What was the main conflict in Sarafina?

“Sarafina” shows the battle that the children of Soweto waged against the brutal apartheid Government that formerly ruled South Africa. It shows that children can have an effect on their world.

Sarafina has rousing dance numbers counterpoised against the violent struggle between the government and the children of Soweto.

Mrs. Masambuca (Whoopi Goldberg) is a role model for a good and caring teacher.

SERIOUS. This movie clearly and graphically shows the violence of a civil war. People are beaten, whipped, kicked, shot, immolated, and tortured. We see it all and we see it graphically. Entrance and exit bullet wounds are shown (exit wounds are larger than entrance wounds). We see the children setting fire to the constable who has beaten and tortured their friends. Riots and the destruction of property are commonplace in this film. These scenes are consistent with the history of South Africa’s effort to impose the apartheid system against black resistance. They merit being shown. In this film, violence and gore are not shown for the sake of thrilling the audience. See The Problem with Gratuitous Violence.

Before watching the movie, review the Helpful Background section and describe its contents to your child, except for the last paragraph, which should wait until after he or she has seen the film. Immediately after the movie ask and help your child to answer the Quick Discussion Question. You might want to follow up with the section on South Africa in A Force More Powerful which shows how internal economic pressure through a boycott by blacks helped bring down apartheid.

The Republic of South Africa occupies the Southern tip of the African continent. The indigenous peoples were Bantu, Bushmen, and Hottentots. The first European settlers were the Dutch who established a colony at Cape Town in 1652. The Dutch settlers and their ancestors are referred to as Boers or Afrikaners. The British ruled South Africa as a colony from 1806 to 1910. The Union of South Africa was formed out of the various colonies in 1910. The Afrikaans dominated National Party set up a brutal and efficient repressive regime of apartheid, strict racial separation and dominance by the whites in 1948. Because of criticism of its repressive policies, South Africa left the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1961 and declared itself a republic.

Nelson Mandela was an early leader of the African National Congress. He was imprisoned by the government of South Africa from 1962 until 1990 as a terrorist. While in prison, Mandela became an inspiration to most South African blacks. The photograph on the wall of Sarafina’s house is of a young Nelson Mandela. “Vive Mandela!” became a rallying cry for the people of South Africa who yearned to be free from apartheid.

After Mandela was released from prison, he and F.W. de Klerk, the last prime minister of the apartheid government, performed a political miracle by negotiating and presiding over a peaceful transition from white minority rule to black majority rule. Considering the hatred between the races engendered by years of white oppression and apartheid, this was an amazing feat. Mandela and de Klerk were jointly given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. (For the citation given to Mandela and de Klerk by the Nobel Committee and for more information on South Africa and the Soweto uprising, see the Learning Guide to “A Dry White Season”.) Mandela was elected the first president of the new democratic government in the first elections in which all the people of South Africa could vote.

Apartheid was a policy of strict racial separation imposed upon South Africa’s black and non-white citizens by the government to maintain white supremacy. Segregation and discrimination against nonwhite peoples was imposed in housing, employment, education and public services. It was enforced with a cruelly oppressive regime that used intimidation, torture and murder to maintain order in the face of the injustices of apartheid. Apartheid was abolished in 1991.

Teacher Masambuca dies by allegedly jumping out of a window on the tenth floor of the Special Branch building. This is a favored method used by police states to kill their opponents. For example, it was used by the Chinese Communists during the Cultural Revolution. See Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Chen.

1. See Discussion Questions for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction.

2. Why did Mandela (who had participated in acts of violence in which people were killed) and de Klerk (who was elected to head a repressive government that killed and tortured people) receive the Nobel Peace prize?

Suggested Response:

Mandela was a national leader in the fight for ending apartheid. When Mandela was released from prison, he and de Klerk negotiated the end of apartheid and the creation of a new South Africa in which everyone could vote. It was a relatively peaceful transition to democracy and a major accomplishment in history.

3. What would you have done had you been a black person living in Soweto during apartheid?

Suggested Response:

There is no one right answer, but we believe that the best answer is to join the fight against injustice, but not with violent measures. The young people of Soweto resorted to violence on many occasions, but nonviolent measures would have been better. In fact, non-violence and economic boycotts, rather than violence, carried the day for the people of Soweto and the rest of South Africa.

4. How many shades of green can you name?

Suggested Response:

Examples: Jade green, pea green, sea green, grass green, emerald green, olive green.

5. What is symbolic about Sarafina throwing away Mrs. Masambuca’s gun at the end of the movie?

Suggested Response:

Sarafina feels guilty for being there when the policeman was burned. From the torture that she went through while in jail, she realizes that violence is not the answer. She also realizes that by having this gun, she is putting herself and her family in jeopardy.

REBELLION

1. Assume that apartheid still exists and is still imposed on black South Africans by repressive means such as torture, killings, arbitrary imprisonment, etc. Assume that you were an Afrikaner who was born and raised in South Africa. Assume that in 1976 all your family, friends and acquaintances believed in apartheid and the repressive measures necessary to support it. Assume that you became aware of the human rights abuses required to maintain the government and the apartheid system. Based on these hypothetical facts, what would you have done about apartheid and what do you expect would have happened to you?

Suggested Response:

These are the circumstances faced by the main character in A Dry White Season.

2. Can rocks prevail against guns? Can peaceful protest prevail against guns?

Suggested Response:

It is theoretically possible for rocks to prevail against guns, if there are enough rock throwers and few with guns. However, we don’t know of any circumstances in which there have been so few guns that rocks alone prevailed. Many revolutions of the 20th century demonstrated that it isn’t rocks (or even guns or suicide bombers) which are the most successful tactics to liberate a people. Nonviolent mass actions, including economic measures such as strikes and boycotts, are the most effective way for a people to resist an oppressive government. See A Force More Powerful.

3. What would have been Mahatma Gandhi’s solution to apartheid?

Suggested Response:

Nonviolent mass action. See Gandhi. Then follow up with the following question: “Do you think that nonviolent mass action would have worked against apartheid?” The answer is yes, if done on a massive scale. What brought apartheid down were internal boycotts and international economic sanctions. A boycott is a form of mass action and it is nonviolent.

4. Was the schoolmaster correct when he said that the only hope for the children was education?

Suggested Response:

Yes, because with education comes an open mind and educated mind. These are necessary to find creative solutions to the problems faced by a society.

5. When Sarafina finds the gun in teacher Masambuca’s house, Mrs. Masambuca says “I hate the killing. I hate the violence. But I cannot stand aside and let others die for me. I will fight, too. I can’t kill. Don’t ask me to kill. It’s the same old argument. What if they come for you; come to the door, kick it in. Do you reach for the gun? Do you shoot? Do I? I don’t know. I don’t know.” How would you answer these questions?

Suggested Response:

When oppressed people, such as the people of Soweto, fight violence with violence it only makes the situation worse. It was not massive violence that ended apartheid, it was nonviolent mass action (internal boycotts), meetings, demonstrations, and international sanctions. Reaching for a gun and shooting at the person sent there to hurt you usually does not fix the situation.

6. Was Mrs. Masambuca right to hide her husband’s gun?

Suggested Response:

No, if the gun had been discovered by the authorities, she would have been jailed and tortured, although this happened anyway.

HUMAN RIGHTS

7. List the human rights abuses shown in this film.

Suggested Response:

There were many, including torture, physical attack, random arrest, random killing, and searches without a warrant.