First off, I found that there is a city in South Africa, Orania, where only Afrikaners live. I found this particularly interesting as how this is possible. In the video it says that the land is privately owned so I'm assuming this has to do with it's establishment. I wonder if any blacks have tried moving here or simply visiting.
These are the links to an article and a video on Orania.
We also spent quite some time talking about Winnie Mandela and how women's roles in apartheid and the civil right movement are not quite expressed nor talked about. I found the trailer to the movie and would love to watch it. Although reviews do say the film does not capture the role of Ms. Mandela correctly.
Here is the link to the tailer and a little review on the film.
A big topic I was interested in was post apartheid and how South Africa is today, especially Cape Town. Although I am still researching on this topic and trying to get a feeling of how the environment is over there I enjoyed reading this article. I thought it was rather interesting how the writer ended the article by referring the colored community to a litmus test.
Here is the link to the article.
The Orania concept is an interesting idea. I wonder if non-Afrikaaners have any issues with it and whether other whites or coloreds would be allowed in. Your last article really highlighted the complexity of race. It mentioned how people wouldn't even call Obama "black" or even "colored" but specifically "biracial".
ReplyDeleteI agree with the film review based solely on the trailer. It seems that the movie glosses over Winnie Mandela's complex character and doesn't delve into the not so pretty things she did for the movement. It kind of makes it seem that it focuses just on her romantic relationship with Mandela when they could have actually put more of what she did for the movement, how she was treated, what propelled her and focused the movie mainly on her, instead of making the movie partly Nelson Mandela's story. But then again, I just watched the trailer, so I could be misguided.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the video says that Oriana is protected by South Africa's constitution, which guarantees the right of self-determination. I wish it had spoken more about the opinions of those living outside of Oriana, but I can't blame them for seeking safety within a common community.
ReplyDeleteThe "Not White Enough, Not Black Enough" article provided a whole new perspective on the racial hierarchy that is so "politically and economically entrenched." I would like to know more about what is being done on their behalf.
Oriana is a great find. I think its great they are trying to preserve their culture but it definitely brings up this idea that they are keeping themselves away for more than that issue. I definitely want to know what other people from other areas nearby think about this place.
ReplyDeleteVery cool findings. I appreciate the deeper and thoroughness that you had to make use of. I like the interpretation of Winnie Mandela and how her image of what she represents plays into the bigger picture.
ReplyDelete