Friday, January 18, 2013
Cry Freedom - Part II -
For this assignment you are to focus on two different characters in Cry Freedom. Describe which segment of South African society each fits into, as well as their political stance on apartheid. (i.e. Steve Biko, a black South African who is a staunch opponent of apartheid and a political activist) Next describe the relationship that these two characters had to one another in the film. Next, you, very importantly need to describe how this relationship describes the overall system of apartheid, and the political climate in South Africa during apartheid.
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Head Police Officer: a white South African who believes in every bit of apartheid and is very against Steve Biko. He even alters, the news to make the whites seems as if they are doing right and being "overly kind" to the whites.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: a white South African who used to believe in Apartheid, but after meeting Biko was strongly opposed to the South African government. He is dedicated to releasing true stories in his newspaper and getting out the horrors of the government to the Western World.
The police officer and Donald Woods used to be friendly; however, once he was switched onto Steve Biko's side, the police officer tries to fight Woods. Even though Woods was a respected white individual, the policer officer still is out to get Woods and was believed to have fired gunshots at his home and send him shirts with a poison in them. This relationship shows how strongly whites believed in apartheid. Many whites did not want apartheid to end and would do anything they could to shut down resisters. When Woods began to change his views he seemed to almost lose his 'rights' as a white man and was considered to be an 'enemy' like the blacks.
Donald Woods: was a white South African male with a wife and kids. He is the head of a popular news paper. He used to believe in Apartheid (the separation between blacks and whites) but Steve Biko changes his mind about how their government should be run.
ReplyDeleteSteve Biko: A black South African who is an extremely influential man when it comes to black rights. The entire Black South African community looks up to him to help them get the equal rights they deserve.
Steve Biko and Donald Woods have a very special and unique relationship. Most blacks and whites don't associate with each other during this time period, but being a writer for the paper, Mr. Woods agrees to meeting with Steven. Biko ends up showing him how black South Africans really live and Mr. Woods begins to rethink the idea of Apartheid. They become genuine friends and start working together to release the truth about the government and what they're doing to the black population. Because of their friendship, Donald's wife and kids were threatened with death threats, sent packages of t-shirts soaked in something that burned their skin, and their property was vandalized. After Biko's death, Donald wanted everyone to know the truth so he set out to take pictures of his dead body. The pictures were confiscated by the government and Donald was limited to only being in a room with one person at a time. Their relationship was looked down upon so greatly that even after Biko was dead, Donald Woods and his family was still criticized.
Steve Biko: A brave, calm, wise and charming African leader in South Africa during the apartheid time. He advocates the equability between the blacks and whites, and he devotes his life for that. He stands firm even when the whites put him into the jail.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A white liberal who is the boss of a popular newspaper in South Africa, has a huge house, big pool, black servant, and happy family. He used to be a believer of the apartheid, but under the influence of Steve he became a liberal and start helping blacks.
The thorough change of Donald Woods is mostly the contribution of Steve Biko. As we all know, Donald has a very good life and lovely family, there’s no reason for him to fight against the government which gives him the life. However, after meeting Steve Biko, he starts to pay attention to the black society in South Africa, and finally became a supporter of the black people and Steve Biko. Because of the friendship between him and Steve, he can even give up his wonderful life as a white people after Steve’s death to tell the truth about this great black leader. In contrast with the white policemen in the film, Donald Woods also shows his great integrity and selfless.
Steve Biko: A black anti-apartheid activist who creates the Black Consciousness movement. Steve Biko is brave, eloquent and not afraid to speak out against the white government, who portrays Biko as a radical leader who wants to make blacks superior to whites. Biko is jailed after breaking his ban which confines him to a certain area and keeps him from talking to multiple people at once. He is killed in jail, but the police refuse to admit this fact and say he died on a hunger strike.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A white South African who was the editor of the newspaper Daily Dispatch, always thought Apartheid was wrong but never cares to do anything about it until he meets Steve Biko. He learns that much of the information he has been printing has been false, and begins to work on getting the truth in his newspaper even if it will not please the white government. Donald Woods starts working for equality and truth to the point where he gets on the bad side of the police force. He then has to flee the country.
After meeting Steve Biko, Donald Woods’ opinion on South African society changes dramatically. He learns a lot about the injustices in his country through Steve Biko’s teachings. They soon become close friends, and after Biko’s death, Donald Woods strives to get the truth out to the public. Through this journey, Woods recalls lessons from Biko, showing the large impact their relationship had on his life. It was a unique one because the separation between whites and blacks meant they did not get to know each other often. The fact that they could become such good friends but never really had the opportunity to shows how Apartheid in South Africa really did it’s job.
Steve Biko: A black South African who strongly opposed apartheid, and was a respected figure in the fight for freedom in South Africa. Biko did not like apartheid, and was an activist who was banned by the government. Biko was determined to stop apartheid, and he spoke publicly about black consciousness and educated them about how unjust apartheid was. He gets thrown in jail, and fights until the very end. And when he dies, the whites lie about his death, and said it was because he went on a hunger strike.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A white South African who has a large home, many children, and a black servant. He was also the editor of a newspaper. At first, didn't really oppose apartheid. However, once he met Steve Biko, his opinions greatly changed. He realized that some of the things he was printing in his newspaper wasn't true, and he changes his mind about what apartheid really means. He strongly opposes it, and does everything he can to try and put an end to the unjust treatment of blacks. He eventually has to get out of the country because he got banned, and he desperately wants to publish a book about Steve Biko and apartheid to make people realize the truth.
Steve Biko and Donald Woods have a unique and uncommon friendship, because not a lot of black and white people were friends at this point in South African history. The relationship between Steve Biko and Donald Woods shows that apartheid was ridiculous, because if a black person and a white person can be friends during apartheid, they could surely be friends if apartheid did not exist. They stood together and shared the same opinions about how apartheid was unjust and unnecessary. Even though it is illegal for Biko and Woods to be friends, and do what they are doing to stop apartheid, they do it anyways, and gain a lot of support along the way. Their friendship shows that it really doesn't matter what color skin you have, and that anyone who supports apartheid doesn't understand this.
Donald Woods: was a white South African who lived like most white South Africans. He had a wife, children, housekeeper, and a wonderful job. He worked a newspaper company. He was the editor of the newspaper. He first believed in apartheid, because he only listened to what the government had to say about it. Soon after he met Steve Biko and heard what he had to say about apartheid, he changed his view on apartheid. He started rebelling against his own government, by writing the truth in the newspaper, treating black people differently, and talking back to the police. He eventually gets banned, but writes his own book about the truth about Biko and black consciousness. He then makes a daring decision to escape the country and makes it out with his family. He finally publishes his book and shows the world what is really going on.
ReplyDeleteEvalina: was a black South African who lived with the Woods’ family. She is the housekeeper of the Woods’ family. She was introduced as nothing more than a maid, but at the end she is shown as family to the Woods’. She does anything and everything for the Woods’ and is happy with what she does. The Woods’ family is a second family for her and the same goes for them.
In the begging of the movie we see both of them encounter. Evalina brings him and his wife some beverages. The wife acknowledges her more than he does. He just gives her a nod, while his wife gives her a thank you. After Donald speaks with Biko and changes his mind on apartheid he starts treating everyone differently. There is this one scene were the police sneak behind the Woods’ home and barge in on Evalina. The wife immediately tells Donald what is happening and he goes to see. He takes his gun and points it straight at the police telling them to leave. The police try to explain to him that Evalina could have a man in there. He tells them to leave for disrespecting her, because she was a married woman. They leave and Donald asks Evalina if she was ok, and she replies yes. They both go off to bed. Donald knew that if he didn’t do anything then Evalina would have been arrested. At that point in the movie he knew exactly what happened to black people who went to prison. He would have never let that happen to her. At the end their relationship becomes strong, but unfortunately him and his family leave and have to leave her there. He gave her as much money as he could, so that she wouldn’t be left with nothing.
Steve Biko: A black rights activist in Apartheid South Africa. He promotes "black consciousness," an idea that tells black south africans that they must stand up to confrontation and not give in to the white rule. It tells black south africans that they are in control of their own destiny, not the destiny that the whites choose for them. He is a banned person, however, constantly leaves his banning area in order to spread the idea behind black consciousness.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A white man, however falls much more into the niche of black south africa. He, after meeting Steve Biko in order to write about him in his newspaper, he begins to realize the cruelty of apartheid and takes the side of Steve Biko. He writes a book in order to expose the horror behind apartheid and photographs Steve Biko's dead body in order to deliver the truth about the death of Steve Biko.
Donald Woods and Steve Biko have the most impactful relationship in the film (ie. Without the relationship, there could be no film). In apartheid south africa, normal black and white people generally do not associate with each other. The fact that these two, a white person, and a black person, are associating with each other is part of what makes their relationship very special. They essentially work together throughout the movie to bring down apartheid and expose the cruelty of the system of apartheid. The fact that a white person whose life was pretty nice was attempting to bring down apartheid speaks to the cruelty of apartheid, and furthermore the fact that he teamed up with a black man, which had previously not been seen, also speaks to the fact that the society and nature of apartheid was quite a cruel one.
Evalina: The Woods family's maid. She doesn't seem happy about her position as a black woman, but puts up with it because she can't do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Woods: Supportive of her husband's activism but is reluctant to give up her luxuries as a white woman. She doesn't want to leave South Africa so her husband can publish his book because she wants to keep her large house, her private beach, her money. She later realizes how disastrous apartheid is becoming when her children get burned by Biko t-shirts and joins her husband in his departure to England.
Evalina appears to harbor a resentment for Mrs. Woods. Evalina refuses to acknowledge Mrs. Woods as her master's wife embarks on a dangerous journey out of the country. Evalina is amiable towards the kids, probably because she realizes the kids don't know any better.
Mrs. Woods wants to tell Evalina something more about the situation, but can't bring herself to do it. Although the black maid is an important figure in the family's life, she is not important enough for the family to reveal all its secrets.
This is a classic example of apartheid, because the black maids are hired to do all the white people's menial housework. They are given a place to live on their master's grounds, but are not allowed to see their children or enjoy the same luxuries as their owners. The black maids put on a brave face and tell themselves, every day, that things will be better, and the white man will eventually fall. It's hard work, but it's resulted in incredible patience on the part of the blacks.
Evalina likely realizes that Mr. Woods is fighting for the blacks, especially when he forces the police to leave his house and stop questioning her. She may even expect the same of Mrs. Woods. Since this anti-apartheid attitude isn't as apparent with Mrs. Woods, Evalina may still feel anger towards her master's wife.
Evalin was the housekeeper and nanny in the Wood’s household. She was a black South African whom was a victim of the racial system of Apartheid. Like the majority of South Africans, she thought that the Apartheid was unfair and cruel. She was very much intimidated by the Apartheid and therefor was never involved in taking action against the Apartheid.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods was a man who at first thought the Apartheid was a group whom was trying to prevent Blacks, like Steven Biko from taking power and destroying all of what the whites had. Donald Woods quickly changed though as one day a black woman came in his office and criticized him for “putting words in Steven Biko’s mouth” even though he had never met him. The black woman persuaded Donald Woods to have an interview with Biko. When Donald Woods was discussing with Steven Biko he realized that he was deeply mistaken about Steven Biko’s character and position. Steven Biko gave Donald Woods a tour of the black slums and showed him what life was really like for Black South Africans. This interaction with Biko shifted his opinion dramatically from standing with the Apartheid to going against them. With his power as editor of the newspaper Donald Woods did everything to tell the truth of what was happening to the black people in South Africa.
Evalin and Donald Woods: Evalin and Donald Woods had a very interesting relationship. Donald Woods, whom was a white man, expressed much distaste for the Apartheid, while Evalin tried her best to stay innocent in the Apartheid system. This was shown very well when the police went into the property of Donald Woods to look for a black man in the household. Evalin whom did not want to get arrested tried to say it was O.K for them to look Mr.Wood’s house while Donald Woods told them to leave the property immediately. This event clearly shows how the Apartheid intimidated and scared the black South Africans enough so that the blacks would follow any order that the Apartheid gave them as they were scared to be tortured and killed. This also shows how the Apartheid only listened to what the whites had to say as the police would have stampeded through Evalin’s room if Donald was not there.
Steve Biko is a black rights activist in Apartheid South African who his homeland was taken over by the whites. He spread the idea of "black conciseness" and was very inspirational to his black community. At first he his banned, but he still snuck out to spread his beliefs about "black conciseness".
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods is a white South African. He was a wife and a big family. He was the type of guy that believed in Apartheid at first, until he came to his senses about how cruel the whites treated the blacks, ruining their homes, beating them, and possible more cruel. He did keep up to date with all the events going on because of the fact that he is head of the local newspaper.
Donald Woods was for Apartheid at first but when he met Steve Biko he realized how poor and mistreated they really are. Because Steve Biko inspired him, Donald wrote a book and did whatever he could to get out of South African territory to publish Biko's ideas and make him known and what is going on known.
Steve Biko: A strong supporter of black consciousness and fighting apartheid. He is an iconic figure to the blacks in South Africa and promotes standing up for their own rights without using violence. He wants to live along side with whites, not take revenge against them. For this Steve was banned to no longer speak to more than one person in a room or speak publicly.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: At first, a supporter of banning people like Steve Biko. Although Steve was vying for equality by confrontation, in the peaceful sense of the word. Although he was not directly a part of apartheid, by not doing anything he was only feeding the fire of the white South African government. He was a powerful, important editor for a newspaper and made a huge mistake when writing wrongly of Biko. A black woman came to him and convinced him to confront Biko and hear his side of the story.
Steve BIke and Donald Woods: After taking a trip to see Biko he realized the hardships that these natives were suffering just along side his nearly perfect life. Biko took him all around Black Africa, and showed him the polar opposite lives that they lived. Biko inspired Woods to take a stand against apartheid. With his power, yielding the red pen of the newspaper, he would later take a stand and fight against apartheid. After Biko's death Woods became even more determined to make something out of it. He was caught trying to smuggle pictures out of the country and banned. He then later escaped and published his own book of all the wrong the white government has done. Without the strong relationship these two had, Woods would have never taken a stand against apartheid, he would have never published his book, and many more death would go unacknowledged.
Steve Biko was a black South African who was one of the main anti-apartheid activists, especially during the 1970s. He created and promoted the idea of "black consciousness", which was the idea that blacks were not inferior to the whites just because the white supremacist South African government said so. Because he was banned by the government in 1973, under the laws, was only allowed to speak with one person at a time, and was constantly monitored by police. However, he was cleverly able to fool and trick the police, always finding away to speak and spread his ideas to thousands of blacks at different events or gathering. After the Soweto riots in 1976, the government believed that these riots had developed because of the idea of black consciousness, which was Biko's teaching. Because of this, Biko was thrown into jail the same year, and eventually died due to a alleged "hunger strike", according to the police. After his death, he became a martyr for the anti-apartheid movement.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Donald Woods was a white South African who worked as a newspaper writer and editor for the Daily Dispatch during the "reign" of the white supremacist government in the 1970s. After hearing about Biko's ideas, he agreed to meet with him to learn more about them. However, after hearing him speak in person, Woods was a believer in these ideas, and wrote articles in the Daily Dispatch to spread awareness in the white community. Because of his bold and opposing opinions, the government banned him, but Woods and his family were able to get out of South Africa before the government could do any physical harm to him.
Originally, Donald Woods did not agree with Biko's ideas, but agreed to meet with him due to the nature of his job. However, after meeting with him, Woods' ideas about apartheid change, and he is determined to do anything he can to help spread Biko's ideas. Still, this was probably an exception in the relationship between the whites and blacks in South Africa during this time. It would have been very hard for any black citizen to openly share their ideas to a white man, and even more crazy for the white man to have agreed with it! Therefore, Woods played a crucial part in this film and in real life by attempting to bridge the gap between the whites and the blacks, so that the government might actually stop and listen to what the black people have been protesting about for decades.
Sources:
http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/stephen-bantu-biko
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/12/newsid_3573000/3573054.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1499587.stm
Steve Biko is a political activist during the apartheid. He preaches black consciousness, meaning that he wants the black population to gain confidence and realize that they are worth more than the second-hand jobs that the whites give them. Steve Biko is banned, but that does not stop him from travelling secretly to tell the rest of South Africa what he has to say. Ultimately, however, his risks catch up to him. He is travelling to speak to school children in another part of South Africa when he is caught. Steve Biko is sent to prison where he is beaten and starved. He is a martyr of the apartheid. Throughout his journey, he teams up with Donald Woods to utilize Woods’ media connection.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods is an editor of one of the most prominent newspapers of South Africa. At the beginning, he is considered a white liberal, meaning that he takes pity on the blacks, but he is not an activist. He risks the newspaper to print stories against the police, as no other newspaper is. Woods meets Biko, and after hearing what he has to say, Woods follows in Biko’s footsteps. Woods converts to the black consciousness mentality. After many threats to his family, namely one in which the police sent t-shirts soaked in acid to his kids, he decides to flee to Botswana, and from there to England.
Stephen Biko and Donald Woods have a very close relationship. Biko acts as a mentor to Woods after Woods realizes the solidity of Biko’s ideas. Biko risks his life to educate Woods, and in turn, Woods risks his life to keep Biko’s ideas in the forefront after he is dead. This relationship describes the political turmoil at the time due to the fact that whites were just now starting to see the horrible way of life that the blacks were forced to live. Before this time period, the whites did not think about how they were treating the blacks, but now, they are starting to notice the lack of humanity as Woods realizes because of Biko.
Wendy Woods:
ReplyDeleteShe is opposed to apartheid probably from influence from her husband, she has a soft and nice life with her large house and maid. Even though she is against apartheid she doesn't do anything to stop it. She would be considered a liberal south african because of her stance and her lack of doing anything to fight it. She doesn't want to do anything to change her own life and her children's lives.
Donald Woods:
Being the editor of a liberal newspaper gave him the ability to bring his own opinion over people. He reported stories of police brutalities and also of what he though was black racism. this showed that he though both sides were wrong. He was anti-apartheid but also ant what he thought was black consciousness. But, after meeting Steve Biko he became even more anti-apartheid and very pro-black consciousness.
They're relation is really important in this movie because it defines what most "liberal" families felt during apartheid because the two of them are against apartheid but dont do anything to help the cause. When Donald is deciding whether to go to London or not after he is banned, Wendy wants to stay in South Africa because their kids have a nice life and if they were to go to london they would lose everything and have to start from scratch. This was a similar situation for most white families in south africa. Some families were on the verge of leaving south africa forever, leaving everything behind to start new if anything radical were to happen.
Steve Biko: A black South African who wanted to have equal rights as the whites. He didn’t even want to kick out the whites. He just wanted to live in harmony with them. He believed the black South Africans had just as many rights to live with wealth as the whites did. He really enforced “black consciousness” publicly. He raised enough attention to himself that he even had to be “quarantined” in a small region. The police didn’t let him leave this region of South Africa and there was always a police officer watching his every move. He was one of the most influential men in the black rights movement during apartheid.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A white South African who lived a very wealthy, flamboyant lifestyle. He was a newspaper editor who published stories that gave the public insight on both sides of the apartheid struggle. He tried to write from two different point of views.
Donald Woods and Steve Biko shared a very special relationship. Because Donald Woods was a newspaper editor, he reached out to people in the community to hear their stories about apartheid. Biko reached out to Donald Woods to show him the environment that the black South Africans lived in. Throughout the movie, Biko keeps unveiling the hard truth about how the black people were forced to survive during the heart of the apartheid times. As Donald becomes friends with Biko, he starts to side with the idea of “black consciousness” and publishes articles making the white government look bad and sound unjust.
Wendy Woods- Wendy Woods was the wife of Donald Woods. Like her husband, Wendy Woods opposes apartheid and believes in equal rights for every race. Despite Wendy being open about her beliefs, she is reluctant to fight against the black oppression in fear of harming her family. She is afraid of what may happen to her and her children if her husband publishes his book; however, this all changes when her kids are burned from Steve Biko T-shirts sent from the government. After this incident occurred, Wendy Woods realized that her family was already in danger and that leaving South Africa was the wisest decision for the safety of her family.
ReplyDeleteEvalin- Evalin (Evalina as called by the children) is a black South African who is the maid for the Woods Family. Evalin has been working for the Woods family for a long time. Being a Black South African, Evalin obviously resents apartheid; however, she continues to work at the Woods household because they treat her as if she is part of their family. Even though she is not their biological mother, the Woods children seem to have a kindred bond with Evalin as they are treat her like a second mother.
The relationship between Evalin and Mrs.Woods is very interesting. Mrs. Wood shows respect for Evalin during the movie and treats her as an equal being. She would talk to Evalin as if Evalin was a white person. Despite this civility, the last scene where these two characters interact was tense and awkward. Mrs.Woods is about to leave with the kids to meet up with her husband and escape South Africa; however, Evalin was told that they were just going to visit their Mrs. Wood's mothers house. Even though she was kept out of the secret, Evalin could tell there was something Mrs.Woods was not telling her. Mrs.Woods tries to spark up conversation with Evalin as a parting note, but Evalin gives her the cold shoulder.
Mrs. Woods could never have told Evalin what they were going to do because it would result in Evalin being in trouble with the law. Evalin obviously was hurt that no one told her what was happening because Evalin and the Woods family had a deep bond. This was common during Apartheid because several maids lived in their master's houses for six out of the seven days. Being together so long would cause the master's family and the maid to develop a strong bond. Despite this bond, there were several things a master's family would have to keep from the maid in order to not get her in trouble.
Jimmy Kruger is a high up Minister of Justice that represents the epitome of white supremacy in South Africa. Living in a lavish life of luxury, he has a stable job and things the oppressed black society could only dream off. The fact that he feels the need to protect his home so robustly shows us that he is afraid of those around him. And this fear is based upon his overall support of Apartheid. While he claims to have no tolerance for police injustice, he actually supports and sometimes even orders it. It can be assumed that he only pretends to be against unfairness caused by Apartheid to soothe the surprised black society and the small numbers of whites against it.
ReplyDeleteDonalds Woods is also high up in lifestyle and status. He is a successful newspaper journalist living in a large house with a pool, a wife, and five children. Yet despite these things he slowly becomes disgusted with the concept of Apartheid, and directly challenges. Because of his actions and feelings towards equality, he brings many minor changes around him that have major impacts. While representing the minority of whites against Apartheid and causing the government to fear and ban him, he also strangely seems reluctant or unwilling to give up his way of life.
Donald Woods first approaches Jimmy Kruger thinking that Jimmy would bring justice to police vandalism. However, it is quickly revealed that Kruger wants nothing to do with the abolishing of Apartheid and enjoyes the privileges of a white South African citizen. In fact he was most likely responsible for the vandalism and later orders the banning of Donald Woods. While their relationship is very brief, it spurs Donald Woods into action and represents the interactions between the South African and the white citizens. The South African traps both the black and white citizens by oppressing the blacks and shielding the whites from the horror and violence.
Evalina: A black South African maid that works for the Woods family. Like all of the other black South Africans, she opposes apartheid, but does not display feelings of anger towards the Woods family. She still cares for the children, because she has come to love them and also because she needs a job.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A white South African, and an editor of the the Daily Dispatch. He has a big house and a big family, and he lives in luxury. He realizes, after discovering what actually goes on with the white South African police, that things need to change, and begins to oppose apartheid. Woods does what he can to help out, including publishing a book that shows the OTHER side of the story (life for black people).
Since Evalina works for Donald Woods, there is some sense of superiority and inferiority, but Donald does try to make her feel equal. For example, when the police come to their house and harass Evalina, he puts a stop to things and kicks them out. Woods honestly cares about her, despite her race or background. Like some other people mentioned above, the system of apartheid was a trap. If a white person wanted to do something for a black person, it was very hard to do without punishment. Even though Woods cared about Evalina, she was still his maid, and he was still his master. There was no getting out of it, because they would both end up getting punished.
ReplyDeleteEvilina: She was a black south african that lived with the Wood’s family. Evilin was the Wood’s housekeeper and nanny. She resented apartheid and thought it was unfair and cruel like many other black south african at the time. Evilin never went against apartheid since she continued to work for the Wood’s family.She work for the Woods for a long time, the children thought of her as their second mother and loved her a lot. She is happy working for them and they are her second family. At the end of the movie they show how much they adored Evilin and that she was truly apart of the family.
Donald Woods: A white South African who had a nice life. A loving family, nice house, housekeeper/nanny, and a good job. Donald worked for a newspaper and was the editor. He at first believed in apartheid and went along with what he was told by the government. He at the time like many other white South Africans thought that black people will rise and take over. After meeting Steve Biko he later on realized that he was wrong and mislead. He later starts to rebel against the government and try writing the truth in his newspaper about what i really going on. Donald did everything in his power as a writer to tell the truth by writing a book talking about the truth about Steve and apartheid.
When Evilin is first showed in the movie we see the interaction between Donald and Evilin as only servant to master. She brought him his drink and he basically ignored her existence. He showed no affection for her, just that she was inferior to him. After Donald changed his views on apartheid he treats Evilin with more respect. When the police officers arrive and question Evilin thinking that she has a man in her room, Donald brings the gun out telling them to leave. He also tells them that they are being very disrespectful towards her because she was a married woman. When the police officers show up Evilin lets them in and says that its ok if they look around. She does this so she will not be arrested and that she is inferior to them because of her color. Donald Woods standing up for his black servant shows that he cares for her and will not let anyone treat her with disrespect. He also shows how much he cares for her when he left all of the money he could find for Evilin and her family.
In Cry Freedom, Mrs. Woods wears a kind and caring personality. Similar to her husband, she assumes the role of a liberal South African with a negative view on apartheid. The difference is that Wendy doesn't verbally express the want to do much more about it. However, I think people are being too harsh on her character, calling her "selfish" and "greedy". From what we've seen of her character, Mrs. Woods clearly has a conscience. We know that leaving everything behind is hard for her to imagine because for one, it's very difficult to support children without any money, and two, it's not as if she'd know that Donald's book would be of any significance to apartheid. Wendy's reluctancy to move was not out of greed, but rather out of concern.
ReplyDeleteEvalina is a black South African maid who suffers the hardships of apartheid, but cannot safely defend herself. Unlike most maids at the time, Evalina is treated with some level of respect by the Woods family. She cares very much about their children, as shown in the later scenes of the movie. Despite the suffering, Evalina has happy vibes. She's a nice person.
The relationship between Evalina and Mrs. Woods is a direct example of black consciousness. Mrs. Woods treats Evalina like part of her family; she doesn't care about her race. The two genuinely care for each other. Mrs. Woods is polite to Evalina, and when she leaves with her family she shows that she is scared of what may happen to Evalina. However, it was still terrible of them to leave her at the house, where she would probably be killed.
Their interaction shows us what a white South African that dislikes apartheid's actions towards a maid might be, as well as the emotions a maid has for his/her master's family.
Stephen Biko, a black man, was the leader of the black consciousness movement in South Africa during Apartheid. He was strongly against Apartheid and spoke to the blacks in Africa spreading his ideals in public places even though he was banned and by law, could only talk to one person at a time.
ReplyDeleteThe prosecutor and the judge in Stephen Biko's trial were strongly in favor for maintaining Apartheid as they were white and benefited from it.
The prosecutor and the judge in Biko's trial were clearly in charge, as a result of apartheid. No black man in South Africa would ever have the chance to be a judge or a prosecutor; it goes to show how unfair the system was at the time. No matter what Stephen Biko said in the trial and no matter how eloquent he was, the prosecutor and judge had the power to prove him guilty.
Mary Woods (little girl): Mary Woods was the child of an upper class, privileged white family in South Africa. She has no stance on apartheid because she has no idea it is happening. Her and her siblings were completely sheltered from what was happening not a mere 20 minutes away. Evalina is the black house keeper and a victim of segregation and racism. Her stance on apartheid appears to be neutral because she seems okay with her place in the house, yet at times unhappy and distant. Evalina does everything to take care of Mary and her siblings, however little appreciation is shown by the children. Their relationship illustrates the naiveness of white children growing up in apartheid. They had no idea that they were to be so lucky as they were, and they had no idea that their nanny was giving up her life (away from her people) just to survive. On the contrary, Evalina being so neutral throughout the film with getting the Woods drinks, doing the dishes, cleaning house, watching the dog, etc, shows how some black people didn't know any better than to think that they belonged under whites; that they were supposed to serve the whites. Overall, it represents the strength of stereotypes during apartheid; how what you grow up hearing and living by is where you believe your place to be.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods is a white newspaper editor who opposes apartheid. He does so by covering injustice against blacks in his newspaper. Steve Biko also opposes apartheid. He spreads the idea of black consciousness, the aim of which is to make all black people aware of their potential and value as humans. He does not use violence and does not encourage racism against whites. Biko and Woods are friends in the film who work together to fight apartheid. Woods does his part by simply educating himself on what the goal of black consciousness is and by correcting misconceptions about it among other whites. He goes on to write a book about Steve Biko. The two characters treat each other as equals. Their relationship shows how not all white South Africans harbored hatred towards the blacks and how the media played a large role in keeping the country locked in apartheid. Woods’ view on apartheid changed even more after he became informed on what was really happening. The government kept the whites ignorant of the injustice and crimes against the blacks, so even the people who did not like apartheid did not feel particularly compelled to act.
ReplyDeleteEmma Trees
ReplyDeleteSteve Biko: Steve Biko was a black South African that endorsed the idea of “black consciousness”. He confronted white people and tried to convince them to end apartheid.
Captain De Wet: De Wet was a policeman that fought to keep apartheid going. He despises Steve Biko because of what he stood for.
Captain De Wet would do anything to see Biko behind bars or even dead. They had a tense relationship during the film, especially when Biko was being questioned by De Wet about speaking to a large crowd during his banning. De Wet seems to get incredibly annoyed by Biko’s eloquence when he speaks to him. The relationship between Steve Biko and Captain De Wet describes the way that black people and white people act toward each other during apartheid. They made conclusions and generalizations about the other race. For example, though black people were supposed to be uneducated, Biko was incredibly intelligent. It seemed that his intelligence intimidated and frustrated white people at times, especially in the courtroom or when Biko was being questioned. De Wet represents the typical white person that fights to keep apartheid going, and Biko is the black person that wants to stop it.
Steve Biko: A Black South African anti-apartheid activist who talks publicly about Black Consciousness. Steve still talked to many Black people even though he was banned. Being banned in South Africa during the time meant you could only be with one person at a time in one room. Sometimes, they would place you to a specific banning area, as they did to Steve Biko. During Steve's Journey to spread Black Consciousness, he got arrested. The police men practically beat him to death. The Whites tell people that he starved himself, but later everyone finds out the police men had done it thanks to Donald Woods.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A White man who becomes friends with Steve Biko. Donald Woods is an editor of a newspaper that seems to be very popular. As the movie progresses, he becomes friends with Steve Biko. As a result of this, and as time passes, Donald turns into an anti-apartheid activist. He is not the same type of activist as Steve Biko. Donald writes about all the problems and instances that happen between the Blacks and the Whites, and publishes it on his newspaper. Donald has a family and towards the end of the movie, they have to flee to a different country so they don't get captured or even killed by the South African police. When Steve Biko dies, Donald publishes the "real" story so everyone around the world knows what "really happened."
Their Relationship: At the beginning of the film, they actually did not have a strong relationship except for knowing who one another is. As the film progressed, they became closer and closer. The relationship they had was very much against the rules of the apartheid. It was typical that the White men were mean and brutal to the Blacks, but Donald Woods being against the apartheid, dealt with the consequences that could occur if they were caught. If Donald was caught, he could be thrown to jail, and even worse, could have been killed. The Whites and the Blacks did not "hang" with each other during the time of the apartheid. Even though there were many consequences of the two being with each other, they still became close friends until the day Steve Biko WAS KILLED.
In Cry Freedom, Steve Biko and Donald Woods have one of the most developed relationships. At the beginning, Steve Biko is apprehensive of Woods as a white liberal. While that particular party declared support for the blacks, they were blatantly unaware of the living conditions that were the norm for the people of that race. However, Biko still offered that Donad come visit him in the townships to observe the drastic difference in lifestyle. Woods accepted and from there their relationship really began to progress.
ReplyDeleteBiko taught Woods about “black consciousness” and let him tag along with him. Woods was welcomed into the townships as one of their own and he was able to experience the oppression. Not only was this experience good for his overall awareness, he was also able to write about what he knew for a fact was happening. The relationship was strong and relied mostly on the trust that developed between the two. The success of their friendship gave the black race a fighter on the white side that could and would help their plight and begin the end of apartheid.
Steven Biko: A political activist and a strong disbeliever in the Apartheid. Steven used his words to convince people of his ideas. He spread black consciousness, the idea that blacks needed to stand up for themselves and not just sit back and accept the fact that they are different than the white man. Steven was one of a kind in the fact that he wasn’t afraid of the white man. He stood up to them and was known for giving hope to his people.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A newspaper editor. Donald became good friends with Steven Biko shortly after he was criticized for speaking falsely of Biko in his paper. Because of this he decided to go visit Biko when Biko invited to take Woods to a real black township. Here Biko is able to change Woods and make him and anti-apartheid member. From here Woods made it his goal to bring awareness to Apartheid and take down his racist government. From doing this he was banned, that did not stop Woods. He continued to write and eventually fled South Africa and published a book elsewhere raising awareness of Apartheid.
For my interaction I chose to do the Woods and Biko because originally Woods did not think that the Apartheid was very bad. However when Steven Biko was able to open Wood’s eyes to the situation, Woods became just like Biko in his determination to end Apartheid. The relationship between them is very interesting because in that time period for a successful white man to help a black man was absurd, especially a white man supporting black consciousness and attempting to stop the Apartheid. Their relationship was very secret yet very strong. Biko was able to spread his ideas within the black community and Woods was able to spread the ideas to the white community through his paper. However politically, the government did not like what was going on in either situation. This relationship very well relates to the idea that blacks and whites were not to be in contact with one another. The seriousness of this topic is shown when Steven Biko was beaten to death for attempting to cross the boarder to further spread his ideas. This shows the hatred of the white party to black men trying to put a stop to their power. When Woods then begins to try to spread the word about what really happened to Biko, he his banned and his family is attacked for fear that people may think differently of Apartheid if Woods tells them the truth. I closing, during Apartheid, the cruel white government did almost anything to prevent blacks gaining rights.
Steve Biko: Steve Biko is a black activist that is very opposed to the apartheid.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: Donald is a newspaper editor that is white that is also opposed to the apartheid.
Biko and Woods work closely together for the same common goal, to end the apartheid. Woods has a very good life, and opposing the apartheid makes many whites mad at him. Woods can spread a message to the masses through his newspaper, and Biko is very good at speaking which makes both of them good at spreading the word and raising awareness. They are both very determined, strong willed people.Their relationship trying to end the apartheid with many people opposing them and wanting to kill them represents the overall system well. Most whites enjoy their way of life, and because Woods is against it, he is disliked by many. Biko is like a lot of black South Africans during the apartheid, wanting to end it and have freedom and equality for whites and blacks. The government was willing to do anything to stop both of them from spreading information about the apartheid because if enough people knew all of the bad things that were happening, they would protest and rebel.
Steve Biko: A courageous young black man who truly cared for the cause against racial inequality in South Africa. Even though his activism involved non-violence, he was brutally killed by the police and became a marytr.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: A major white newspaper editor who is a liberal and originally agrees with apartheid. Later, he supported the banning of apartheid as he witnessed his own friend Biko become a martyr to the system.
Woods and Biko had to spend several days before actually coming to common ground in their originally completely opposite points of view. One night, Biko took Woods to a black township. Here, Woods tried to justify apartheid. He said that before the whites came, the Zulus were having tribal wars. Biko responded with, "What do you call World War I and World War II". Not long after going through the flat-out human right freedom and equality of opportunity is, Woods supported the canceling of Apartheid. Biko was calm on the outside but a powerhouse on the inside pushing Woods beyond his (at the time) politically correct limits as an editor. The government disagreed so much with Woods political views that they eventually banned him. Both of the two got their share of government oppression, although Biko did much much more. Even though they both became hated in South African whites, the world would eventually see that their cause was great and highly contributed to the freedom of equality in South Africa.
Steven Biko: Biko was against apartheid and strongly promoted black consciousness. He was a black South African who was banned from speaking to the public, but Biko did not let this stop him from promoting his ideals. Steven Biko believed in all black South Africans and called for change in South Africa. Biko was a very influential speaker and had many ideas for South Africa.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods: Woods was a white newspaper editor in South Africa during apartheid. He was a liberal with a big family who lived in a grand house. Donald Woods even had a black housekeeper of his own during apartheid.
Relationship: Donald Woods was a white liberal, and when Woods met Steven Biko, he joined him in the fight against apartheid. The relationship between Biko and Woods was very unique and rare. In was very uncommon for a white South African to work with a black South African and share the same ideology. Both Steven Biko and Donald Woods were banned in South Africa, which shows how apartheid suppressed anyone who was against it. Woods was unlike most white South Africans during apartheid. He was honest and supported Steven Biko and black consciousness, even after Biko died.