Sipho Slips Up

Journalism on SA comedy is always dire in SA. I have read dozens of articles filled with inaccuracies, from Mahala's error-riddled piece that even got comedian's names wrong, to a piece in a Cape Town paper calling Rob Van Vuuren's one man show "Real comedy, not like that rubbish you see in bars" not realising that in Cape Town, that "rubbish" often includes Rob and the same material from his show.

Today a columnist I usually respect Sipho Hlongwane wrote a column on Loyiso Gola's show Late Night News. Predictably he complained that LNN is a show that couldn't match up to Jon Stewart's show in America and he drew parallels asking why we in SA can't have a South Park. He blamed the writers and presenters themselves and labelled our comedians weak as a result. The full article can be found here.

The column itself was an opinion piece and as such revealed itself to be the opinion of someone who is entirely uneducated on comedy in SA and the local television industry. Here's why;

Sipho is entitled to feel how he likes about LNN. If he doesn't laugh then who are we to argue? Personally I found LNN hit and miss. There were some amazing moments of comedy filled with genuine laughs and then there were also some bits marked by a total failure of humour. In general I thought it was a far higher quality comedy show than we are used to in SA, but admit that from my perspective things could have been better. The problem I have with Sipho's article is not his dislike of LNN, but rather the conclusions he draws from it.

Watching LNN Sipho has decided the show is a representation of the comedic talent we have in SA rather than a more accurate depiction of the state of local television and indeed entertainment in general in SA.

TV shows in SA are commissioned on strange terms, terms which are inherently dangerous if what one hopes to see is outspoken, original or satirical comedy. Production companies and TV stations will not allow a comedy show to go out unless it fits within rigid censorship guidelines which the stations have drawn up. These guidelines are based on what the stations perceive people want, judged on the successes and failures of the past. "LOL with Whackhead Simpson was a success, therefore we need more shows like that". There are rumours that MNET grades its local comedy on a thing that is colloquially known as The Schusterian Scale - the closer to Leon Schuster it is, the more likely it will be commissioned.

What this means in general is that comedy written in SA is never allowed to push boundaries. If it tries it is collared by the execs with the all important budget. Additionally comedians and writers are generally chosen based on their ability, or willingness to fall within these guidelines. People need to earn a living, TV work raises profiles, thereby helping that, and so most would happily bow their heads to these demands in return for getting their show on air. They then spend the next two seasons fighting with the execs about what does, and does not, constitute a censorship violation, and trying to squeeze things past unobservant eyes.

Comedy can not be made this way. Why do stations insist on hiring very funny people, who make crowds laugh daily, only to tell them exactly what to write?

In addition the largest international shows are not written by one or two comedians. The Daily show has a writing team of 16. South Park lists 23 different writers for season 9 alone. As far as I know from having spoken to the guys who worked on LNN each sketch was conceptualised and written by one person then added to, by the two, or three others on set. The budget for LNN could not cover the army of writers that it takes to make every set, every line work.

Conclusions as to the quality of the comedians themselves therefore can not be drawn from one TV show, particularly when these conclusions are drawn based on uneven circumstances across the ocean. If Sipho wanted to get an accurate picture of the state of SA comedy he should have at least tried to see Loyiso Gola and others doing their one man shows where they say what they want, without the noose of censorship choking their creativity. In the meanwhile all he can conclude from LNN is what we all already know. TV, and radio execs in SA believe that the people of this country are cows and sheep who need their TV dumbed down to a level where all thinking is kept to a minimum.

South Africa has dozens of original comedians. It is full of clever, and funny people who will probably never be given the opportunity to perform their comedy on the radios and TVs of our nation uncensored, and who will therefore either do it, and look less funny for it, or will refuse. Go to a comedy club. Do it soon. It's the only way to experience the real voice of comedy in SA.

If you're going to Grahamstown I recommend Martin Evans' telling of the worst year of his life, "Hellpants and the FBPK", the DSOC comedians combined show, Comedy Invasion, Deep Fried Man's musical whimsy in "Deeply Fried", and the aforementioned Rob Van Vuuren's one man, which really is a work of genius.

Oh and P.S: Sipho. Malema/Afriforum jokes are done to death on SA stages to such a degree that they are considered horribly hack now. They are not original.