A viewer tried to stop MultiChoice from airing any content showing bare-breasted women before highly anticipated series Shaka iLembe hit screens last Sunday.
MultiChoice said promotional material for the historical drama series sparkled the complaint. Shaka iLembe tells the story of the iconic African king, from his early childhood through to adulthood.
“The complaint was dismissed by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) because our broadcast scheduled all promos that showed bare-breasted women after watershed [the time after which programmes that are regarded as unsuitable for children are broadcast on television],” MultiChoice said.
“Further, in line with classification guidelines, if the nudity is in a cultural context, no nudity warning is required. The overall age restriction for the series is 16.”
This series is based on the life of King Shaka, so it is important that historical facts are kept and not distorted. In Zulu culture there are different stages of development for women and men, so each stage is characterised by traditional attire
— Cultural expert Dr Gugu Mazibuko
Producer and director Angus Gibson said a scene in the first episode, which showed Nomzamo Mbatha and her co-stars bare-breasted in traditional Zulu maiden attire, was debated for some time.
“The actors involved were very much part of the conversation. On set it felt completely natural and appropriate,” he said.
University of KwaZulu-Natal cultural expert Dr Gugu Mazibuko said anyone offended by the bare-breasted Zulu women would have to “stay strong” because it is a part of Zulu culture.
“This series is based on the life of King Shaka, so it is important that historical facts are kept and not distorted. In Zulu culture there are different stages of development for women and men, so each stage is characterised by traditional attire.
“For girls, they wear beadwork and their breasts are exposed as a form of showing the stage that they are in and there is nothing that is wrong with that. It has been like that for ages,” she said.
Mazibuko said a Zulu woman will cover her breasts when she becomes engaged and lobolo has been paid.
• 16: The age restriction
• One: The number of formal complaints about the scene
— Shaka iLembe in numbers
“She will wear different attire that is very close to the outfits that are worn by married women. She will cover her breasts and also wear headgear that is no longer beadwork, but is in the form of a hat.
“There is nothing wrong [with it] for all the Zulu men who understand the different stages. They know that a woman will expose her breasts and it is showing that she doesn’t belong to anyone. She might have a boyfriend, but she is not married,” she explained.
Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research associate professor Hlonipha Mokoena, who was among academics involved in the production, said the words nude, nudity, naked or topless are words that come with already loaded cultural assumptions.
“The first assumption is that nakedness means sex or sexiness or sexuality. Second, the assumption is that only women’s nudity equals objectification; men are assumed to never need to be protected from objectification.”
We made a policy decision that while we wanted to be authentic in representing the period, no actor or actress would be forced to reveal their body if it made them feel uncomfortable or exploited
— Associate professor Hlonipha Mokoena
Mokoena added that it was to be expected that on seeing the first episode of Shaka iLembe some viewers would feel discomfort about the clothing used to represent Zulu or Nguni culture.
“Even here, two issues are being confused — culture and the making of the film. From our initial discussions about the series after extensive consultation with the lead cast, we made a policy decision that while we wanted to be authentic in representing the period, no actor or actress would be forced to reveal their body if it made them feel uncomfortable or exploited.
“The decision was also that no actor or actress would be denied a part in Shaka iLembe if they decided they didn’t want to show their body. We followed that policy in the making of the series.”
Most of the cast felt authentic representation of their character's attire was important, Mokoena added.
“Historically and culturally, none of the actors and actresses are nude; they are wearing the attire that reflects the culture we are portraying on screen.”
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