TSOTSI...THE FILM VERSUS REALITY IN S.A.
Sitting on the edge of my seat and being terrified by the shocking violence on the big screen, I was puzzled why others in the audience were not so quietly laughing. Izak had explained what a "tsotsi" was, so I thought that was preparation enough to buffet the harshness of criminal life in Soweto, South Africa's black township of note. It was not.
A tsotsi is both admired and despised in South African society. Indeed, such an individual is a criminal, thug, gangster (or is it "gangsta?"), all in the same breath. My learners affectionately called me a tsotsi the other day because I made reference to rearranging a person's dental work if said person tried to hijack my Toyota Corolla. Interesting, huh? Suddenly I'm the "bad guy" because some character is in need of transportation and decides I look like an easy mark.
Hijacking cars seems to be a cottage industry around here. The Kempton Park Express newspaper recently told of a major chopshop right here in good 'ole K.P. The accompanying photo revealed Benz's, Beemers, and Volvos, in various stages of being disassembled. My Toyota is an older model, so I'm figuring they won't covet my wheels.
Now you would think folks wouldn't be driving around in luxury cars, right? Wrong! People, in particular single women, end up being hijacked here quite often...sadly, some are murdered and thrown in the trunk of their own vehicle, or simply discarded along the highway. The Tsotsi movie played off of that theme: the tough, smooth-faced guy unknowingly hijacked a luxury car with a baby in it. That was only after he shot the woman driving the car, of course. He left her for dead.
The Oscar-winning film obviously has some redeeming qualities. First of all, the acting of lead star Presley Chweneyagae (that's ch-oo-wee-nay-yeah-gay-e), is stunning. Forget the dialogue, which is Zulu, Presley dictates the action with his menacing, yet strangely tender looks, and his gangster swagger. Then, you are suddenly turned around in your seat by his warmth and child-like affection toward the accidently kidnapped baby. Said baby is wrapped in swaddling clothes--no accident there it seems. The director, Gavin Hood, throws in a dash of humor here and there, which lightens the load of the life of a young fellow who seems to be victimized by the circumstances of his life in the "hood."
Yes, the film deserved an Oscar for "Best Foreign Language Film" of the past year. Before the film, young Chweneyagae had never been on an airplane--he was whisked away on his first flight, of course, to Hollywood for all the Oscar hoopla/after-glow parties. Terry Pheto, the female lead, has received multiple offers for new films; ditto for Presley. The celluloid possibilities are endless for these two new stars and that is the way it should be, right?
The film and its stars are celebrities in South Africa. Cries of "here comes Mzansi!" are being heard (Mzansi is a Zulu word for South...meaning South Africa). A featured advertisement in the Johannesburg newspaper, The Star, screamed the Afrikaaner phrase, "IS LEKKER, PRESLEY!", which roughly translated means well-done, Presley! South African pride over the accomplishment of winning the prestigious Oscar is as deep as the famed Kimberley diamond mines.
There seems to be another side to all the celebrating. Radio talk show hosts feature nervous citizens who worry over the lionizing of criminals as a result of the film. They are fearful that a "Robin Hood" mentality will surface, thus glorifying the pernicious deeds of gangsters and thugs in South Africa. It's a very real fear because all one has to do is pick up a newspaper or watch/listen to news, and it is obvious South Africa has a very serious crime problem.
Like American teens, youngsters here probably won't pay too much attention to the scene at the end of the Tsotsi film--when the lead actor is confronted by police following the safe transfer of the baby to his wheelchair-bound mother, in the same driveway where the misadventure began. Kids often get caught up in the language and demeanor of the violators of decency. Rebellion is nature to young people everywhere and the "wilding" of people like this featured tsotsi, leaves some howling with delight.
Enough of the amateur psycholoanalyzing here! If you haven't seen the film, take the time to see it soon. I feel very fortunate to have been in South Africa when the accolades came cascading in for this captivating movie. No, I feel a certain human pride for all South Africans because of the redemptive nature of the visual story-telling of Gavin Hood--Amandla, viva South Africa!
A tsotsi is both admired and despised in South African society. Indeed, such an individual is a criminal, thug, gangster (or is it "gangsta?"), all in the same breath. My learners affectionately called me a tsotsi the other day because I made reference to rearranging a person's dental work if said person tried to hijack my Toyota Corolla. Interesting, huh? Suddenly I'm the "bad guy" because some character is in need of transportation and decides I look like an easy mark.
Hijacking cars seems to be a cottage industry around here. The Kempton Park Express newspaper recently told of a major chopshop right here in good 'ole K.P. The accompanying photo revealed Benz's, Beemers, and Volvos, in various stages of being disassembled. My Toyota is an older model, so I'm figuring they won't covet my wheels.
Now you would think folks wouldn't be driving around in luxury cars, right? Wrong! People, in particular single women, end up being hijacked here quite often...sadly, some are murdered and thrown in the trunk of their own vehicle, or simply discarded along the highway. The Tsotsi movie played off of that theme: the tough, smooth-faced guy unknowingly hijacked a luxury car with a baby in it. That was only after he shot the woman driving the car, of course. He left her for dead.
The Oscar-winning film obviously has some redeeming qualities. First of all, the acting of lead star Presley Chweneyagae (that's ch-oo-wee-nay-yeah-gay-e), is stunning. Forget the dialogue, which is Zulu, Presley dictates the action with his menacing, yet strangely tender looks, and his gangster swagger. Then, you are suddenly turned around in your seat by his warmth and child-like affection toward the accidently kidnapped baby. Said baby is wrapped in swaddling clothes--no accident there it seems. The director, Gavin Hood, throws in a dash of humor here and there, which lightens the load of the life of a young fellow who seems to be victimized by the circumstances of his life in the "hood."
Yes, the film deserved an Oscar for "Best Foreign Language Film" of the past year. Before the film, young Chweneyagae had never been on an airplane--he was whisked away on his first flight, of course, to Hollywood for all the Oscar hoopla/after-glow parties. Terry Pheto, the female lead, has received multiple offers for new films; ditto for Presley. The celluloid possibilities are endless for these two new stars and that is the way it should be, right?
The film and its stars are celebrities in South Africa. Cries of "here comes Mzansi!" are being heard (Mzansi is a Zulu word for South...meaning South Africa). A featured advertisement in the Johannesburg newspaper, The Star, screamed the Afrikaaner phrase, "IS LEKKER, PRESLEY!", which roughly translated means well-done, Presley! South African pride over the accomplishment of winning the prestigious Oscar is as deep as the famed Kimberley diamond mines.
There seems to be another side to all the celebrating. Radio talk show hosts feature nervous citizens who worry over the lionizing of criminals as a result of the film. They are fearful that a "Robin Hood" mentality will surface, thus glorifying the pernicious deeds of gangsters and thugs in South Africa. It's a very real fear because all one has to do is pick up a newspaper or watch/listen to news, and it is obvious South Africa has a very serious crime problem.
Like American teens, youngsters here probably won't pay too much attention to the scene at the end of the Tsotsi film--when the lead actor is confronted by police following the safe transfer of the baby to his wheelchair-bound mother, in the same driveway where the misadventure began. Kids often get caught up in the language and demeanor of the violators of decency. Rebellion is nature to young people everywhere and the "wilding" of people like this featured tsotsi, leaves some howling with delight.
Enough of the amateur psycholoanalyzing here! If you haven't seen the film, take the time to see it soon. I feel very fortunate to have been in South Africa when the accolades came cascading in for this captivating movie. No, I feel a certain human pride for all South Africans because of the redemptive nature of the visual story-telling of Gavin Hood--Amandla, viva South Africa!
posted by JOBURG JOURNAL at 4:34 AM
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