Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema

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dc.contributor.advisorBotha, Martinen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSlade, Lukeen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-08-15T05:32:34Z
dc.date.available2015-08-15T05:32:34Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractIf one reads a broad sample of interviews that have been conducted with South African filmmakers or film writers, then one might start to see a pattern in the types of complaints that emerge. Among these common complaints, one finds a widespread belief that the state is generally unwilling to fund certain types of films, and that contemporary South African audiences will avoid certain types of films. This dissertation explored whether the concept of Rainbowism could be adapted to theorise some reasons as to why the South African film industry seems to privilege certain narratives, whilst silencing others. A situation that is troubling when one considers South Africa's recent history. To accomplish this task, the author did a vast amount of reading on the subject of Rainbowism in general and on post-apartheid South African cinema in particular. From these numerous sources a way forward was synthesised. Rainbowism was defined in terms of myth and counter myth and its role in the creation of a new post-apartheid South African identity was also explored. Following this, South African cinema was historically contextualised and the state film-funding environment was explored. This was done in order to see the engagement between Rainbowism and the various funding bodies. It was shown that the emphasis on adapting to the post-apartheid state's neo-liberal economic policies had resulted in a situation in which film financing bodies such as the National Film and Video Foundation did not allow for audiences to grow in response to films. Rather, films had to be tailored to suit the preferences of existing audiences. This had a negative effect on those filmmakers that sought to try new things for which there might not yet have been an audience. Furthermore, it was also shown that South Africa's relatively peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy has become a feature of international co-productions; the desire to sell the idea of the rainbow nation has effected the types of engagements with the past that are displayed in these films.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSlade, L. (2015). <i>Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13763en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSlade, Luke. <i>"Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13763en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSlade, L. 2015. Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Slade, Luke AB - If one reads a broad sample of interviews that have been conducted with South African filmmakers or film writers, then one might start to see a pattern in the types of complaints that emerge. Among these common complaints, one finds a widespread belief that the state is generally unwilling to fund certain types of films, and that contemporary South African audiences will avoid certain types of films. This dissertation explored whether the concept of Rainbowism could be adapted to theorise some reasons as to why the South African film industry seems to privilege certain narratives, whilst silencing others. A situation that is troubling when one considers South Africa's recent history. To accomplish this task, the author did a vast amount of reading on the subject of Rainbowism in general and on post-apartheid South African cinema in particular. From these numerous sources a way forward was synthesised. Rainbowism was defined in terms of myth and counter myth and its role in the creation of a new post-apartheid South African identity was also explored. Following this, South African cinema was historically contextualised and the state film-funding environment was explored. This was done in order to see the engagement between Rainbowism and the various funding bodies. It was shown that the emphasis on adapting to the post-apartheid state's neo-liberal economic policies had resulted in a situation in which film financing bodies such as the National Film and Video Foundation did not allow for audiences to grow in response to films. Rather, films had to be tailored to suit the preferences of existing audiences. This had a negative effect on those filmmakers that sought to try new things for which there might not yet have been an audience. Furthermore, it was also shown that South Africa's relatively peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy has become a feature of international co-productions; the desire to sell the idea of the rainbow nation has effected the types of engagements with the past that are displayed in these films. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema TI - Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13763 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13763
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSlade L. Silence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinema. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13763en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCentre for Film and Media Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherFilm and Media Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleSilence at the end of the rainbow : an analysis of the effects of rainbowism on post-apartheid South African cinemaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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