Booza TV Clips

Booza TV is a collection of edited documentary, fictional and animated footage about drinking in the Western Cape that took nearly two years to develop. The six-part series is but one of many products that can be made from the Booza TV collection and is aimed at young (18-35 years) drinkers in the Western Cape, community stakeholders and government itself. Below are descriptions of each episode written for the youth target audience.

Episode 1: The Culture of Drinking in South Africa
Themes: Patterns of drinking, parental drinking, teen drinking, alcohol compared to other drugs, alcohol advertising.

Ever wondered what one looks like dancing on a bar counter after having five shots of tequila? Or what happens to one's body after gulping down six beers through a funnel? Is alcohol really the best way to have fun if, as a legal drug, it kills more people a year than illegal drugs? In episode 1 of Booza TV, you'll meet the world's biggest Castle Lager fan and find out how South Africans compare to other countries on gross domestic alcohol consumption. The first installation of this entertaining and thought-provoking documentary is likely to leave you questioning the ease with which we go from "in vino veritas" to talking to God on the big white telephone. Stay tuned, the boozalution will be televised!

Episode 2: Why People Drink
Themes: Alcohol and confidence, sex and stress, the history of drinking in South Africa (part 1), the alcohol industry, alcohol advertising/marketing/availability.

Where did alcohol come from and how did it get here? More importantly, why are South Africans drinking 5 billion litres (that's 2 000 Olympic-size swimming pools) of alcohol a year? Is it because it makes us more confident and sexy? Perhaps not when we're drooling, slurring and bumping into things. Do great minds drink alike or is that something you've been made to believe? Could this socially acceptable form of self-destruction have anything to do with the giant billboard advertisement outside your office window? "Hang on", I hear you say, "it takes away my stress and makes me feel more comfortable with myself". But are you really comfortable with yourself after drinking until you pass out, or when you wake up in a stranger's bed with short-term memory loss, a headache and no idea of how you got there? Episode 2 of Booza TV is where we attempt to unravel the beliefs and bust the myths. Be advised, it might hit a nerve.

Episode 3: Responsibility for Drinking
Themes: Drinking and manliness, the role of the general media and celebrities, ability to know your limits, drunk-driving, drunk-walking, effects of drinking on the health system.

People drinking beer together is an almost universal image of camaraderie, but is it still cool when our sense of belonging becomes directly proportional to the number of beers we drink? And this, in turn, increases our risk of accidents, injuries and violence. When excessive drinking is endorsed as a national tradition who is accountable for the consequences? According to 5fm DJ Gareth Cliff, YOU are, stupid... And what happens when you're too drunk to drive, does that mean it's safe to walk? Episode 3 of Booza TV gives you a glimpse into the dark side of this social lubricant, the stuff that's not printed in glossy magazines. Watch the Phuza Challenge contestants attempt to outsmart the Phuzameter, only to prove that, more often than not, one never really knows when enough is enough and when it's ok to drive. Oh, and in case you missed it at the launch, Phuza Thursday also includes the consumption of tea, coffee and lemonade.

Episode 4: Violence
Themes: The relationship between drinking and aggression/victimhood, the effect of the environment on violence, the impact of reducing trading hours and marketing strategies on violence.

Picture this: Bodies strewn across the floor of a hospital emergency room, blood everywhere, doctors tending to gunshot wounds, stab wounds, bruises from blunt trauma, victims of car crashes or simply certifying dead bodies. Is this the result of civil unrest, xenophobic attacks or war? None of the above. Sadly, this is the scene healthcare workers face every weekend in township hospitals in the Western Cape. Although each trauma patient may be unique, in over 70% of the cases the common denominator is alcohol. Episode 4 of Booza TV is a sobering look at how easily alcohol sparks violence in some areas and not others, why drinks mixed in Camps Bay fuel social thrills but those served in Khayelitsha equal social ills. Find out how local police are taking action in Gugulethu, and what communities can do to resist the influence of liquor outlets. Yes, this episode might leave you a little shaken and stirred, but there is light if you make it to the end.

Episode 5: The Liquor Act
Themes: The history of drinking (part 2), why we have so many illegal shebeens, the Liquor Act and surrounding controversies.

Here's an interesting piece of history that you might not find in high school text books: Apartheid was partly funded by alcohol sales in townships. And today, 16 years after democracy when townships are still undeveloped, South Africa has the fastest growing liquor industry in the world! Who is responsible for the large number of unlicensed shebeens in townships when the only other viable options for commerce in these areas are taxis and spaza shops? And if the liquor industry is such a major contributor to South Africa's GDP, why are shebeners not making a profit when they contribute up to 60% of the sales? Episode 5 sees heavyweights from South African Breweries, the Department of Health, the Shebeners' Association and community members lock horns over the uncomfortable question, who is profiting from whom, and how? Will it be the right to drink, the right to trade or the right to a safe and healthly community that wins the Liquor Act battle?

Episode 6: Booza Solutions
Themes: Responsible advertising, counter-advertising, drinking responsibly, cutting down or not drinking, community initiatives to reduce alcohol abuse, developing a new culture, alternative products.

"Drink responsibly", that's the little message you see at the bottom of every alcohol advertisement. But what exactly does it mean, and are we really paying attention to it when so many drinkers admit to underage or binge drinking? Can it be said that the liquor industry, spending over R600 million a year on marketing and considerably less on social development projects, is behaving responsibly? In the final episode of Booza TV, viewers are introduced to the ARA - The Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use - to judge for themselves whether or not the industry is playing by the rules. Can life possibly be fun without getting trashed every weekend? Booza TV gives some fun tips on how to control the habit if you're having difficulty understanding what responsibility means. The series concludes by looking at how local initiatives in disadvantaged areas take shape to offer the next generation a more promising future.

The Booza TV post-production team are able to generate other types of products from the Booza TV collection according to the target audience requirements. Some examples include:

• A one-hour film.
• Drunk drivers in need of behaviour change: episodes 1-3.
• Community police forums being mobilised to assist with implementation of the liquor act: episodes 1,4 and 5.
• Adolescents: episodes 1, 3, 4 and 6 with workbooks and discussion points.
• NGOs working in the field of violence prevention: episodes 1, 4 and 6.
• Training of medical students or social workers: episodes 1-3, 4 and 6.
• Video clips for Youtube, Facebook, websites or blue-tooth usage.
• Television adverts.

A lot of material was left out as each episode needed to be 24 minutes to meet broadcast requirements. However, for non-broadcast purposes, most of the themes can be expanded and there are additional themes that were left out entirely (eg FAS, teen drinking, mental illness, HIV) which could be used to create newly edited products. However, please note that the creation of newly edited products by the Booza TV post-production team will incur post-production costs.

Get a Copy of the DVD

Please complete the DVD request form and e-mail it to Angelique.Jordaan@pgwc.gov.za or Anneline.Carolissen@pgwc.gov.za to request free copies of the DVD.