We all have ideas about people we have never met. Sometimes those ideas come from what we have been told, what we see online or simply from encountering a way of life that is unfamiliar to us.
That is where “Govan Ontbloot” found its place in its first season. Hosted by award-winning journalist Govan Whittles, who has worked across newsrooms including the Mail & Guardian, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika and is now a presenter on “Carte Blanche”, the kykNET documentary series spent time with South Africans whose lives, beliefs and communities are not always part of everyday conversation.
In the first season, viewers met members of the Khoi community of Knoflokskraal and people receiving treatment at the New Life Centre, while other episodes looked at different beliefs, lifestyles and communities through Whittles’ conversations and reporting.
The second season continues that approach, taking Whittles into another collection of communities and belief systems.
The 13-episode season includes encounters with a naturist community, cannabis farmers, people affected by farm attacks and people who identify as witches and practise spiritual traditions involving spirits and deities.
Whittles also visits a Free State family that has withdrawn from mainstream society and established its own church. Other episodes focus on the Crusaders motorcycle club, Freemasons and residents of Onverwacht who identify as Black Afrikaners.
The subjects may appear very different from one another, but identity and belonging remain recurring themes. Whittles says the second season goes further into the lives of people who do not often step forward to be part of mainstream society.
“We delve even deeper into the lives of people who rarely step forward to be part of mainstream society. This time, it is about secrets and beliefs without shame. The new season presents a struggle with identity, and an encounter with various worlds behind the scenes,” he said.
There is also a personal element to Whittles’ role in the series. Co-executive producer John Webb says the journalist’s own assumptions form part of the journey, with Whittles confronting his “prejudices, uncertainties, and preconceived ideas” as he meets each group.
That is one of the more interesting threads to carry from one season to the next. The people featured may have beliefs or lifestyles viewers do not recognise in themselves, but the starting point is still a conversation.
Season two of “Govan Ontbloot” premieres on kykNET on Tuesday, October 6 at 9pm on DStv channel 144.