tiring.

It should be noted that there is an incredibly ironic and under-discussed element to the nation’s #OpenUpTheIndustry chat…

People who work in entertainment will always advise hopefuls to network in an effort to get their name out there, but it seems they would rather die than admit to having a network that worked in their favour.

Networking is an essential part of life, no matter what field you find yourself working in, but it has taken on a very dirty connotation in South African entertainment.

Private schools and elite tertiary institutions pride themselves on alumni networks that benefit those who are a part of them, and the local entertainment industry should be able to see things the same way.

Perhaps then it wouldn’t be so hard for hopefuls to get in contact with the real decision makers of the entertainment industry, who are noticeably absent from this online conversation.

What I am getting is that You guys know who the gate keepers are! But you guys are scared of bo Basetsana, Phatu, Portia, The Ferguson’s, Legend since you keep mentioning their shows. You guys know their handles when Fan girling, but not today with #OpenUpTheIndustry pic.twitter.com/enmEqvQNa4

— NXTLVL Melville (@nxtlvl_melville) January 30, 2019

The fact remains that the gatekeepers of the South African entertainment industry need to be removed for talented hopefuls to find their way into the game with less hassle.

And perhaps when these young stars breathe some much-needed life into the industry, it can grow to a point where we won’t be left fighting for the scraps of the carcass on social media.

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