ARTICLE BY: MBALI HLATSHWAYO
OnseTv | What makes the content on South African television screens so authentic, are the communities that the stories are derived from. From isithunzi to Tjovitjo, each story reflects the vibrance within our cultures. The latest addition to our tv channels aims to add more to the cultural diversity produced on our screens.
OnseTV launched on the 29th of September as the first tv channel to cater for Afrikaans Coloured South Afrikaans. OnseTv was created through the establishment of a lack of content being created for entertaining and educating the coloured community. The socio-cultural depth of the Coloured Community is vast and OnseTV sought to create stories that innovatively represent this vibrant community.
Actors Lorcia Cooper and Wayne Van Rooyen, mention the typecasting that coloured actors face. In an article posted by TshisaLive, Cooper states that she had been typecast into the role of the “pretty coloured girl”, and felt the need to break free from it. She was able to do so through her role as Tyson in the drama series, Lockdown. Van Rooyen states that, from his experience, Coloured actors tend to find themselves being cast into stereotypical Coloured roles, that don’t reflect fairly on the coloured community.
Coloured actors need to be given a platform that enables them to show case their vast talent, and OnseTV aims to be that platform. Van Rooyen states that the channel has potential to inspire the youth in the Coloured community, if the channel provides aspirational content that resonates with the Coloured Community. When asked how he felt about the channel, Rooyen states that if the channel can empower the Coloured Community through authentic stories, he supports the channel.
OnseTv has the potential to provide a new dynamic in South African telelvision. New content always brings with it the possibility of fresh talent and we can’t wait to capture it all.
