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Published:
Sep 22, 2004Keywords:
Soap opera (South African) memory amnesia visual culture
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Archetypes of memory and amnesia in South African soap opera
Abstract
Archetypes of memory and amnesia in South African soap opera [English]
This essay investigates the relationship between memory, or rather amnesia, in the South African context and soap opera. South Africa has only recently celebrated ten years of democracy and the past still affects the lives of its inhabitants. The country has undergone far-reaching shifts in its political, economic and cultural paradigms. These also manifest in the production of meaning in popular visual culture, and more particularly, in soap opera. South Africans remember in different ways – processes that are reflected in the narratives of local soap opera. The genre is popular and its viewers invariably identify with the extended story plots. Amnesia often comprises a large part of soap opera narrative. This essay suggests that archetypes and myths pertaining to memory and amnesia are discussed, followed by the exploration of its manifestation in local soap opera.
Key Words: Soap opera (South African), memory, amnesia, visual culture
Tydskrif vir letterkunde Vol. 41(2) 2004: 113-126
This essay investigates the relationship between memory, or rather amnesia, in the South African context and soap opera. South Africa has only recently celebrated ten years of democracy and the past still affects the lives of its inhabitants. The country has undergone far-reaching shifts in its political, economic and cultural paradigms. These also manifest in the production of meaning in popular visual culture, and more particularly, in soap opera. South Africans remember in different ways – processes that are reflected in the narratives of local soap opera. The genre is popular and its viewers invariably identify with the extended story plots. Amnesia often comprises a large part of soap opera narrative. This essay suggests that archetypes and myths pertaining to memory and amnesia are discussed, followed by the exploration of its manifestation in local soap opera.
Key Words: Soap opera (South African), memory, amnesia, visual culture
Tydskrif vir letterkunde Vol. 41(2) 2004: 113-126
