By Roadjunky, Posted Apr 23, 2009
 Why is Africa so violent? http://www.flickr.com/photos/dblackadder/ |
When the police don’t do their job and buildings are taken over by the mafia, those with anything to protect turn to freelance militia.
Louis Theroux takes a BBC crew to Johannesburg to spend some time with the security teams there who have taken over the jobs that the South African police just can’t be bothered doing. With his typical quirky interviewing technique, Louis Theroux is the perfect foil for the violent characters who play vigilante on the streets of Johannesburg.
Law and Disorder in Johannesburg is tough, compelling viewing. Suspects are beaten to dissuade them from future offences and everyone seems to believe the opinion expressed by a farmer who hires Bad Boys, one of the security teams, when he says:
‘I hate to say it but it seems it’s an African solution to an African problem.’
It might as well have been Kurtz from Heart of Darkness yelling exterminate the brutes!
Take an hour and watch Theroux’s revealing documentary about the streets of Johannesburg.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
A study abroad and a committed effort to avoiding reality landed me in the middle of nowhere Africa at the age of twenty. Immediately after finishing my studies in Cape ...
There was a feel-good article in the Guardian the other day about laughter classes in Tehran.
God knows there’s lots to laugh about. Here’s a comic speech given by the ...
A warped representation of real South African life. Violence and drama sell TV shows, get off the couch and go see SA yourself before you condemn this beautiful country and the people who make it special.
Louis Theroux documentary on crime in JHB was a joke and a farce. When are these naive and gullible foreign reporters ever going to learn that they must report in their own countries and stay out of countries they know nothing about.
Louis, remember what is logic to you at home is illogical to to us here in SA. Don’t come here with your colonial culture and ideas and try and make sense of what happens in our country, rather stay at home. You made a complete fool of yourself asking 1st world questions in a 3rd world country. Go home and stay home.
There is nothing warped or fiction based about this documentary . What is portrayed is an accurate reflection of the degree to which the S.A.P have degenerated and their overwhelming inability to deal with mass crime borne of mass unemployment .
What is fictional in context of the subject matter presented in this program is the presenter .. This is a multi layered issue which cant be covered in 55 minutes but well done for trying . People should see this .
I watched this docu yesterday and was surprised by Louis shock and horror- Must be nice being a journo that gets to go back to wonderfull old England! I hate the way he portray’s South African as primitive taking matters in to our own hands and fighting “crime with crime”. I am a white South African and I have never witnessed violant crime. I hate this docu- It leaves such a false impression- I wish that people would start including the GOOD with the bad- report the Full story or dont bother!