Cry Freedom, a film review
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The film
starts off in a black township, showing the miserable living conditions a big
part of the population is living in. Suddenly, the peace of the scene is
disturbed by police tanks that drive through the township and policemen that
destroy whatever comes on their way. Houses are burnt down to the ground, women
are sexually abused and men are beaten. With this introduction, Attenborough, strongly
and with very little words, outlines the context and takes the audience to Apartheid
South Africa of 1976. At the end of the scene, a poster of a black man is
pinned to the wall of a destroyed building. The man on the poster is Steve Biko
and with this representation his person is immediately linked to resistance
against the unjust regime.
This scene is followed by a shot of black woman listening to the radio which reports about the razzia in the township. In contrast to what just has been shown, this news channel states that the people, living in the township, have presented themselves voluntarily to the police. In addition, it justifies the razzia by calling the township an illegal settlement and saying that it poses a threat to public health. Attenborough has shown in a subtle way how the media can twist the truth and as such frame certain information about actual events in society. The media was one way through which the white elite could secure its powerful and dominant position as it had the power to (re)produce (false) knowledge about happenings but also about individuals like Biko.
This scene is followed by a shot of black woman listening to the radio which reports about the razzia in the township. In contrast to what just has been shown, this news channel states that the people, living in the township, have presented themselves voluntarily to the police. In addition, it justifies the razzia by calling the township an illegal settlement and saying that it poses a threat to public health. Attenborough has shown in a subtle way how the media can twist the truth and as such frame certain information about actual events in society. The media was one way through which the white elite could secure its powerful and dominant position as it had the power to (re)produce (false) knowledge about happenings but also about individuals like Biko.
The other
main character, Donald Woods, is introduced with a scene in his office, where
he works as an editor for a newspaper. At first sight this shot may look
innocent, but as all his colleagues are white and by keeping the former scene
in mind, it can be seen illustrative for who controls the media and news
reporting in South Africa.
That the two men eventually meet each other and become close friends is a concurrence of circumstance. Because of his banning order, which forbids him to write or publish anything, Steve Biko cannot respond to the critic articles Donald Woods has published about him. Here we see how censorship in South Africa was imposed by law. Individuals with a banning order were not allowed to write anything for private or publishing purposes. In addition, they were forbidden to enter any publishing or printing premises in order to avoid them for spreading their message. Opponents to the regime were thus easily silenced. In addition, there was a law that legalized imprisonment without trial. As such, the police and security agencies were given sufficient tools to act forcefully and arbitrary against anyone who criticized the regime.
That the two men eventually meet each other and become close friends is a concurrence of circumstance. Because of his banning order, which forbids him to write or publish anything, Steve Biko cannot respond to the critic articles Donald Woods has published about him. Here we see how censorship in South Africa was imposed by law. Individuals with a banning order were not allowed to write anything for private or publishing purposes. In addition, they were forbidden to enter any publishing or printing premises in order to avoid them for spreading their message. Opponents to the regime were thus easily silenced. In addition, there was a law that legalized imprisonment without trial. As such, the police and security agencies were given sufficient tools to act forcefully and arbitrary against anyone who criticized the regime.
Biko thinks
of Woods as a true liberal, though more moderate than the average white South
African. As such, he is invited to Biko’s place and to see South Africa through
his eyes. Biko introduces him to a part of South Africa, which a white South
African man is almost never aware of. Slowly but steadily, a change can be
observed in Woods attitude towards Biko’s rhetoric and resistance among the
black population in general. He is confronted with the darker side of a regime
he has been living in his entire life and even believed in. As Woods gets more
and more determined to actively fight against the regime, he is also
increasingly confronted with serious incidents of violence enacted by the South
African police. Initially, the violence is only directed towards Biko and his
immediate surroundings, resulting in the destruction of their community church.
Hereafter, we also witness how Woods and his family becomes a target of
violence themselves: Their house gets shot at and T-shirts with Biko’s print
containing itching powder are delivered, causing serious skin burns to his
youngest daughter.
Through these scenes, the film shows the audience how violence is used by the South African police to oppress any opponents and deter them from engaging in any activities that criticize the regime. It becomes painfully clear how willing the regime’s supporters, mostly in the form of the police, are to guarantee the survival of the state. This time they are not even making a distinction between black and white opponents with regards to the use of violence and deterrence.
Through these scenes, the film shows the audience how violence is used by the South African police to oppress any opponents and deter them from engaging in any activities that criticize the regime. It becomes painfully clear how willing the regime’s supporters, mostly in the form of the police, are to guarantee the survival of the state. This time they are not even making a distinction between black and white opponents with regards to the use of violence and deterrence.
Despite his
banning order, Biko found ways to evade the police. But when he is on his way
to Cape Town to attend a student’s protest, he got arrested. In prison, they
beat him up so badly that he is left with severe brain damage. The prison doctor
recommends a specialist for his injuries. The policemen, however, want to take
him to the police hospital in Pretoria, 1100km away, to prevent him from
escaping. Steve Biko dies in custody one month after he got arrested. The formal
notification stated that he died as a result of a hunger strike.
Among all other ways to censor someone, death can be seen as a last resort. It is not just preventing someone from spreading ideas; it is an attempt to burry ideas in the hope that they will never live again. Although Biko was not fighting for anything else than equal rights for everyone, he has been silenced by a regime that was too frightened that his ideas would bring damage to the regime. In the former South Africa, freedom of speech was not protected and as such Biko could easily be imprisoned without any form of trial and was in addition subjected to the arbitrariness of the regime. Also the formal notification of his death reveals again how the regime is concealing his true nature and depicts a false picture of what truly happens.
Among all other ways to censor someone, death can be seen as a last resort. It is not just preventing someone from spreading ideas; it is an attempt to burry ideas in the hope that they will never live again. Although Biko was not fighting for anything else than equal rights for everyone, he has been silenced by a regime that was too frightened that his ideas would bring damage to the regime. In the former South Africa, freedom of speech was not protected and as such Biko could easily be imprisoned without any form of trial and was in addition subjected to the arbitrariness of the regime. Also the formal notification of his death reveals again how the regime is concealing his true nature and depicts a false picture of what truly happens.
After
Biko’s death, Woods is more than ever determined to spread Biko’s message. When
Woods himself is also censored by the regime through a banning order, he
decides to flee South Africa. Together with his manuscript and his family, he
escapes to Lesotho and via Botswana eventually flee to the UK, where he published
his book about Biko.
In retrospect,
Cry Freedom covers different ways of censoring. It ranges from a more creative
way of censoring, as seen in the distorted media coverage of the razzia in the
township and Biko’s death, to a very violent way of censoring, as seen in the
murdering of Steve Biko. It provides the audience with interesting insights of what
the Apartheid regime was like and how their paranoia about possible threats to the
regime made them even kill opponents.
Mijke's review of 'Cry Freedom' shows the different types of censorship in Apartheid South Africa. By describing different scenes from the movie, Mijke clearly sets out the various ways in which the Apartheid government censored the population. She shows how the apartheid’s regime of South Africa varies in methods of censorship, ranging from ‘just’ banning people, to eventually, even killing a person who fights the regime.
ReplyDeleteThe differences of what actually happened in townships, when the police/army raided and what is shown on South African television are bizarre. When watching the movie myself, I found that very striking. It is hard to imagine that censorship in apartheid in South Africa went so deep. Then again, when all the journalists are white, and white people were not allowed in the townships, it almost starts to make sense as to why the media only showed the white/apartheid side of the story. When the media is controlled by only one group of people, in this case the whites, it becomes very hard to have objective news coverage.
Mijke also remarks that when Woods starts to fight against the regime, the government (police and government supporters) turn against Woods, even though he is black. It becomes clear that the regime is not merely against black/coloured people, but they are against people who question the regime. People often believe that the apartheid regime was only making the lives of black people a struggle. It is important to remember, that the apartheid regime turns against anyone who questions the regime, the colour of someone’s skin does not have to play a role.
Perhaps what I found most interesting, is Mijke's description of how the death of Steve Biko can be seen as the government's last form of censorship against Biko and his ideas. I think she makes a valid point: Biko would not stop promoting his ideas, even though he was already banned, so killing him would be the government's 'last resort', as Mijke describes it.
To conclude, Mijke wrote an interesting film review that distinguishes between the different types of censorship that the apartheid regime used and showed how censorship was deeply entrenched in South African society.