What factors influence a South African moving image maker in 2024?

ACADEMIC ESSAY

CINDY SMITH

List of Figures

Figure 2 Screenshot from the 2018 film, “Die Stropers”.

Figure 3 Screenshot from the 2019 game, “Boet Fighter”.

THE KEY TO

SUCCESS

This essay will unpack the challenges, responsibilities and opportunities facing a South African moving image maker in 2024. Four sections of investigation will be used to support this argument, namely, an insightful quote by Marsha Kinder, “The film medium has always been a vehicle for constructing images of a unified identity out of regional and ethnic diversity”. The theoretical frameworks of the emergence of sub-Saharan cinema by Phillip Rosen, and film as an art by Marsha Kinder will be explored. The relevance of SA Box Office Reports from 2015 to 2017, South Africa’s Box Office post COVID-19 statistics and Andrew England’s article on the booming film industry will be discussed. Lastly, the significance of games in comparison to film will be used to support my theory. The South African films; District 9 and Die Stropers will be placed in contrast to the South African game Boet Fighter, and the relevance thereof.

IS DIVERSITY ENOUGH?

The following quote by Marsha Kinder highlights the power of film based on the foundation of a strong ethnic diversity, “The film medium has always been a vehicle for constructing images of a unified identity out of regional and ethnic diversity”. African cinema set against world cinema has a strong advantage of creating a unified identity when considering South Africa’s manifold cultures. Kinder’s quote supports the ideals that South African cinema can be one of the most powerful forms of Cinema if the broad diversity factor of the country is used as a tool to create films. Although this is an ideal approach to build South African cinema, there are many defeatist factors that stunt the growth of South African, and African cinema as a whole, which will be discussed in my theoretical framework. South African cinema maintains its’ identity by challenging Hollywood cinema while simultaneously adapting to

their conventions (Kinder, 1997, p. 98). These factors subsequently influence the challenges, responsibilities and opportunities facing a South African moving image maker in 2024.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The “Emergence of sub-Saharan cinema” by Phillip Rosen, issued in 2010, highlights the importance of art cinema and the unfolding of film in sub-Saharan Africa. Rosen’s notes will be used to support my argument that film as an art greatly impacts the progression of South African film, which has resulted in challenges, responsibilities and opportunities facing a South African moving image maker in 2024. Before unpacking the significance of Rosen’s work, I will take a deeper dive into the relevance of film as an art for a South African filmmaker, which is supported by the writing of Katherine Thomas-Jones. Thomas-Jones’ wrote a philosophical study of the art of film, “Aesthetics and Film”, published in 2008. The chapter “Film as Art” in this pivotal study of the art of film will be used to support my theory.

Thomas-Jones (2008, p. 1) states that early theorists deduced that film can be art by studying the result of the use of the medium. This result may be an audience viewing the films projected onto a screen. This is a significant point to highlight in the context of film as art in sub-Saharan Africa because in today’s era, this is the most common form of film. This statement allows the claim that film in this form is a form of art. Subsequently, cinema can be claimed as an art form, known as art cinema. Thomas-Jones describes the experience in the cinema as a “parallel discontinuity of film time”. An emphasis is placed on a discontinuity between reallife and what we see on the screen (Thomas-Jones, 2008, p. 13). As the audience has a sense of moving through a film’s action-space, it results in the viewer becoming part of the film (Thomas-Jones, 2008, p. 13). This perspective is monumental for a filmmaker to grasp, so

that the creative decisions made by them will be done in a way to draw the audience in closer to their work.

For a director to understand film as an art, many possibilities will arise for film content to expand to capture an audience. The complication with film as an art form impacting a South African filmmaker can be understood by taking a closer look at Phillip Rosen’s work in the emergence of sub-Saharan film. Rosen states that the emergence of sub-Saharan cinema was enabled by the struggles for political independence in African countries (2010, p. 252). Rosen also states that art cinema originated when the movement for African cinema emerged (2010, p. 252). This elucidates that African cinema is categorised as an art form in itself. Given that African cinema is seen as an art form, it is important to note that a South African filmmaker will receive criticism and praise on creative decisions, as in any form of art.

Rosen discusses conceptions of Argentine filmmakers; Fernando Solanas and Ottavio Getino, who hypothesised that first cinema is dominated by Hollywood, and has positioned itself aesthetically (2010, p. 255). This can generate challenges for African filmmakers because any film created that deviates from the global mainstream, Hollywood, will be seen as unconventional, and therefore not appreciated as much by an audience. Rosen explains that a deviation from these conventions is seen as the opponent of first cinema, dominated by Hollywood (2008, p. 255). Due to this controversy, sub-Saharan African cinema (second cinema) will receive a lack of distribution, which in turn omits captial to support production (Rosen, 2008, p. 257).

Although there are such challenges, a South African filmmaker may use these obstacles as opportunities. As Rosen explains, African cinema has a leading priority to produce films that highlight political struggles of the people, which in turn allows the deviation from westernised cinema to change the way an audience expects a film to be. This creates the responsibility for South African filmmakers to push past the constraints of film conventions, and aim outside of

creating films for an internal audience to grow African cinema (Rosen, 2008, p. 260). South African film institutions are progressing in the film industry by establishing mainstream credentials. There is also a greater support financially towards South African film industries, which should be an important concern by exploring financial support with other areas of Africa (Rosen, 2008, p. 260).

HOLLYWOOD CONSISTENTLY DOMINATES FILM

The formation, propagation and growth of South African cinema can be highlighted by taking an in depth look at a few research documents, namely, SA Box Office Reports between 20152017, South Africa’s Box Office post COVID-19 reviews and Andrew England’s article on the booming film industry. These documents not only place emphasis on the development of South African cinema, but also highlight the significance of South African cinema on South Africa’s economy. The statistics from the 2015 SA Box Office Reports show a gross decline by 15% compared to the 2014 box office revenue (NFVF, 2015, p. 3). The decline of popularity of South African cinema during this period was due to the popularity of Hollywood films; Fast & Furious 7, Jurassic World and Fifty Shades of Grey (NFVF, 2015, p. 5). The market share for domestic films in 2015 is only 5%.

In 2016, although a revenue incline of 55% from box office was seen and the market share for domestic films increased to 7%, popular local films were topped by; Batman vs. Superman : Dawn of Justice, Finding Dory and Captain America : Civil War, all Hollywood films (NFVF, 2016, p. 6; p. 11). Lastly, looking at the 2017 Box Office Reports, the market share for local films dropped to 4% and box office domestic gross declined by 35% (NFVF, 2017, p. 11). South African films were yet again dominated by Hollywood films; Fate of the Furious, Jumanji : Welcome to the jungle, Despicable Me 3 and Beauty and the Beast (NFVF, 2017, p. 15). This emphasises the appreciation of Hollywood cinema over South African cinema from a South

African audience viewpoint. It is also important to note that in the 2017 South African Box Office Report, the Hollywood films that stunted the growth of local films are described as “big-budget” films (NFVF, 2017, p. 2).

Fast forward to 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic made a huge negative impact on the South African film industry, Box Office statistics show that compared to 2017 when the market share for local films was 4%, the impact of COVID-19 caused a decline to a 1% market share for local films (NFVF, 2022) . Despite major factors such as a global pandemic, the common factor when looking at the above mentioned statistics is that the popularity of Hollywood cinema influences the success of South African films. Andrew Englad states that the destination of choice for top filmmakers is South Africa, more specifically, Cape Town, where Cape Town Film Studios (CTFS) are based (2014, p. 1). Despite being a popular destination for Hollywood films, the unsettling nature of local success of films underlines the financial struggle to produce high-standard local films (England, 2014, 2).

AMALGAMATION OF MEDIA

The convergence between films and games in South Africa is consolidated when understanding that both mediums are a form of art, but unfortunately South African films are an expensive form of cultural production (England, 2010, p. 2). For this reason, using games to promote our multicultural South African heritage can play a pivotal role in promoting South African media as a whole, and in turn, promote the art of South African cinema to the world. The game Boet Fighter will be used in comparison with South African films; District 9 and Die Stropers. Although the two media seem very different from one another, they are two sides of the same coin in respect to the impact they have on promoting South African culture creatively. District 9 is a 2009 South African Science-Fiction film, but was banned after receiving criticism about the representation of Nigerians in the film (Onanuga, 2009). Figure

1 is a screenshot taken from the District 9 fandom site. The assault rifle circled in the image represents the prejudice against Nigerians, who are depicted as violent criminals.

Die Stropers is a 2018 South African Drama Film, representing the Afrikaans minority. The main themes of the film encompass a typical representation of a strong Afrikaner heritage of farming, which is represented in Figure 2. This image depicts a traditional Afrikaner’s pride in agriculture. “Boet Fighter, is a retro arcade-style side-scrolling beat ’em-up game, developed and crafted by Cali4ways Games” (Magill, 2020). Brett Magill states that the game depicts stereotypical male personals of South African men (Magill, 2020). Figure 3 displays stereotypical personas of South African masculinity. The men are wearing Springbok shirts, shorts, have beers in hand and “boepense”, a protruding belly.

All three media have two things in common. All are South African produced, and all three embody a form of stereotypical representation of South African culture and ethnicity. The difference between the media is that District 9 was produced in 2009, while Die Stropers and Boet Fighter were released in 2018 and 2019. This highlights that 2009 was closer to the Apartheid era in South Africa, and while the theme of the film alludes to Apartheid, it unlocked a painful reminder of this segregated past. South Africans tend to use satire to mask uncomfortable histories, and the success of the later released mediums represents the increasingly strengthening unity of the country.

The controversy in this is that Apartheid, racial segregation and cultural representation or misrepresentation are common themes in South African films, although Apartheid’s legacy is one of the factors of the struggle for success of South African films (England, 2010, 2). The link between games and film can be noted by understanding that the ontology of game is its’ interactive nature with players, linked to the interactive nature of audiences with film. This is

Screenshot from the 2009 film, “District 9”.

Note: Neill Blomkamp (dir), 2009.

FIGURE

FIGURE 02

Screenshot from the 2018 film, “Die Stropers”.

Note: Etienne Kallos (dir), 2018.

FIGURE 03

Screenshot from the 2019 game, “Boet Fighter”.

Note: Cali4ways, 2019.

supported by Thomas-Jones’ description of film allowing a parallel discontinuity of film time, where the audience essentially become part of the film (2008, p. 13).

OVERCOMING THE MIDDLE GROUND

Do the challenges, responsibilities and opportunities facing a South African moving image maker in 2024 have an impact in South African cinema? This essay demonstrates that the diverse nature of South African culture can catapult South African cinema to an era of unique art cinema, the challenge here is to steer away from the dominant Hollywood cinema (Rosen, 2010, p. 255). While there are challenges of Hollywood cinema dominating the film industry, South Africa holds the key to collaborate with top filmmakers due to the CTFS being the destination choice for Hollywood film productions (England, 2010, p. 1). Financial obstacles due to lack of revenue and a backlash of post COVID-19 effects on the economy, can be overcome by expanding South African cinema with other African countries, based on the powerful factor that African Cinema emerged when Art Cinema was established (Rosen, 2010, p. 252). South Africa’s use of satire and the advantage of a broad multicultural spectrum can create opportunities for a moving image maker in 2024.

REFERENCES

Cali4ways Games. (2019, August 20). BOET FIGHTER - Official Trailer! YouTube. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=ajphfx-1Y8Y

Indigenous Film Distribution. (2019, January 10). DIE STROPERS (The Harvesters) Official Trailer. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oaED0YNKHc

Kinder, M. (1997). The Last Word / Die Laaste Woord. 98-103. https://journals.co.za/doi/ pdf/10.10520/AJA02590069_331

Laird E, E. (2017, April 3). Defining Art Cinema in a Modern World. Medium. https://medium. com/@TheFilmJournal/defining-art-cinema-in-a-modern-world-1c2c51150f3c

Magill, B. (2020, February 26). Boet Fighter Game Review. Medium. https://brettmagill. medium.com/boet-fighter-game-review-5a7c675251da

National Film and Video Foundation South Africa. (n.d.). FAQs About The South African Film Industry [Fact Sheet]. https://www.nfvf.co.za/faqs-about-the-south-african-filmindustry/#:~:text=The%20Covid%2D19%20pandemic%20has,because%20of%20 disruptions%20in%20production

Onanuga, T. (2009). Why District 9 isn’t racist against Nigerians. https://www.theguardian. com/film/filmblog/2009/sep/08/district-9-racism

Rosen, P. (2010). Notes on Art Cinema and the Emergence of Sub-Saharan Film. In Galt, R & Schoonover, K (Eds.), Global Art Cinema: New Theories and History (pp. 252-262). Oxford University Press.

Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2009, June 8). District 9 - Official Trailer (HD). YouTube. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLUwOcR5pk

Thomson-Jones, K. (2008). Film as an art. In Aesthetics and Film (pp. 1-15). Continuum International Publishing Group.

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