Let the games begin.

The blog is based on a journey. A journey has different meanings and associations to different people. To me a journey is based on memories, the past. The past as an entity that can be manifested and changed and it is a part of our lives thus we have total ownership of it. In addition, like any journey we embark upon, we have total ownership of it and we ought to be in control of. Moreover our past guides us in our present journeys and it shapes our understanding about life; and life is a journey. A journey is an act of traveling from one place to another and this clearly reflects that our past has led us to travel through our lives to where we are at present.

Memories vivid like a Chappies wrapping paper

Ladies and gentlemen I present to you what matters the most, the childhood memories. No one can escape these. They are supporting pillars to our lives and I say this as a design practitioner whose imagination has and still is inspired by these memories. Who can erase memories of playing hide and seek, chewing Chappies bubblegum holding it’s yellow and blue striped wrapper at their hand reading “did you know”, whilst covering their eyes. Not forgetting Michael Jackson's “Beat It” playing in the background. Even the CEO of a big corporation driving their sport car knows that they owe it to their childhood memories, imagining a brick as their dream car; running all over the yard making roaring and skating noises, and thanks to the sand dust all over the place adding to the imagined effects. Yes I remember those days, however these scenarios might not apply to you but the whole point is to take you back to your specific childhood memories.

The Players

The ideal players are mainly portrayed as childish and I will use myself to portray these different players who are based in a township location. The same player (me) would in most cases play against myself but as different players/opponents. Barefooted, tattered shorts, tight clothes are a must which in turn grant them access to their environment. I will not dwell on the player and/or the games as I have not posted the videos and animation as I am still collecting material but this is to give you an idea of what I aim to achieve. 

“Waqhusta, it’s my turn.”

 ‘Waqhusta’ is a Zulu slang which means ‘you loose’ and it ties to the notion of my idea: Childhood games. The focus for the five (5) Vidanimations (work in progress) is based on the different games I have explored/experienced in my journey and how they have had an effect in my live. What I am aiming to achieve is to bring to the front memories of nostalgia and remind the viewer the importance of our history in a context relating to our careers and our daily endeavors; our journeys. South Africa has a rich history that is ignored especially by the media thus the media falling in the trap of offering European ideologies to the South African community. I think this problem is a result of us South Africans not truly embracing what belongs to us. Addressing most importantly media practitioners however not forgetting all citizens, I hope to encourage that we ought to use our rich cultures filled with bright memories to try and combat the international bug that haunts our magazines, television, and marketing tactics to almost everything. The games would be my first web attempt to add towards what I am proposing, so please feel free to add comments, suggestions and show your PROUDLY MZANSI affection and support. 

Remember this advert? Brave yet what a unique piece, playful in a provocative way . This are the challenges we face as MM designers; to be aware of our environments...Enjoy.

And this is what I've addressed earlier. That even thought we can come up with creative, beautifully executed designs/pieces, we need to talk to the real consumers; our communities and in this case South Africans. 1/10 but who am i to say...

The journey

Did you know? 1

The brick car

Back then we use to call every car 'Mercedes' and by now I reckon it would be called the 'Ferrari'. I'm talking about the brick car; we (almost everyone I know) as kids would imagine it as a car and we would skate all over the place with it in our hands. This game is universal and i could assume it has existed since the day auto-mobiles were created. Kids today still use this to pass time, given that the rand is too high to buy TV games state-of-the-arts remote control cars, and these break often...NOT the brick. 

 

Did you know? 2

Marbles

This is universal yet not as popular in other countries as compared to South Africa. The game is played with little glass balls where you either attack the opponent or put your marble in the hole. This game is so unique in South Africa in a sense that each region, race, neighborhood have their own rules, platforms and the way the game is played.

 

Did you know? 3

Hide and Seek: Umacashelana 'Ngizoba ubaba'

This I would admit was my favorite game as a kid. This is due to the fact that i would bully other kids, specifically boys so i would be a "dad" and i would chose a girl I wanted to kiss to be the "mum". This is the most popular game in the world, and it has been proven that older folks still play this game...hmmm why, i ask myself.

 

Did you know? 4

One bounce: 'Ukugenda'

Simple and straight forward. Make the ball bounce against your foot. The more bounces you have the more chances for you to win whatever is at stake. Now imagine a 5-7 year old dribbling trying to control the ball. Ten is a victory. The rule differ from place to place, but the most popular one is that if you bounce the less, you would have to try and get/mark the ball from a group of 6-8 people (those who bounce the most as compared to you). This could take an hour or two, and if you decide to quite you would have to drink a litre of water for a given time period, say a minute max...and if you fail to finish the liter in that time period you'd have to drink another litre.

 

Did you know? 5

Three Tin

This is apparently a girls game. The rules are that groups play against each other, in turns. The group whose turn , has to break three tins, and pick them up without being hit with a ball by their rivals. Now, even though the game is for girls, guys would be called "sissies" if they are seen playing it.  However you would find boys playing the game (including me). Why risk your future manhood and respect...because drummmmmmms please....to see the girls panties. Back then this was an achievement of a lifetime...you'd make bullies proud of you if you see one especially a white one.

Woze’Durban : The South African Playground

Its official, Durban is South Africa’s playground and an international attraction drawing masses to this humble, warm city. This also attracted the attention of Cascoland ‘a multidisciplinary public art project involving international artists, architects, designers and local talent and initiatives as well as urban communities and stakeholders. Cascoland’s [intention] was exploring a series of interventions in public spaces to create awareness of urban issues, mobility and the use of public space in a positive and creative framework.’www.cascoland.com

As a design school we were asked to express our reactions for this intervention which became an educational journey. I was responsible for editing footage taken during this intervention. As a result I created these two motion videos, and thanks to the beautifully taken footage by my Group 2 team members. Enjoy!

Get your back OFF the wall

South Africa has undergone a serious makeover in terms of its social and political climate. As a result we have learnt to appreciate each other and embrace our uniqueness. However not all off us have acknowledged this phenomenon. This music video aims to encourage those who have lost hope in this ideally free society. It is based on a Bongo Maffin song ‘Mankind’ of which also adds to the belief that even though one may feel life sucks one must never give up. As a Zulu saying goes ‘ibambe ishisa noma kunzima kanjani’ which translate to ‘hold the hot heavy steel rod and never give up no matter what’. Like games, there are times where we loose and it is imperative that we never give up as that would increase our capacity to try our best and at the end win. Enjoy!

Television Time

Imagine if we had our own South African entertainment channel that focuses on youth issues. You will all agree with me when I say that the South African political situation is messed up. So the question I ask is that, why can’t we create a platform that would give us a voice that we would voice our outcries? This is what the video below I had created aims to show. It is part of a project where we were asked as Multimedia students, to come up with a gimmick channel that would be South African based and would be targeted to a certain market. I came up with ‘UNEON’ which focuses on youth issues mostly based on recent political, social, financial issues, and most importantly it is primarily a youth entertainment television network. The whole word UNEON relates to the word ‘union’ which entices ideas of politics and or political liberation. Thanks to the first year and Imagination Lab Students for their assistance with the video. Please refer to the linked file>> PDF for more details oh and enjoy!

National Stayaway against the Media

It seems it's one of the popular theme these days, stay-away that is; but you cannot blame these processes as they focus on the well-being of all people. Back then these were politically based as much as they are now (power relations being the focal point though). However as kids we never worried about that, actually we saw this as an opportunity to explore more wonders in the environments. Please understand that I am not trying to act all old, and be all " the old times..." but if the present is like this, I'm really afraid of the future. Yes i did enjoy Mario- Bros, basically all TV games, comic books...but in our days this has been blown out of proportion, HECTIC type of proportion. Page through any magazine, and you would find that it's filled with skin, weapons, disgusting articles about how a kid had cut his mothers throat, took out her brain and cooked it for his younger cousins. I know this is a bit exaggerated, but don't you agree that the media industry is like that.

Like this example below. Yes i did enjoy helping my little sister making dresses for her barbie doll and this has proven to be a great influence on her life. Now imagine when she sees a music video filled with images like these below. Have you seen South African music videos? How little girls swing around half naked, washing expensive cars for the "celebrity" music star. I think it's dumb.....Maybe, the music video was based on a great concept but the execution is not good for the teenagers, kids and or even ADULTS....

They say "sex sells" and evidently it does, but this is a result of the influence the media has on us people. On the other hand, what happens to the little kid who see woman and man barely dressed? As a result of such statements many people suffer from disorders like bulimia, lack of respect for themselves and people especially those close to them.

Where should we be?

This post is inspired by a response i got that explained how the present South African state is and the media is not entirely , directly influencing the messed up present we have. I totally respect the view, and i see an opportunity to really explore the issue and analyze really what is the importance concerning the media.

On the other hand she asked me and or everyone viewing the blog where they would prefer to be at, the present or the past. My answer would be definitely the present. The reason for the answer is quite obvious. South Africa is richly resourced with information , cultures and so many possibilities, of which went there in the past. Today we as South African can look at the mirror and be proud of where we come from, reconcile about what we have done so as to create a better brighter future.

Here are some of the sites that embrace this

http://www.markforrester.co.za/category/design