There has been a lot of speculation throughout the years (at least that I've heard) that South Africa's population is mainly filled with white African. According to the statistics (79% black African) and after seeing the movie Tsotsi, it is clear that this is not the case and it is in fact mainly black African that reside in South Africa. South Africa is a rather small country, as it is less than twice the size of the state of Texas.
2. Find a related article and summarize the content.
Tsotsi won the best foreign film award at the 2006 Oscars. Directed by Gavin Hood, it is an earnest film about South African shantytowns. The film comes from a 1980 novel written by Athol Fugard, which was at the heart of the apartheid era. The film shows how little things have changed from that era, but also how certain things certainly have. Such as the two cops being one black and one white man, as well as making the wealthy families in the gated communities black families (such as the one who Tsotsi steals the car and baby from). The word "Tsotsi" means criminal or gangster, and the character who plays Tsotsi has forgotten his own real name over time, and now only goes by Tsotsi. He is the leader of his group of criminals: Boston, Butcher, and Aap. He meets up with his crew most nights at the local shebeen, where they drink and smoke and plan their next criminal activity. After Tsotsi shoots the woman and steals her car along with her baby in the backseat (which he doesn't realize until miles later when he crashes the car), Tsotsi keeps the baby in his own small room, for reasons he can't even initially fathom. The story of how this baby changes Tsotsi unfolds with what looks like the psychological ending of his life of crime. He has been driven by need and fear, factors that this baby exposes in him more clearly. The presence of the baby stops Tsotsi's violence because it has now become a distraction. When he forces his way into a young mother's home at gunpoint, demanding her to breastfeed the baby, it is clear his criminal past has not prepared him for a situation like this. Tsotsi is a positive movie with a message of redemption and shows that the shantytowns of South Africa have communities where poverty does not rule out the possibility of doing the right thing.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/mar/17/2
3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.
I thought this article gave a good, solid breakdown of the film. It touched on the apartheid era in South Africa, what has changed since then and what has remained the same. It mentions the original book which was published in 1980, during that apartheid era. It talks about Tsotsi's growth in his character and just as an all-around person, and how the presence of the baby brought back memories of his own childhood and mother. I loved how the article said how the baby stopped Tsotsi's violence and criminal ways, not just because of some spirited miracle, but because his criminal life had become a distraction to his new priority, caring for the baby.
4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material, and the article.
Out of all the films we've watched so far in this class, I felt this one was the best one yet. It just has so much meaning and you can really see the character growth and development throughout the film. It shows that good can come from bad situations. While shooting a woman in the process of stealing her car with her baby in the backseat obviously was not a good deed by any means, but some good did come out of it in the long run. It showed a soft side of Tsotsi, a loving, caring side. A side that he had never seen before. Sometimes you need to make a bad decision or be put in a bad situation to grow and realize certain things in life. One of the scenes after Tsotsi had beaten up one of his own friends, his friend was saying that Tsotsi had no sense of "decency". He didn't know right from wrong, and what was morally right or wrong. But by the end of the film, I believe Tsotsi certainly found his decency in life.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: _Cameron Beall_____________________________________ Date: _______________4/18/2018_____________
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: _Cameron Beall_____________________________________ Date: _______________4/18/2018_____________
