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OhOver the past few weeks, I’ve been hooked on The Mitala, Netflix’s new South African drama, which drew over 23 million viewers in its first month. I have been quick to talk about how special it is to anyone who will listen. And now it’s your turn, dear readers.
Polygamy is in every way Africa’s first hit of the advertising years. The film was released in mid-June, and entered the top five non-English language charts worldwide. It has also crossed all cultural and linguistic barriers. African and western stars he laughed about it. His protagonists have them become popular overnight. And its twists, turns and spin stories that have been flooding social media so much that I quit Instagram and TikTok to avoid spoilers.
At first glance, The Mitala seems like a guilty pleasure, a light-hearted telenovela about infidelity. When I first pressed play, I had no intention of getting through its 22 amazing episodes. I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity about the hype. Readers, I was wrong. Very wrong. And now I am cursed with the zeal of converts. What we have here is not trash TV, but a deep knowledge of culture v technology, and a global approach to the African middle class.
‘This is not polygamy, this is dirty’
The idea is simple. Jonasi Gomora who was known to be a polygamist, played by S’dumo Mtshali, is a rich businessman who enjoys fine dining, expensive whiskey, and beautiful women. He is married (of course) to Joyce, artist Gugu Gumede, and has three children. He mentions and commands several other women in his path – none of them excludes his wife or extended family. But conflicts begin to appear that Mr. Jonas doesn’t just want a mother, who is connected to his family. He wants everything. Several houses, several wives, several sets of children.
The cat known to be fighting Jonas is sweet and unflappable. Hands are thrown, wigs are taken and things may or may not be burned. But this leads to several very complex and unexpected myths. One revolves around Jonah’s strong personality. In addition to his wealth, he is beautiful, playful, strong, and attractive. We admire him because he is able to inspire devotion despite his bad behavior. His character transcends that of an unfaithful alpha male who can create familiar worlds for each of his wives. And so they yield again and again, finally (reluctantly) accepting polygamy as the best option. It’s better to be one of Jonas’s women – and still have access to this intimate and exciting world – than to be cast out yourself.
When Jonah takes a second wife, the talking machine starts working. His marriage becomes a controversial issue, as he and Joyce are well-known people. She slyly thinks of having a second marriage, and clearly asks about it, encouraging the practice not as a shame for her, but as an expression of the strength and generosity of polygamy. The way polygamy is shown in an artistic way, mocking all the difficulties of this post-colonial arrangement. On the one hand, Jonas affirms that he has the right to polygamy as a culture and a real culture, something that is opposed by colonialism and the paganism of African people. But Jonas is also apparently a man who will say and do anything to fulfill his wishes. And so, like those mentioned, I found myself torn between the legality of marriage rituals and African customs (polygamy is legal in South Africa and several other African countries), and the idea that these ugly customs can be used as silly tools to condone infidelity and insult women. As an Mtsali player he said in an interview with CNN: “This is not polygamy, this is dirty.”
Fetishing bourgeois good manners
The gap between tradition and modernity is also growing due to the deterioration of the society. The show transforms from a soap opera into a masterpiece as Jonas grows up as a child in Soweto, a town rife with poverty and crime. Young Jonas is smart, eager to leave, and uses his charm to convince the women around him to help him escape poverty. His story stands as an allegory for all the damage that rapid immobility has wreaked on the post-apartheid South African generation. But it is also important in all areas where the lack of wealth has led people to find wealth as their only savior. Despite his faults, Jonah continues to please those around him, because his wanderings mean that he is also their savior. Values, principles, morals, are all compromised in an escape from economic hardship.
As such, the series shows the toxicity of smut: the characters argue over the latest iPhone, covet expensive beer and, at one point, spit on Wagyu beef. But unexpectedly, it also leans heavily on the sordid side of the characters’ lives. There are sexually transmitted diseases, lost and mentally disturbed children, and cases of physical abuse. Polygamists are not liked or thought of by middle and upper class people in Africa. Everyone in the show seems to be trapped in Jonah’s way, struggling with a high tithe in hopes of catching the rainmaker.
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But there is also love. Amidst the chaos and destruction, something real always survives – the love that Jonah’s wives and families still hold for him, and the kindness and devotion between them that still exists. This is the result of some blockbuster action. Noluthando Shabalala in particular, who plays Jonasi’s daughter, Mpume, gives a tear-jerking portrayal of a troubled old age as she talks about Jonasi’s abuse. Beneath the wild costumes, technicolor makeup and outrageous wigs, actors have been making thespian transformations for years.
Rollercoaster in silence
Polygamy is an African issue. It was adapted from a novel by Sue Nyathi, a Zimbabwean writer, and directed by Akin Omotoso, from Nigeria, and Nthabi Tau and Rolie Nikiwe, who are from South Africa. It is surprising that there are no white people, they are not interested in knowing about the disaster that everyone is getting out of the ground, and why the towns existed. This is the entire creation of Black and Africa, not concerned with self-interpretation for foreign audiences. And, ironically, that’s why it’s taken off the way it has. Through a certain lens, it tells the story of the universe, of how much people are willing to compromise for love, and money.
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Have you seen Polygamy? Share your experience on the show by commenting on this post, or emailing us thelongwave@theguardian.com and we may include your response in our next edition.
