Browsing by Author "Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm"

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    Begging for change: engaging with Johannesburg in post-apartheid South African film
    (2012) Herman, Daniel David; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    The city of Johannesburg is globally identified with issues of inequality, prejudice and transformation. This identification is reinforced by the city's representation in film, in particular those of the post-apartheid era, which tend to emphasize the city's problems. The transformative power of living in Johannesburg, in particular how this experience impacts and shifts the personalities and experiences of the city's inhabitants, is often ignored. This thesis sets out to explore and analyse the consequences of engagement with Johannesburg by exploring the impact of the city on the protagonists in four post-apartheid Johannesburg films. The films that will be analysed - Jump the Gun (1996), Hijack Stories (2000), Tsotsi (2005), and District 9 (2009) - portray life in post-apartheid Johannesburg. These films were chosen because they have narratives that illustrate character transformation through exposure to the city of Johannesburg. The decision to focus on films that depict this era is deliberate, and I have done this in order to identify a new way of living in Johannesburg that is unique to this time period. In addition, the spread of years highlights how the experience of living in Johannesburg has changed over time.
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    Between a croc and a herd place: Battle at Kruger and nature interpretation
    (2010) Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    The article examines the popular YouTube clip Battle at Kruger and its National Geographic spin-off Caught on safari: The battle at Kruger. In seeking to account for the clip's popularity and National Geographic's motivations for making the hour-long feature, the author draws on the burgeoning studies of wildlife film in an effort to contextualise this new ‘eye-witness’ approach within the traditions of documentary films focusing on nature – particularly animals. Furthermore, do the clip and its online popularity suggest a new direction for wildlife documentary in an age of increasingly advanced filming technologies and digital broadcast platforms?
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    Dina's story : a visual intervention in fathoming history
    (2016) Corns, Donna; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    A two-part dissertation including a research essay and script for a historical feature film as a work of creative non-fiction. The first 40 pages comprise the research essay discussing archival research methods and narrative strategies employed in the creative production. The script, Dina the runaway, is based on a reading of official records of a criminal case from the Court of Justice in Cape of Good Hope 1737. The intention of the creative reworking is to revivify a historical event hitherto imprisoned in archaic language, providing proximity through visual language to make it speak more directly to the present. Despite efforts of contemporary historians, slavery as part of South African historical consciousness is seldom foregrounded. There is no surviving 'slave voice' - the only way enslaved people 'made it' into history was through transgression, they were essentially criminalised by history. Dina's story and her telling of it serves as an imaginative empathetic intervention in historical transmission. Research methods of reading along and across the archival grain expose power dynamics in linguistic transactions and discrepancies in the records. The script is a creative treatment of 'historical reality,' thereby subverting the generic dichotomy of the historical fiction film and documentary. The essay and script occupy the uncomfortable space of a double consciousness in which the creative and analytic do not so much compete as attempt to coexist.
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    Diverse Love: how interracial relationships are portrayed in film: a personal journey
    (2022) Mallett, Rachel; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm; Maasdorp, Liani
    The following paper aims to explore and analyse the consequential impact of how interracial and cross-cultural relationships are portrayed in film. It highlights the perspectives of those who have subjective lived experience within interracial relationships through first-hand research. Further explanation is provided towards how these findings have shaped the approach to developing Diverse Love, a point-of-view style autobiographical documentary depicting my own experience in an interracial relationship. To achieve this, a mixed-methods approach has been employed; combining primary academic research through small-sample questionnaires, reviews of relevant literature or media and a reflective writing journal, as a supplementary narrative to the ideas and topics presented in Diverse Love. Throughout both the creative and written aspects of this project, the core motivation has been to accurately and authentically represent my own lived experience as a white English woman in an interracial marriage with a black South African man. To ensure I was creating a piece of work which addresses a socio-political need and to recognize the context in which it will be placed, I start by briefly outlining South Africa's more recent history, with a specific focus on race politics. Delving into the process behind creating the film, whilst understanding the key themes of interracial love, we both learn about the challenges that can be experienced, as well as celebrate the positive interactions. This is further complimented by interviews with other interracial couples who share their experiences with stereotypes, and how they feel this is represented in visual media. As there is limited research previously undertaken on this topic, it was important to not only include my perspective, but also the opinions of others, to address commonly occurring prejudices. To create a well-rounded piece of writing, I also explored through academic research the themes of documentary and the topics of race. The key conclusions drawn from this research indicate a significant lack of representation of interracial couples in film and that the majority of portrayals follow stereotypes and are not accurate to the lived experiences. There is also a lack of academic analysis on films which exhibit themes of interracial relationships, with the majority of papers focused on discussing Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (Kramer, 1967). Not only that, many of the studies are situated within the context of American film or political context and neglect to represent a global audience, as well as being outdated and in need of a more current lens. This study adds value to the field asit blends elements of personal experience with academic research, within a niche and under-represented topic. This gives an in-depth and emotive result, with an overarching recommendation that the film industry can look to evolve, ensuring a more diverse and accurate representation of in the interracial relationships portrayed.
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    Exploding spaces : present and future urban spaces cinematically considered
    (1998) Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm; Marx, Lesley
    This study seeks to understand the visual dynamics of contemporary science fiction cities in film by exploring a number of diverse architectural and cinematic influences. The argument is initiated through a consideration of utopianism and science fiction, before moving onto specific architectural analysis focused on utopian plans from the modernist period, and the growth of New York during the 1920s. Through a brief reading of German Expressionist Cinema in Chapter 3, the spatial and architectural groundwork is laid for the analysis of several films in Chapters 4-6: Disclosure, Blade Runner, Selen, The Devil's Advocate, 12 Monkeys and The Fifth Element. (While not all the films would be considered as science fiction, those non-science fiction films offer provocative readings of the city as a whole). Within the discussion of these films, the paradigmatic nature of New York and Los Angeles is also analyzed. The author finds that the central thesis holds, though discussion of other contemporary films not dealt with here could produce an alternative interpretation. Specifically, the work of Edward Soja and Michel Foucault provide fruitful lines of examination through an engagement with the spatiality of postmodernism, though postmodernism is not analyzed in itself. The dissertation aims to have current application, in terms of the recent release of some of the films, but is also written with the aim of future expansion, stressing the design aspect of contemporary film.
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    Feast Your Eyes: An Exploration of Our Consumption of Whales
    (2023) Liversage, Gwynne; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    In an era where the urgency of climate change is paramount, this research delves into the obscured history of whale consumption and its implications for the South Durban Basin communities. As the global community grapples with the escalating challenge of climate change, proactive measures to bolster resilience are imperative. This study aims to unravel the multifaceted narrative of whale consumption, shedding light on its hidden truths while juxtaposing it against our broader planetary stewardship. Employing a qualitative ethnographic approach, specifically sensory ethnography, this research navigates through the spaces where whales were both physically and visually consumed. Leveraging sensory walks, participant observation, and archival research, the study captures the essence of these spaces, drawing out their historical resonance. Incorporating oral history through informal interviews and merging contemporary photographs with archival imagery enriches the narrative. Interpreting the gathered data filtered into what was made visible or invisible, and then analysed through that lens, the research underscores the scant awareness surrounding the historical significance and ecological impacts of whaling in the South Durban Basin. The findings underscore the interconnectedness of our actions and their repercussions on the environment, revealing the complex web of interactions encompassing reef systems, local communities, and whale migration routes. As the global discourse pivots towards innovative strategies for climate resilience, this research contributes to the ongoing dialogue by deepening our comprehension of human-nature dynamics. By acknowledging our role in shaping ecosystems and influencing climate dynamics, the study accentuates the need for informed decision-making. Armed with this understanding, future strides in climate resilience can be undertaken with prudence, taking into account the fragile equilibrium between human progress and ecological integrity on a global scale.
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    Film festivals in Africa: a study in sustainability
    (2022) Utian-Preston, Lara; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    The sustainable future of film festivals in Africa is a vital issue based on the critical role that film festivals play in African filmmaking, and yet has not been widely investigated. This thesis identifies four key factors that I argue are essential to this sustainable future. These factors are: community and identity, the various mechanisms by which a festival's selfdefined identity or brand is developed and expressed; physicality and place, the concept of the lived and physical spatial nature of film festivals; technology, how innovations in technology are having an impact on film festivals; and financing and funding, the ability of film festivals to attract funding and finance. Each of these factors is discussed from both a theoretical perspective that draws on the history of film festivals as well as relevant areas of scholarship. Additionally, this thesis draws upon my years of professional experience working with film festivals in Africa. Through this auto-ethnographic approach I am able to complement the theoretical analysis of each of these factors with real-world examples and applications. This investigation makes it clear that the trajectory of African film festivals is distinctly different to those in the West, mainly due to localised factors such as the lack of cinema infrastructure and accessible internet connectivity, but also due to the existence of a global film festival hierarchical network, within which film festivals in Africa sit near the bottom. It is also apparent from this analysis that to become sustainable film festivals in Africa must effectively leverage these four factors through authentic claims to community and identity, accessible physical spaces, adaptation and inclusion of technology and disruption, and a diversity of funding models.
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    (Re)Defining Local Animation: An Exploration Of South African Animation In Terms Of Local Production, Local Relevance And Local Ownership
    (2023) Rogerson, Arabella; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    There is a pressing need to better understand how we speak about South African animation and what we mean by it. This study interrogates three particular interpretations of South African animation in order to build a multifaceted and nuanced understanding of the industry, its outputs and its value. Using a qualitative research approach, this study investigates South African animation in terms of content that is made within South Africa, content that is relevant to South Africa and content that is owned by South Africa. In extension, this research underscores the intricate interplay between supply and demand factors, production conditions, and production environments that shape the dynamics of the local animation industry. This research offers a new framework for discussing animated texts from the lens of the production landscape which departs from the more prevalent textual analysis approach and discussions of narrative, iconography, and representation. Ultimately, this research serves to contribute towards the efforts to reposition Africa and its creative outputs within the global animation conversa
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    Reports on Colloquium Sessions
    (2004) Adhikari, Mohammed; Phillips, Howard; van der Watt, Liese; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm; van Sittert, Lance; Deacon, Harriet; Erlank, Natasha; Clowes, Lindsay; Worden, Nigel; Bickford-Smith, Vivian
    Since the late 1980s the environmental trope in South African history has been gradually elevated to a field of enquiry in its own right. The impetus to this transformation has been varied, the blossoming of environmental history in the North American academy and green politics and agrarian social history in South Africa being among the more influential.
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    Seeking the other shore : myth and history in the films of Terrence Malick
    (2007) Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm; Marx, Lesley
    Terrence Malick is a unique director in contemporary film, an enigmatic and resolutely independent filmmaker who operates successfully within the studio system of Hollywood. His unusual career - which includes a twenty-year 'sabbatical' during which he appeared to have dropped out of the industry altogether - has produced comparatively little in the way of academic research, though there has been increased activity since the release of The Thin Red Line in 1998. The title - 'Seeking the Other Shore' - provides a thematic approach to the central exploration of the thesis: myth and history in Malick's films. As I argue in the introduction, Malick's characters constantly seek new shores within historical realities, but in so doing they imagine returns to mythic spaces that are either in the past or unattainable in the present. The films themselves provoke us to reconsider particular myths and their historical context. The Introduction includes a brief synopsis of Malick's career and a critical overview of both journalistic and academic writing. A major feature of his films - their intertextuality, from poetry and novels to visual art and music - is also introduced as it plays an important part in all the subsequent chapters. With the release of The New World (2005), I argue that the two recent films should be seen not only as continuing the major themes of historical reality and mythic quest in his 1970s films (Badlands, 1973, and Days of Heaven, 1978), but also as expanding those themes to include colonial encounters with strangeness which underpin the emergence of America as a modem cultural and political entity. Chapter One sets out the historical and mythic terrain upon which all of Malick's films are built, particularly America's nineteenth-century, post-independence character, the idea that America is a nation constantly seeking to renew itself but is never able to outrun the terrors of its previous incarnation, the sins of its fathers. In the section, 'Manufacturing Myth' I use definitions by Claude Levi-Strauss and Richard Slotkin to begin the conversation between history and myth, finding that myth is constructed, laid claim to, and used continuously, and whose claims and uses are inevitably contested. Myths based in history, are, in Richard White's words, "historical creations", and it is this ideological tension between myth and history that one finds in Malick's films. History provides the context for explorations of America's mythic character, myths of innocence, renewal, ambition, and robust individualism. Chapters Two through Five examine the feature films in chronological order. Badlands is discussed in terms of its hybrid genre (drawing on the western and the road movie), before I investigate Holly and Kit's "competing fantasies"- their different views of their adventure and the land through which they travel. Days of Heaven represents a complex examination of the Turnerian myth of the frontier and its transformation at the turn of the twentieth century. Malick's use of period photography is observed as is the influence of American literary naturalism. However, a more significant discussion emerges around the art of Edward Hopper and his modernist interpretation of America coming to terms with its twentieth-century character. The analysis in this section includes Badlands, and illuminates the influence of Hopper on both early films. The Thin Red Line poses something of a problem as it appears to depart from the first two films and The New World, which follows eight years later. As a combat film, it is part of a fairly well-defined and fiercely debated genre, while it's largely male cast and multiple voiceovers differ from the single adolescent female voiceovers of Holly and Linda. However, it challenges the norms of the combat genre in significant ways, particularly in its balancing of personal experience (Malick's screenplay is a subtle adaptation of James Jones's war novels) with historical context (the viewer is alerted, as one rarely is in this genre, to the world outside of the battle). In The New World, Captain John Smith literally seeks the other shore and, like Private Witt in the previous film, encounters a division within himself. In reaffirming the mythic romance between Smith and Pocahontas, Malick opposes the ambition of Enlightenment discovery (m the turbulent heart of Smith) with the sure sense of humanity's relationship with nature (m the calm spirit of Pocahontas). Once again, the film's historical context is the bedrock for its examination of myth, though as the revelatory conclusion, shows, Malick reaches for more spiritual meaning than affirming or revising the historical record. The four feature films that constitute Malick's directorial career thus far are all concerned with fundamental American myths; however, they are also unusual interpretations these myths. Young girls narrate the stories of violent men possessed by the possibilities of a frontier that has passed while young men struggle to come to terms with the extreme violence of battle and the overwhelming strangeness of their surroundings, no matter how 'right' the cause. These are myths born out of history and rendered as cinematic revelations by Terrence Malick.
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    Tero Buro: Feature film script
    (2020) Miami, Silas; Rijsdijk, Ian-Malcolm
    The conflict and controversy sparked by the production and public consumption of creative work wherein African queerness is liberally expressed is rarely explored from the perspective of the African queer creative. This paper examines how South African queer creatives interpret and understand the often-tumultuous reception that exhibitions of queerness in film and television receive from largely heterosexual South African audiences. With its focus trained on locating the labor concomitant to queer visibility, labor carried predominantly by members of the queer community, it interrogates the positioning of cinematic presentations of African queerness within South Africa's past and current social and cultural landscape by examining how performative resistance of African queer narratives impact the Black queer creative community in South Africa. Finally, this study critically explores the line of reasoning behind the displacement central to arguments that simultaneously seek to strip African queerness of any legitimate claim to ownership of indigenous African cultures and stories. Jon Trengrove's film, Inxeba (The Wound) (2017), functions as this paper's primary text. Inxeba's conceptualisation, production, reception, and the controversy that succeeded its release will ultimately ground this paper's examination of the consequential impact that its exhibition's spectacle had on the lives, and production outputs, of Black African queer creatives