My heart is heavy as I write this because I am such a fan of the Criminal Minds franchise. Upon watching season 1 – Episode 11 (Iqiniso) recently – I was appalled at how poorly my country (South Africa) was portrayed. I respect the international cast of the show – but I believe strongly that casting our local (black) South African actors could have vastly improved on the narrative of that particular episode. As South Africans, we live in a world where we have to accept that Morgan Freeman will portray Mandela and Jennifer Hudson – Winnie Mandela because we simply do not have the big budgets to tell our own stories on a grand global scene as our international counterparts. While I am glad that our country made an integral part of that particular episode – I simply cannot forgive the poor cast selection (representing supposed black South Africans). The accents were very poor and pronunciation made a mockery of our Zulu language. I am not even convinced that the episode was shot anywhere near our borders ("beyond borders"). South Africans are beautiful, talented and very proud. Our story goes beyond our Apartheid and Mandela legacy. The person responsible for that particular episode – should have researched (what are you using your big monies for?), cast South Africans actors and most importantly remembered that as much as the show is international – that it is sold to "entry level markets" as we are referred to as. This episode was the worst portrayal of my country and sadly, it also made a joke of the Criminal Minds brand as a whole.
Review of Iqiniso
