Loving MK to protect the African male image

The much vaunted pseudo political thriller Jerusalema on circuit should teach Africans to do their own movies themselves. You see, as long as the hunter writes South African history, the lion will always be a victim.

It is the same case with the portrayal of Africans in movies, literature, theatre and, of course, film. After much big talk in the arty farty circles, I decided to go watch the second biggest movie out of South Africa for myself.

You will remember that the first was the Oscar-winning Tsotsi about dysfunctional African males prone to violence for no good motive except to express their beastly nature. Of course, it was written by a non-African.

Now, we have another block-buster movie, Jerusalema, which portrays Africans as American cowboys. It is also written by a non-African.

Without undermining freedom of artistic expression, both movies are examples of how “others” continue to write about Africans for Africans consumption without meaningful African input.

The challenge that faces Africans in the movie industry is clear: either they tell their own stories as lived and experienced by themselves, or they will continue to be victims. Sadly, lack of economic power dictates that Africans in the movie industry continue to sell their souls and history for money and fame or they will not make it in Hollywood.

It is clear that the pre-requisite for “whites” to win awards in so-called international film festivals, is that they must continue to portray Africans as incorrigible natives who are inherently violent and self-destructive.

If you watch Jerusalema, it is patently clear that African males are mere victims who are neither agents of history nor creators of destiny. The commercial success of Jerusalema, which continues to draw local audiences in their hundreds to cinemas, should make Africans, especially males, think about how they want their story to be told.

What irks me about Jerusalema is that it purports to capture and reflect an accurate portrayal of Umkhonto We Sizwe liberation heroes who fought for democracy and freedom. Of course, its white producer, director and script-writer – with very little help from African supporters — proclaims to be inspired by recent “real life events.” Thus he boldly goes on to portray MK guerrillas as corrupt, selfish thugs who are, largely, responsible for moral degeneration in post-1990 society. Of course, this is not only a deliberate distortion of recent history but a blatant insult to a violent armed struggle based on moral justification.

My concern is that gullible little Africans born after 1990 may be unduly influenced to have a distorted picture of the meaning of the liberation struggle. This Jerusalema movie could result not only in total disrespect for liberation heroes but mislead Africans themselves to buy into the distortions of contemporary for cheap thrills. The movie’s plot, characterisation and story-line are very articulate in projecting MK guerrillas – through a one dimensional character called Nazareth — as selfish individuals who were not only disillusioned by the liberation struggle but were only interested in money, women, status and material worship.

Nobody would have thought or expected that in a short 15 years, young African men who became soldiers inspired by MK’s first Commander in Chief Nelson Mandela to take up arms to fight for freedom and democracy, would be disrespected and undermined in the name of freedom of expression. It completely fails to appreciate the fact that MK soldiers were highly conscientised political activists, first, before they were dogs of war. A glimpse into their nature and what motivated could them could be provided by studying the story of the Silverton Siege in 1980, for instance.

What I fear most about Jerusalema is that it is the sort of movie that surreptitiously plunges Africans into a crisis of faith about the gains of political freedom. In fact, it is the sort of movie that would, with its unchallenged raving commercial media reviews, inevitably result in total disrespect for the armed struggle and condemn MK cadres as people whose greatest achievement after their home return was to sow seeds of destructive violence and crime in post-1990 society.

Granted, it attempts to give a holistic view of the goings-on in contemporary society and touches on congestion in Hillbrow, prostitution, lack of housing, crime, unemployment and hopelessness. But this is treated in a ‘by the way’ manner.

In fact, one would not have expected big name African actors like Rapulane Seiphemo, for instance, to participate in a pseudo creative project whose blatant aim is to undermine legitimate African political triumph and power. The leitmotif of Jerusalema is to express contempt and disrespect for the background, purpose and meaning of what the armed struggle was about.

Granted, there are a few MK cadres who may have been out of line and desired nothing but material riches and positions after sacrificing their youth and lives in the name of the struggle. But to generally project MK cadres as individuals who could not cope with the challenges of reconstructing a new society after three centuries of colonialism, apartheid and racism is to portray them as politically uneducated and misguided activists not fuelled by principled idealism.

For almost two hours one waits for a moment that will inspire hope and faith in the life of the MK guerilla in the movie but this redeeming moment never arrives. Instead, they turn out to be weak-minded murderous thugs who not only betray their comrades but easily succumb to Nigerian drug lords who lure them with women, sex, drugs and promise more money through selfishness and crime.

Sadly, the commercial media has sold Jerusalema as yet another example of the so-called home-made South African “success story” that tells the true facts as we supposedly know them. But it does not help gullible, skeptical and politically naïve folks who are feeling low and, unjustifiably, losing faith in the most promising democracy in the African continent and the whole world.

It is not the sort of movie that makes you proud of the armed struggle and the freedom and democracy it has bestowed African people in the southern tip of the continent.
Not that we need propaganda movies that project Mandela or his followers as saintly heroes.

We have to admit that some MK cadres have, unfortunately, turned out to be bad potatoes. However, we need to watch balanced movies that not only take us through their pain but work us through it and help us understand what could have broken their morale.
Instead, what is projected is a stereotype and prejudice that not only recycles apartheid propaganda but perpetuates the myth that MK’s armed struggle has delivered neither freedom nor democracy in the post-1990 society.

Without being prescriptive, Jerusalema may offer an opportunity for us to reflect on our recent past and present a one-sided view about the contributions of MK cadres, if any.
But it has failed to give us any reason to have respect for history and the integrity of a violent struggle that had moral justification.

While Africans need to write their own stories and history, whites must seriously reconsider how they portray the African experience and projecting South Africa as a crime-ridden country.

It speaks of failure to tell an African story in a way that Africans can identify with and relate to.