South Africa, a land cut from a torn and tattered cloth, ripped from the Apartheid government and further shredded by the current government. We all know the tragic history of South Africa but just to refresh your minds for the youth that believe that South Africa was better just because we experience load shedding now, let me recap. South Africa was colonised in 1652 and ever since then resources have been stolen, people have been displaced and our stories have been whitewashed and erased. The 80’s and 90’s ushered the peak of this gruesome story where the black men and women in South Africa chose to rather die than to continue living a life where they have designated places to sit, where they are forced into manual labour, where they have to get an education in the language of their oppressors and where they had to carry pass books to roam on their own land. History was changed and power was given to the hands of the people, but at what cost? Death, rape, torture and perpetual poverty.

South African filmmakers seem to insist on reminding us of this history time and time again either by remaking stories of war heroes like in the film Kalushi and more recently Silverton Siege or finding new scenarios where these themes are recontextualized like in the films Wild is the Wind and Collision. It’s undeniable that our present is a direct result of our past and that means having to look back at how we got here but how sustainable is that going to be 10, 20 years from now. Constantly blaming the sins of the past does not wash away the sins of the present and if anything, all it does is perpetuate the current status quo. We see this in Wild is the Wind where the main character constantly blames the “system” for choosing corruption and for failing to control his temper. He does nothing to change the system he hates so much but instead contributes to making it worse. Films that show us that South Africa has a problem but never addresses individual problems miss out on so many opportunities to talk to individual people. A show like Yizo Yizo which garnered a lot of controversy for being too explicit was a show I would use as a good example in speaking to individual people. Yes all the characters came from the exact same socio – economic backgrounds but their choices and outcomes were based on who they are as individuals. All of them made mistakes, some atoned for their mistakes, some did not but everyone living in the township could identify with at least one character and reflect on their life choices. That is how you use politics and socio – economic themes in a real and sustainable way that does not exploit the stories of people living in poverty but invokes real life dialogue that could result in real life change.

South African filmmakers seem to struggle to find the sweet spot in between telling a story and highlighting social issues. Most of them fall too much into highlighting social issues and neglect captivating stories that a viewer can walk away with and internalise.