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Hope from the flats SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS SAMANTHA.LEE@PEOPLESPOST.CO.ZA @SAMANTHA_LEE121
T
he much loved hit local series Melody, shot and produced on the Cape Flats, will be around for another year. Currently being broadcasted on SABC 2 every Tuesday evening at 19:30, the series has viewers glued to their screens since April, especially those who are able to relate to the story, by identifying with the drama. The authentic human adventure involves a young coloured woman and her struggle against social injustices with which many South Africans wrestle daily. Series producer Theo Davids says they wanted to create a series that would accurately reflect the lives of coloured people. “South African television does not really reflect the lives of coloured people in the way that we know our lives to be. During the predemocracy years we were always portrayed as flower sellers, gangsters, nannies or coons. When there were films about coloured people, there was always a white saviour. After 1994 there were mostly “rainbow” stories with coloured, whites, blacks and Indians and even in these stories we always had a stereotypical role like the coloured gangster or the coloured nanny,” he says. What makes Melody different is how it tells these stories. “With Melody I just wanted to change this perspective and tell positive stories about coloured people. I want to tell stories where our people can be role models and an inspiration to others. These stories depict a slice of life but not to a point where we glorify negative things. We also need to celebrate the success stories that come out of our communities.” The series is filmed in and around the Cape Flats, with most of it being filmed in Athlone. The cast include actors from Mitchell’s Plain, Athlone, Bishop Lavis and other areas on the Cape Flats. “All locations like houses, schools and churches that we used for filming (are) in the Athlone area. Through the filming of Melody, we empowered about 4500 people from
the local communities. These people were involved through catering for the cast and crew, to being extras on set to having their homes used as set locations. It was a true collaboration between the Athlone community and the film industry and SABC,” he says. But Davids says this series should not be stereotyped as “typical brown culture”, but rather a wakeup call to have empathy. Melody is meant to be a story of hope and shows especially young people in similar circumstances, that it is okay to dream and aspire for more, in order to change their circumstances for the better. “Your circumstances or the environment in which you find yourself do not determine who or what you are or what you can become. You can become a success,” he says. Davids says it will be easy for anyone to relate to the series because it centres around family. “In our modern society, the family as a unit has lost its value and families have disintegrated because of the times we are living in. People are so occupied with material wealth, success and status that they often put family time and values on the back burner. This has caused the very core of society, the family unit, to lose its importance and disintegrate. With Melody we went right back to one of the most basic values: A family that stays and works together, can be successful,” says Davids. The scripts are not based on any one individual experience or life story. “It is a merging of many stories of many people’s lives. We know these people and they have gone through these circumstances. We have reflected their stories in Melody and if we hold up the Melody mirror to ourselves, we will, to a greater or lesser extent, be able to identify with what the characters are going through. We can thus go on their journey with them. We celebrate with them. We cry with them. We get angry with them,” says Davids. Davids says the story will take a few twists and turns over the next few episodes with a surprise promised toward the end. With the series taking off, Davids says the cast and crew are excited at its success. “Nobody writes a story without wanting it to be successful so we were quietly optimistic but we did not expect this measure
The cast of hit series Melody currently on SABC2 of positive response from not only South Africa, but from all over the world. This just shows that there is a deep need for stories like this where people can identify with the issues and struggles of the characters,” says Davids. “It is not just about race or colour but people from all creeds and cultures can identify
with this story. There are universal messages in the story. The story addresses universal issues such as love, care, poverty, struggles and it shows how resilient the human spirit is. It shows that there is always hope.” SABC is also expected to soon reveal some exciting news around the series, says Davids, not hinting at any further details.
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