Sjava’s Impilo is graphic but has no answers

Sjava’s ‘Impilo’, however, brings symmetry to song and video. It is a portrait of violence against women and children in South Africa – abusive men are trash. Stabbing, shooting, burning or maiming someone for falling out of love is evil. Oscar Pistorius and Sandile Mantsoe are examples of this culture.

‘Impilo’ juxtaposes past and present relationships. The contrast assumes that funerals are replacing marriages because of domestic violence. The video has a dark tone that looks like the dream sequence in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind where Jim Carrey’s character’s memories are erased because he wants to forget his ex. A lobotomy is a better option than murder. Starting afresh is amicable, respectful and requires real strength. Exerting violence over anybody is cowardly, weak and selfish.  

Sjava appears to be an incarnation of the Norse god Heimdall in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who has the power to see and hear everything in the present. But he doesn’t possess the power to change the course of events. He’s basically a glorified Peeping Tom brandishing a superpower akin to inflight flight. That’s when you can levitate but only in an airplane. Sjava is very similar to Heimdall  because he doesn’t really provide any solutions to a problem. But we’ll get to that a little later.   

Four stories are told in the ‘Impilo’ video. The first is about a couple that gets into an altercation after a warm hug, for reasons unknown. The boyfriend then kills his partner. The inference here is that the boyfriend is overly controlling and abusive to a point that he cannot control the beast within him. He holds her lifeless body in regret. As you’d expect, Peeping Tom Sjava is there.

The video then cuts to a scene where an intoxicated man bashes his wife. In a country where alcoholism is rife and inequality lives alongside more than half the population, this scene is in close proximity to the truth. On TV, in the taxi or at school, people hear stories about men who unleash their wrath on their partners during drunken rampages. Sometimes it ends in tragedy.

Do you remember the ChildLine ad about Lucy Moonflower who was “very scared because the shadow was back and the shadow was bad”? Sjava’s third act is about child abuse. The face of the perpetrator remains in the shadows, signalling that the everyday man who blends in most effectively is capable of the most heinous acts.

The final story is about street harassment. A young woman minding her own business while texting is grabbed by a passer-by who calls his friends and together the group overpowers her. The frame is then frozen and the omniscient Sjava shows up again. This is an everyday reality; women are catcalled and harassed by packs of men on the streets who tend to become violent if their advances are not reciprocated.

Sjava is a god in the ‘Impilo’ universe, delivering the message that violent crimes are out of control in South Africa. Most of the commentary is embedded in the idea of male dominance over women and their bodies. The video criticises the mind-set of men who allow themselves to think they ought to control the fairer sex. But Sjava’s message is half-baked. His answer to all this violence is to call on priests and healers to pray for women and children. This is hardly a solution.

It’s not up to spirituality to determine the course of action in the prevention of women and child abuse. Social cohesion is a prerequisite along with an unwavering understanding that women are not the property of men. Sjava shows us a reality that every South African is well acquainted with. There’s really nothing new here. Perhaps Sjava should have mentioned the failure of the state to protect women and children and to educate men about treating their partners with respect. 

Artist: Sjava
Video: ‘Impilo’ 
Label, year: Ambitiouz Ent, 2017