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CALGARY
(LC for APCNews) – Poverty and social inequity in South Africa have
shaped the development of media culture and distribution in the
country. Low incomes in a country where one-third of the
population lives on less than one dollar a day, high prices for
commercial DVDs and Cds and a widespread advertising culture have
created a high demand for media goods which are not easily obtained
legally for the great majority of South Africans. Making pirated
disks, books and online digital formats the desirable
alternative. A new study on media piracy Media Piracy in Emerging
Economies examines why piracy has come to be so widespread world-wide,
the reasons why it persists and looks at the future. APC is the
contributor for the South African chapter. More>
CALGARY
(LC for APCNews) - Although the political significance of piracy as a
form of rebellion in South Africa has mostly dropped away in the
post-Apartheid era, “the sharply racialised patterns of inequality and
access to media have not,” says a new book that looks at the prevalence
of media piracy, how it is organised, and why people buy pirated goods
or work in the black market. The book collects case studies from
various countries including a chapter on South Africa by APC. The
case study of Hanover Park, a township outside Cape Town, reveals that
watching pirated films brings families together. And more importantly,
allows people with limited means the opportunity to access information
and culture they would otherwise not be able to afford, bridging the
social gap between the different social classes and making them be a
part of a global conversation. More>
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