Browsing by Author "Eckardt, Michael"

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    The development of film criticism in Cape Town's daily press 1928-1930 : an explorative investigation into the Cape Times and Die Burger
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-04) Eckardt, Michael; Wasserman, Herman; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism .
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the development of film criticism in Cape Town's daily press from 1928 to 1930, using film reviews from the newspapers the Cape Times and Die Burger as sources. The study starts with an overview of studies concerning early South African film history, and characterizes it as a rather underdeveloped field of study. The character of film criticism in the period under discussion is explained by using a description of the general function of film criticism as a basis and taking film criticism in the Weimar Republic of Germany as an example for the following comparison. The basis for the comparative analysis is a list of films screened in three selected cinemas in Cape Town from 1928 to 1930. Part of the analysis is an empirical study to examine the quantitative development of film reviews in the period under discussion. Length ranges with which to characterize film reviews are defined and the preferred average lengths of reviews for both newspapers as well as for films screened at the particular cinemas are listed. The qualitative part of the study is a content analysis of two selected groups of films: 1. films which received average-size reviews and 2. films which ran longer than average and received above-average size reviews. The survey reveals that the Cape Times followed a "quantitative strategy", reviewing all films screened and that Die Burger had a "qualitative The reviews strategy", in both reviewing specially selected films only. newspapers can be characterized as functionalistic. The Cape Times displayed their business orientation by publishing mostly advertisement-like reviews; Die Burger's political orientation was reflected in comments about the language in sound films, including film and cinema into the language struggle. The study demonstrates that newspapers are a valuable source for research concerning early South African film history. The existing standard reference, Thelma Gutsche's The History and Social ,Significance of Motion Pictures in South Africa 1895-1940 can be fruitfully complemented by using Afrikaans newspapers, as well as the writings of the Afrikaner film critic Hans Rompel.
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    Film criticism in Cape Town 1928-1930: An explorative investigation into the Cape Times and Die Burger
    (SUN PReSS, 2005) Eckardt, Michael
    This study is the revised version of my thesis, submitted at the University of Stellenbosch to obtain the degree Master of Philosophy of Journalism. The decision to publish this thesis stems from various recommendations because of the significant lack of fundamental studies concerning early South African film history. Conducted as an attempt to provide contextual background for a more comprehensive study on the reception of German films in South Africa in the years 1928 – 1933, the study aims to provide further research with the necessary basic data and a general statement on the use value of film reviews in newspapers. The only way to avoid the danger of using the few secondary sources over and over again was the return to the original film reviews published in the daily newspapers Die Burger and the Cape Times in the period under discussion. The result is a list of film titles which is supposed to give an unabridged overview of the films screened in Cape Town 1928 to 1930.1 Due to the functionalist character of this survey, the given conclusions remain rather descriptive, sometimes speculative, and point out the necessity for more probing studies. In the present case, this study presents itself as an invitation to others to use the collected material as one possible point of departure for further investigations.