INDEX OF QUOTES
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It is important for a society to hear itself in music, stories, in the news. Irish literature, for example, is a fascinating record of Irish voices, and this contributes greatly to a sense of identity and self-esteem. But for a society to hear itself, it must begin to talk, sing and write about itself in compelling and interesting ways. One significant benefit of the new democracy is that it has allowed young people the freedom to be creative. One can see this in the music that young artists make. Within this creative milieu, the success of Yfm radio is hugely encouraging. Yfm and Y magazine are the first true institutional spaces for South Africas new young voices. Yfm, probably for the first time in our media history, has allowed a true voice of the youth to emerge on air freed from nationalist language agendas and unfettered by old-fashioned traditions. Although Yfm may be criticised for sometimes being vulgar and sexist (for which they must be challenged), the reality is that it is difficult to produce any media that are pure. And the voices of the youth will never be pure. But a society cannot hide its weaknesses by silencing the messengers. More young voices from different regions, language groups, and from different artistic perspectives need to be nurtured and supported. There has to be serious and consistent support financial and for training for youth-driven community radio stations and print magazines, and for young artists and writers. Although the Department of Arts, Culture and Language, Science and Technology has done admirably in supporting cultural development, specific support for young writers of fiction is important. For the voice of the youth to emerge beyond music, writers are the key, because writing is the backbone of all media (this is true in spite of the excellent ad libbing on Yfm). This support has to be not just for writing and development, but for publishing as well. South Africa needs to explore the possibility of creating a more complex symbiosis between, for example, the rich voices on M-Net and the voices of poor young people on community radio. For as long as the voices of young people remain silent, there will be others speaking on their behalf. |
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