by: mandi kunkle. apartheids effect on film: --white/ afrikaans films recognized almost exclusively...
TRANSCRIPT
SOUTH AFRICAN FILM
By: Mandi Kunkle
SOUTH AFRICAN: A HISTORY IN FILM
Apartheid’s effect on Film: --White/ Afrikaans films recognized almost exclusively -White films avoided political critiques -subsidies favored such movies
Films reflecting Apartheid negativley: -shot out of country/shut down -this led to clandestine shooting of such films
Hay
PERPETUATING THE STEREOTYPE
Many movies during this time illustrated:●Apartheid was good for everyone●Everyone was happy with segregation●movies reinforce social roles created at this time-Whites had God given superiority-films forced ideology of dominant (White) group onto mediaHayThomaselli, 1980
MEDIA IMPERIALISM DURING APARTHEID White South Africans dominated movie industry Control of Industry= media imperialism? Media Imperialism functions to: ●distort recorded history in favor of dominant group (White
South Africans) -could be used to diffuse “black consciousness”/ unity ●imperialistic movies justifies their actions -by perpetuating stereotypes previously discussed ●Create cultural myths to reinforce reality -again, by perpetuating the stereotypes
Tomaselli, 1980
CATEGORIZATION OF APARTHEID FILMS Tomaseli argues that three genres existed during
this time that were approved by government:1. “Back to the Homelands” -reflects government’s stance that Homeland policy
(the segregation of neighborhoods) needed to allow non-whites to “outgrow their ignorance in their own time, place and manner.”
-black man as unsophisicated -films include: Isiviko (’79), Ngomopho (’74), Moloyi
(‘78) and Yuma (‘78)
Tomaseli, 1980
CATEGORIZATION OF APARTHEID FILMS
2.Coopted Movie -black filmmakers controlled by
Nationalist capital -films include: Tigers Don’t Cry (‘76)
and Escape from Angola (’77)
Tomaselli, 1980
CATEGORIZATION OF APARTHEID FILMS 3. Conditional Urban Movies -tried to gain support of growing black
middle class (note that it only includes middle class)
-Films include: Utosti (‘78), Phindesela (’79) and Umzingeli (‘79)
Tomaselli, 1980
CHANGES IN SOUTH AFRICAN FILMS
Starting in 1980s and continuing through end of Apartheid:
●shift in focus on audience ●Industry recognized need for non-white cinema to
boost industry -these films were shown in isolated cinemas -these films were “juvenile” and cheap
Hay
FILM INDUSTRY AFTER APARTHEID ●Black Empowerment Act: -minimum number of non-whites -these employees had to act in creative roles and have production
power
●African Film Library -archive black African culture on film
●Government and Film --new focus on reflecting the socio-political environment
●Growth, Employment and redistribution (GEAR) policy: -develop film industry that reflects and represents the nation -sustains commercial capability -allows creative talents of South Africa to become internationally
recognizedHayTreffy-Goatly, 2010
FAMOUS DIRECTORS: THEN AND NOW Jamie Uys: “the Gods Must Be Crazy” (1980s) - and Afrikaan film director -successful in box office -perpetuated uncivilized “other”
Ross Devenish: (1970s) -unsuccessful due to content :based on political commentary
Darrell Roodt: (1980s-present) -focused on showing negative side of Apartheid -gained international success
Hood (2000s) -post-modernist look at effects of Apartheid on African “townships” -Academy Award winning film “Tsotsi” was big international hit
Hay
INTERNATIONAL VS. LOCAL INDUSTRY International Scale: -South Africa provides technical and logistical support for
foreign productions -Apartheid greatly weakened economy- including film
industry
Local Scale: -Geo-politcal effects of Apartheid still present -racially segregated film “culture” -many non-white South Africans can’t access theaters -this causes distribution problems -currently working on creating diverse audience
Treffry-Goatly, 2010
HOLLYWOOD MEETS SOUTH AFRICAN FILM ●News Coverage: -late 1980’s coverage of violent conflicts in South Africa hit US
news -Americans started using white South Africans as villains
-the most famous example is Lethal Weapon 2 ●African American audiences interested in South African films
-African American middle class especially -want something more complex than U.S. films targeted at them -culture struggle is key to “liberation” of South African films
●Pan African Film Festival -Tsotsi “leads way” introducing U.S. to South African Films - Other South African directors/ films earned nods at festival -”South Africa has been prolific in film making”-Griffin
Griffin, 2006Jowett, 1992
YESTERDAY: FILM OVERVIEWYesterday
Directed By: Darrell Roodt ● famous South African Director
Starring: Leleti Khumalo ● South African Actress, Tony Award Nominee
Nominated for Academy Award in 2004
Production & Distribution: International
http://www.yesterdaythemovie.co.za/Roodt, Darrell, Dir. Yesterday. Dir. Darrell Roodt." HBO Films: 2004, Film.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419279/
YESTERDAY
Synopsis: ●Yesterday is a young woman who
discovers she is HIV positive
●Yesterday struggles with disease, family, and ostracism from the village
Yesterday’s cinemotography: ● Long shots of South African landscapes
●Scenes are brightly colored
●Traditional African music sets the tone
http://www.yesterdaythemovie.co.za/Roodt, Darrell, Dir. Yesterday. Dir. Darrell Roodt." HBO Films: 2004, Film.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419279/
YESTERDAY: AIDS IN SOUTH AFRICAYesterday illustrates the devastating affects of AIDS in South Africa ●AIDS is more prevalent in South Africa than any other country
This film depicts the spread of the virus from townships to villages ● Yesterday’s husband spends many months in Johannesburg where he is infected
Yesterday represents the hardships that black South Africans suffer:
●Working: finding work is difficult and separates families for long periods of time
●Medical help: Yesterday had to walk for hours to see the doctor, who was only available once a week
●Education: many are ignorant about the disease / information isn’t readily available
Hay
Roodt, Darrell, Dir. Yesterday. Dir. Darrell Roodt." HBO Films: 2004, Film.
SKIN: FILM OVERVIEWSkin
First time Director: Anthony Fabian
Stars: ●Sophie Okonedo (United Kingdom) ●Sam Neill (United Kingdom) ●Alice Krige (South Africa)
Production and Distribtion: International
Awards: Pan African Film Festival Audience Award
Fabian , Anthony (Writer). (2008). Skin [DVD].http://www.skinthemovie.net/site/Skin . (2008). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964586/
SKIN SYNOPSIS
●Amazing true story set in Apartheid South Africa
●A black girl, Sandra, born to “white” Afrikaans
●Film focuses on struggles of classification
●Sandra is forced to choose which race she “belongs” to and the repercussions of this choice
Fabian , Anthony (Writer). (2008). Skin [DVD].http://www.skinthemovie.net/site/Skin . (2008). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964586
SKIN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cinematography:●The film uses filters to make everything look slightly washed out
●Long shots of African landscapes
●Close ups allow viewer to connect emotionally with the characters
●Fabian: “I didn’t want to impose myself as a director, but make the story the star”
- no use of “fancy” camera angles-this allowed for focus on characters-”racism is a tough subject to do subtly”- Fabian
Fabian , Anthony (Writer). (2008). Skin [DVD].indieWire
SOUTH AFRICAN FILM?
●Fabian, Okonedo and Neill are UK born/raised
● Filmed in South Africa, though filmed in English (Zulu is also used)
● Set in South Africa ●Critique of South African political structure
●No South African distribution companies used
●South African Production companies were used
Anthony Fabian
Fabian , Anthony (Writer). (2008). Skin [DVD].http://www.skinthemovie.net/site/
Skin . (2008). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964586
SKIN: APARTHIED AND FAMILYTwo Afrikaans birth black child (Sandra Laing)
●both parents contain enough “black” genes to produce a black child ●they work to classify her as white ●parents love Sandra, but are victims of system themselves
-they accept Sandra, but consider blacks as lesser beings -”Do you know how those people live?”- Abraham Laing in
reference to the black population -warning: personal plug: This movie was an incredibly moving
depiction of ApartheidIllustrates Apartheid’s injustices focusing on humanity, not politics
Gooch states: “Fabian brilliantly unfolds the horrors of the apartheid system and the cost that the system protracted on families and human dignity”
Fabian , Anthony (Writer). (2008). Skin [DVD].
Gooch,2009
WHY SKIN AND YESTERDAY?
These films, along with Tsotsi, are post-modernism films
These films can be viewed as a critique of Apartheid
Each film represents a different aspect of the affects of Apartheid: ●Yesterday: AIDS- the lack of education/ protection/ medical help is
caused by the economic aftershock of Apartheid that many South African face
●Tsotsi: (not discussed in power point due to class discussion) Violence- again the result of the economic
●Skin: Family- many families were torn apart by laws that were instituted during Apartheid after hundreds of years of crossing “the color line.”
WORKS CITED
Fabian , Anthony (Writer). (2008). Skin [DVD]. Gooch, William. (2009, November 8). Skin movie review. A Simple Woman's Story of
Courage, Retrieved from Griffin, Gil. (2006, May/June). South african film comes of age. Crisis Forum, 39-41. http://stageandcinema.com/skinreview.html Hay, Rod. A new horizon: a short history of south african films. Metro Magazine 150, 134-
139. http://www.skinthemovie.net/site/ http://www.yesterdaythemovie.co.za/ IndieWire, (2008, October 30). Interview with anthony fabian: "skins' anthony fabian: "for
days afterward, i had a lump in my throat". Retrieved from http://www.indiewire.com/article/skins_anthony_fabian_for_days_afterward_i_had_a_lump_in_my_throat/
Jowett, G.S. “Hollywod discovers Apartheid.” Journal of Popular Film and Television 19.4 (1992): 172. Communications & Mass Media Complete Ebsco.web. 8 Mar. 2011
Roodt, Darrell, Dir. Yesterday. Dir. Darrell Roodt." HBO Films: 2004, Film. Skin . (2008). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964586/ Tomasellie, Keyan. (1980). Class and ideology reflections in south african cinema. Critical
Arts: South African Cinema, i(i), Treffry-Goatly, Astrid. (2010). Post-apartheid film industry: representation, creativity and
commercialism in the post-apartheid film industry. Retrieved from http://www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca/article.php?id=453&feature
Yesterday. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419279/