Video vixens follow in Maria’s footsteps

When Maria Nepembe shot to fame as Dirty Kandeshi in a music video, many young girls immediately decided that they will also try to follow that route. Maria’s eventual stint as a reality television star on Big Brother Africa further strengthened their resolve. In her wake, a number of young people have attempted to follow in her footsteps by appearing in music videos for artists like The Dogg, Gazza and PDK. Tjil asked leading Namibian theatre director Joseph Molapong whether video vixens can rightfully refer to themselves as actresses, and whether being in a music video can actually be their big break into showbiz. “I regard all these pretty girls as just props in music videos,” he says, adding that being an actress takes a lot more that just being sexy and looking the part in a music video. He describes video vixens as “just furniture that forms part of a set”. Hazel Hinda, who starred in the award winning South African soapie 7de Laan, says three minutes of dancing and looking pretty is not acting. “I have nothing against anyone working, but I have a problem with anyone that underestimates the craft of acting.” Hazel believes that if video vixens are to be considered actresses, then it will be some kind of shortcut to success. She says Namibia has tons of talent, but that shortcuts lead to a dead end. Senga Brockerhoff, who played the lead in the musical Jakob Marengo: Lest We Forget, says: “If you go to Virgin Active and just sit there, can you still say that you are gyming?” Senga says that the difference is that real actresses display a range of emotions with their body, voice and facial expressions. She explains that an actress becomes familiar with a character in order to embody a particular role. “More thought goes into acting then looking pretty and gyrating your body,” she says. Director and theatre actress Michelle Namises says to some, acting in music videos is indeed acting. She explains that acting is a skill and to do some of the things modern day vixens do, takes some skill. “If the purpose of video vixens is to rub themselves against each other and engage in nonsensical things, as directed by the music video director, then they can most probably be called actresses,” she adds. WINDHOEK GORDON JOSEPH