Publications
Partners
A not-so-gripping show offers insights into the South African National Defence Force, leaving.
A Force for Good
Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161), Mondays, 10pm
. . - - -
Have you ever wondered what it requires to be the kind of person who would sign up to join the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), an enigmatic branch of government? Perhaps you’ve seen troops from the local barracks cruising around the mall in uniform.
Most of us know very little about what these people do, beyond the obvious. The SANDF is made up of the army (infantry), the air force and the navy, and to join one of those divisions one should not be area-bound, must have no record of a criminal offence and must preferably be single.
The government must’ve had this in mind when they put A Force for Good together. Now in its second season, a window to the world of our defence force is opened.
The producers of the show make use of patriotic shots of loyal citizens standing steadfast in front of a plane or at naval docks, in their uniforms, of course. What was unexpected was the use of low-fi trap beats at times, which were not half bad. The stories of people in specific roles, like a pilot, are unpacked. The show delves into how people come to join the army. Some families push their members into the military while others are coerced by SANDF officials at career days.
The uniform seems to have a significant role in drawing people in, with more than a few of the subjects in this styled documentary expressing how proud and powerful the military attire makes them feel.
Training montages go hand in hand with any content based on the army. The sessions look rather strenuous but, naturally, everybody in the scenes looks more than capable. We can’t have the country’s defence force looking like our lazy police force. And, of course, the show features a word or two from the bureaucracy through officials like Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who is framed in an office with wooden finishes and boasts about the work of the SANDF.
It was refreshing, though, to see how many women command top positions in the military, from fighter pilot instructors to generals and senior officials. Another nice touch was including the cannon on Cape Town’s Signal Hill, which goes off at midday every day. After firing the noon gun over 6 000 times, the senior officer in charge of this activity for the past 20 years is retiring soon, and the show offers worthwhile insights into his job.
This show might bring discomfort to those opposed to what the army stands for — a wing of government armed with weapons that can inflict violence on a large scale. The military of any country is responsible for maintaining state order in times of violent turmoil and inter-country skirmishes, moments that often financially benefit companies that equip soldiers with their latest rifles, tanks, planes and warships. The SANDF is not among the most active defence forces in the world and so, for the most part soldiers are trained, schooled and shaped into a force for good, but what good ever came from taking up arms? Give A Force for Good a watch – it may not be gripping visually, but it’ll get you thinking.
