Something big is happening in the popular culture today. There is the demand and support for woman in the lead. Though much of Hollywood has been pushing for such content with inclusion of speaking woman-parts in male dominated franchises such as super hero films and series, we are slowly seeing the re-emergence of black woman as the starring characters.
With the popularity of shows such as Scandal, “How” to “Get” “Away” with “murder” and What’s wrong with Mary Jane we are seeing black woman taking the plot forward, no longer relegated to the role of domestic worker, slave or sassy best friend.
The success of such shows not only shows that there is such a demand in popular Western entertainment for the stories of black woman but also how such genres are actually profitable to the male dominated broadcast companies.
Happiness is a Four-letter word shows how this is also becoming true for the South African film Market. The film, based on the successful novel of the same name by Nozizwe Jele, follows the life of three friends, Nandi (Mmabatho Montsho), Zaza (Khanyi Mbau) and Princess (Renate Stuurman) as they deal with careers, relationships, families and spa treatments. These are woman well established in their careers. Each has their own relationship complications combined with other pressures, these woman show that it’s hard having it all.
Though much of the film is heavily stylized there seems a desperate urgency, on the part of the creators, to point out how successful and fashionable these ladies truly are. Yet its the soft narration and sharp banter that shows how this film, that doesn’t take itself to seriously, goads the audience to be apart of these woman’s lives.
The film represents the need to tell the other side of black lives, a side that is often heavily criticized as being materialistic and even superficial. We are facing a time where the ideals of black people must also be represented and are seeing the emergence of the successful black woman with her finances in order. She has the house, the car and a bevy of suitors to choose. Such representations of material security shows a greater need to understand what it is that South Africans aspire to but also what they seek to escape towards.
We are seeing Black woman as in their ideal, fabulous and powerful, yet still having to deal with the complexity that comes with living in the modern age. As we see these woman in their various professional fields we are given the opportunity to discuss what it is that black lives are actually fighting for. Is it enough to just exercise our power as woman, to choose the man we want or should we also be looking at the impact of those very desires to the people around us.
Happiness is a Four-letter word makes us ask what it means to have agency as black woman. The film shows us that material gains are not enough when it comes to matters of the heart and friendship. It forces us to deal with the further complexities that come with being woman of the modern age juggling career and intimacy, showing us that the two are not often so easy to keep separate.
This is a film for those who want to loose themselves in the ideal but also makes us cognisant of what we want for ourselves as black people and black woman. Here the feminist slogan of the personal becoming the political come into play as we are forced to deal with the every day “sticky” situations of asserting our agency as black woman. In doing we also acknowledge that we cannot always be the strong ones and that what is most needed is the love and support from the bonds that we create for ourselves.
In the film Princes later gives her best advice to Nandi, “You figure it out….and then you fight for it”. We have to deal with the complexities of what it means to be a black, woman and feminine. These are the very questions that will help us decide what is it that we are exactly striving for as Black South Africans.