Cry Freedom and Mapantsula: The True Spirit of Anti-Apartheid Films

Just as most American western films concern Cowboys and Indians, Mapantsula and Cry Freedom are about liberation and political freedom for black South Africans. They are two films spawned from the same genre: the Anti-Apartheid film. Although the two movies share many of the same qualities and serve many of the same purposes, they have numerous noteable differences. The political goals of the two movies, however, are much more static in purpose. To understand the …

…liberal mediator. It is through this that Mapantsula truly finds its authenticity and Cry Freedom establishes a bridge between the world of South Africa and the audience. While the initial purposes of these movies are the same, the political views are pronounced and similar. As Steve Biko once wrote "Black consciousness seeks to produce real black people who do not regard themselves as appendages to white society." This is the true spirit of both films.