In recent years, stories of African entrepreneurship have become popular online, highlighting the journeys, success and challenges that emerging entrepreneurs experience. However, many of these stories and platforms focus mainly on opportunity entrepreneurs and exclude necessity entrepreneurs who operate medium to small businesses, despite the fact that these entrepreneurs overwhelmingly outnumber their more affluent counterparts. Everyday Entrepreneurs is Media Creative Production undertaken with the aim of beginning to fill this gap by highlighting the narratives of some of the entrepreneurs that we encounter daily. The researcher created a web-based platform to showcase various entrepreneurial journeys. This was done by conducting qualitative interviews with seven small-to-medium business owners operating in Cape Town, South Africa, selected through a purposive sampling process. These interviews informed a series of profiles detailing the experiences of these entrepreneurs. The supporting research, as well as the motivations and experiences of the research are documented in the accompanying reflective essay.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-172). / The Megatext: Towards a Literary Theory of the Media argues for a new conception of the media landscape; one that manages to critically engage the mass dimensions of the contemporary phenomenon of media without losing the value of particular socio-economic and cultorological approaches that have been established in the field thus far. Initially, the thesis reviews current approaches to media studies, including structural, sociological and philosophical approaches. Then, through a technique of descriptive observation gleaned from practical experience in the media field, a current snapshot of the contemporary media landscape is offered, with key defining characteristics outlined, which are used to categorise various instances of media into what is termed "the media matrix". Thereafter, with the aim of developing a theoretical approach that is conceptually large enough to assess the media as a broadly textual phenomenon, literary theories of textuality and inter-textuality are discussed in the framework of contemporary media production and consumption patterns and applied to the common media text. Once it has been established that the myriad of media texts that exist are indeed connected in a variety of inter-textual ways. an in-depth discussion of the various contextual, or supra-textual, realities that unite media into the megatext are discussed. This discussion largely deals with issues of authorship and readership and also draws on literary theories dealing with the same. Finally, the thesis concludes by offering a definition of the megatext, a definition that it is argued could form the basis for further theoretical, textual and literary explorations of the contemporary phenomenon of mass media.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-174). / This thesis examines the potential evolution of the current version of the Internet, popularly referred to as Web 2.0, to a third generation of the Web, referred to as the Semantic Web or Web 3.0. The paper provides an overview of the change in architecture and structure that the current version of the Web will need to undergo in the form of a standardised ontology development in order for the Web to evolve. The evolution to a third generation of the Web will ultimately improve the overall user experience both within a global and South African online context, through the innovation and development of Semantic Web technologies and capabilities. The thesis also discusses the role of the political economy of media and how this concept needs to be refreshed in terms of dealing with the advent of 'new' or digital media which are characterised by the Internet. The role of traditional media is also discussed and how, due to the advent of the Internet, there has been a movement away from a model of traditional centralised media to one of a more decentralised model. The challenges of intellectual property rights and copyright are analysed in terms of online users developing their own content online in the form of user generated content and how, through the evolution to a Web 3.0 version of the Internet, these challenges can be potentially solved through the use of Semantic Web innovation and technologies. One of the major challenges which Web 2.0 currently faces is that of privacy infringement, but through the adoption of Semantic Web technology these challenges which currently affect all users on the Web can potentially be solved. Finally, the paper looks at the way that South African online users interact with the Internet and how the potential evolution to a third generation of the Web could potentially impact their user behaviour online.

Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis is an investigation into the digital divide in South Africa. Its main aim is to present for the first time an analysis of South African Internet access and Internet users, in the context of existing digital divide theory. Four possible models of digital divides will be tested by assessing Internet access, Internet users and Internet user behaviour. The first part of this thesis sheds light on how changes over time in the number of people Internet access in South Africa can be understood. In an effort to evaluate four possible models from literature on digital divides, statistics on Internet access in South Africa are scrutinised in ways that have not yet been done in academic literature. Information on how Internet access may be increasing or decreasing within the population will also be assessed. This is so as to demonstrate how Internet access in South Africa may be experiencing a far more complex set of changes than access statistics alone may suggest. The second part of this thesis will investigate the Internet users who participate in debate and discussion on MyNews24, a South African "citizen journalism" portal on News24. The four possible models of the digital divide will be further evaluated based on the results of these findings. It is here where MyNews24 will also be evaluated as a possible online public sphere, which will demonstrate how inclusion of exclusion from public spaces such as MyNews24 may be of previously unrecognised consequence.The third and final part of this thesis will investigate how the digital divide is manifesting in the online commentary on MyNews24, and will demonstrate what kinds of interactions and conversations are talking place in this space. This will also demonstrate ways in which the digital divide may be affecting the nature of online debate in these possible online public spheres.

The primary aim of the study was to examine the mediating role that MXit plays in the identity formation of 16-18 year old adolescents. Little is known about the social impact of MXit on adolescents’ identities when this usage is so deeply embedded in the relational exchanges of teens’ everyday experiences. Nine focus groups, four group interviews and two one on one interviews were employed across six schools located in four socioeconomically divergent Cape Town suburbs demarcated using middle to upper-income (Milnerton and Newlands) and lower-income (Khayelitsha and Cloetesville) operational definitions.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-154). / This study examines tendencies of cultural rebellion by focusing on entertainment that engages with Afrikaner tradition. Examples from music, student films and autobiographies are used to illustrate that artists reclaim signifiers of their cultural heritage in performances of rebellion. New myths are appearing that seem to fulfill a young generation's need for a history outside of apartheid. It is suggested that these myths assist Afrikaners who feel alienated in post-apartheid South Africa to foster a sense of legitimacy and belonging. It will argue that countercultural thinking plays a major role in the discourse of rebellion. Research is conducted within the framework of communication and cultural studies. Popular texts are considered to constitute discourses that formulate and reproduce ideologies. An analysis of Afrikaner and countercultural discourse is conducted by means of texts. The creative output of rebellious Afrikaners is used to illustrate the manifestation of countercultural ideology in entertainment. Examples of the work of Andre P. Brink, Fokofpolisiekar, Karen Zoid, Koos Kombuis, Johan Nel, Bok van Blerk, Anton Kannemeyer and Jack Parow are analysed in order to highlight common features. Despite being positioned on different sides of the political spectrum, countercultural and Afrikaner ideology share similar values. Research on their history demonstrates that oppositional identity formation and the need for distinction were central to their development. This study also shows that rebellion and distinction are central to the development of trends in popular culture. The findings of this research provide some guidance to those interested in maintaining the relevance of Afrikaans language and culture. The discussion of the inner workings of style, taste and popularity may also have implications for strategies in the creative arts. Afrikaner cultural rebellion as a case study is thus relevant in terms of its success in the field of entertainment and as the product of a society in transition.

The aim of this paper was to engage with the ways in which micro-influencers within the Western Cape construct their online identities on Instagram. Theories of critical political economy of the media, self-branding, and the commodification of the self were applied to the context of micro-influencer identity construction as a means of understanding the mediated relationships between influencers, the brands they collaborate with, the platform Instagram, and the ways in which these relationships effect the construction of their online identities. This study made use of individual interviews with micro-influencers, as well as a micro-influencer focus group session in order uncover the main themes in relation to the influencers' perceptions of their online activity. A qualitative content analysis was also performed on content posted by the sample of micro-influencers that coded for the influencers' uses of platform affordances, photographic content, and their identity construction within their images based on concepts of gender representation in the media by Goffman (1979) and Gill (2000). Central to the micro-influencers' notions of success on the platform, and their perceptions of processes of identity construction, was the concept of authenticity. However, the authenticity referenced by the influencers, focused more on processes of fostering the perception of authenticity within the minds of their audience towards the self they perform online, as opposed to acting in accordance with one's true self. It was also found that their performative online identities were predicated on processes of the commodification of the self. In this sense, the construction of the influencers' profiles was dictated by processes of the commodification of the self, and the influencers understanding of how to create the perception of authenticity within the minds of their followers towards their online self.

The sustainable future of film festivals in Africa is a vital issue based on the critical role that film festivals play in African filmmaking, and yet has not been widely investigated. This thesis identifies four key factors that I argue are essential to this sustainable future. These factors are: community and identity, the various mechanisms by which a festival's selfdefined identity or brand is developed and expressed; physicality and place, the concept of the lived and physical spatial nature of film festivals; technology, how innovations in technology are having an impact on film festivals; and financing and funding, the ability of film festivals to attract funding and finance. Each of these factors is discussed from both a theoretical perspective that draws on the history of film festivals as well as relevant areas of scholarship. Additionally, this thesis draws upon my years of professional experience working with film festivals in Africa. Through this auto-ethnographic approach I am able to complement the theoretical analysis of each of these factors with real-world examples and applications. This investigation makes it clear that the trajectory of African film festivals is distinctly different to those in the West, mainly due to localised factors such as the lack of cinema infrastructure and accessible internet connectivity, but also due to the existence of a global film festival hierarchical network, within which film festivals in Africa sit near the bottom. It is also apparent from this analysis that to become sustainable film festivals in Africa must effectively leverage these four factors through authentic claims to community and identity, accessible physical spaces, adaptation and inclusion of technology and disruption, and a diversity of funding models.

From 2019 until 2021, I directed and produced a twenty-two-minute film about a housing occupation in Cape Town, South Africa. Setting out on this project, I had several concerns. One, the ethics of being an outsider filmmaker making a film about a community from which I'm neither from, nor to which I belong. Two, I did not want to contribute to a long-practiced, Western documentary tradition of making images of people in need of saving. Although I'm neither the first nor last to raise these dilemmas in documentary filmmaking, I was interested in making the film ethically by drawing on a set of practices and ideas from participatory and collaborative filmmaking. In the making of this film I was also influenced by my own values and political commitments. This paper will first examine what the ‘participatory' term means – both the origins and development of the term and its varied significance – and then situate the Cissie Gool House project within this mode of representation and reflect on the filmmaking process.

This research addresses a gap in the continuum of media studies as they relate to energy and politics, which have always been entwined. With each new source of energy or technology, a new form of social dynamics emerges. This study explores the role of media, during the Pennsylvania coal strike of 1902 and the ensuing shifts in political power. Its main hypothesis is – if media helps to shape politics, then its coverage of the 1902 Pennsylvania coal strike, had a hand in delivering democracy to a working proletariat. Using a variety of instruments, and a qualitative-cross over approach, media's role in the 1902 coal strike is explored. Four levels of triangulation, including 3 methods of research are used to analyse 2 datasets. Critical discourse analysis, which maps text, discursive practice and social elements, makes up 2 of the methods; namely transitivity for linguistic texts and a multimodal analysis for the visual text. The 3rd method is a thematic analysis of the global news articles that appeared circa 1902. Each research question entails its own process of triangulation. The terrain of media ideology is probed by triangulating 3 texts: an editorial article, a letter to the editor and a cartoon. They all tackle the 1st research question: • What were the ideologies revealed in visual or lexical patterns, that shaped the discursive composition of reality within media reports during the 1902 coal strike? Then, the 2nd dataset triangulates 3 locations to address the 2nd research question: • What role did media play in the global spread of social democracy? It was found that media discourse unveiled a new ideology within the discursive climate, which influenced society. Ultimately, it shifted the power base. It was also found that media acted globally, triggering wider power contestations. This study will show how media drew on ideology (implicitly or explicitly) to construct meaning around fossil energy politics. It also reveals how global media coverage eased information flows, during the initial wave of democracy and how Timothy Mitchell's conception – ‘carbon democracy' was made possible. Unveiling media's role, helps to unpack its potential in ushering in any new configurations of political power and energy justice, especially as an uptick in renewables is now on record.