by Thinus Ferreira
Showmax has quietly removed 9 of the films of filmmaker and South African comedian Leon Schuster with blackface characters that MultiChoice's subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service is now investigating through a review over racially insensitive content.
Showmax that until now was fine with the Leon Schuster films, and with Mama Jack (2005) that was broadcast on South Africa's free-to-air broadcaster e.tv last weekend, has now followed the global streamer Netflix that started to remove content in the form of satirical series like Little Britain, Come Fly with Me and Australia's Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes and Jonah from Tonga of Chris Lilley because of performances of some characters in blackface and brownface.
The removal of content by Netflix, the BBC, the film Gone with the Wind from WarnerMedia's streaming platform, HBO Max, and now MultiChoice's Showmax in South Africa is part of the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement on the broader entertainment industry around the issue of racism that started in the United States and that has spread globally.
After quietly removing Mama Jack in which Leon Schuster makes extensive use of blackface, as well as Mr Bones (2001) and Mr Bones 2: Back from the Past (2008) in which he appears as a white sangoma, Showmax has now removed a further 6 of Leon Schuster's films.
These additional Showmax content removals include You Must Be Joking (1986), You Must Be Joking Too (1987), Oh Schucks…It’s Schuster (1989), Sweet ‘n Short (1991), Schuks! Pay Back the Money (1995) and Frank and Fearless (2018).
All of the films earned millions of rand at the South African box office over decades under all audiences and have had multiple broadcasts over the years on the SABC, e.tv, M-Net and the M-Net Movies channels, with e.tv that showed Mama Jack a week ago.
The locally South African produced films that have outearned overseas and American titles and with several having record-holding rankings in cinema attendance and earnings, have made Leon Schuster one of the most successful South African filmmakers in the country's history.
Netwerk24 first reported about Showmax's removal of Leon Schuster's films on Friday.
TVwithThinus asked Showmax about the content removal late on Friday, who reviews and removes it and why, and will add the response here when received.
Richard Boorman, Showmax spokesperson, told Netwerk24 that the latest 6 Leon Schuster films have been removed this past week because MultiChoice's streaming service is reviewing them as they are deemed to be possibly racially insensitive and that it was done in line with steps taken by global streaming services.
Showmax referred Netwerk24's media enquiry to MultiChoice with Benedict Maaga, senior manager for corporate communications, who said that MultiChoice in the past had removed content with "unacceptable presentations of racial prejudice".
It's not yet clear who reviews content for Showmax and MultiChoice, how the films and content are reviewed or when the review process of the Leon Schuster films would be completed.
Leon Schuster told Netwerk24 that he is "shocked and "deeply upset" about MultiChoice's removal of his films and Showmax's review process.
He said that "in my entire career I've never heard a single word from a moviegoer asking why I'm doing blackface. My Indian character has been unbelievably popular and nobody has ever said to me I'm cratering my name or that I'm busy being racist."
"If I knew that this is something that is angering people I wouldn't have done it. If I've offended people I apologise to them. I'm really sorry".
