Browsing by Author "Van Huyssteen, Elmarie"

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    Unmasking violations against human dignity in selected Afrikaans films in South Africa 1960-1976 : a practical theological investigation
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Van Huyssteen, Elmarie; Cilliers, Johan; Claassens, L. Juliana M.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Three Afrikaans films were released in South Africa during the tumultuous apartheid years (1960-1976) with the focus on the Afrikaner identity, the policy of apartheid and the injustices suffered by its people as a result, specifically focussing on the so-called Coloured community. These films were received with enthusiasm by the mostly Afrikaans viewers, but a dissonance became clear between the “message” delivered by these films and the perception of the content of the films by the public. Human dignity, and its relation to human rights, is offered as a theoretical tool in understanding this discrepancy between message and audience. It seems as if the filmmakers understood that the social injustices they portrayed in the narratives touched on the very fibre of a person’s humanity. In uncovering these injustices, the violations that were done against the human dignity of persons and groups were clinically unmasked as the realities of the current social circumstances were offered as background. The assumption of this study is that human beings are created as imago Dei, in the image of God, to His glory. Violations done to the identity, relationships and the indwelling of God, to a person, violate not only the other, but also the own self as perpetrator, and most importantly, God (the Other) as the grantor and origin of the dignity of each person on earth. Four different “movements” are applied as framework for analysis in order to unmask the manifestation of violations as perpetrated against human dignity, namely observation, interpretation, anticipation and transformation. The material is analysed against the context of the historical background. The dissonance between message and perception by audiences was found to be a consequence of the difference in perceptions of humanity and intent because of the different lenses used. The filmmaker, as artist, portrayed persons as valuable because of their “being human beings”, whereas the audiences accepted the films through the various filters that were operative in society at the time, and which acted together in preserving the value of group interest. The divergence between the view offered by the films and the filters through which they were received was too deep to offer integration, and resulted in dissonance instead. Within any culture the artist may act as a prophet, and this role is investigated by analysing the message brought to the audiences by these artists. The impact of the artist on society may differ, depending on the lenses and filters present as a result of the openness or closeness of a society. Future studies may hopefully shed light on the way in which murky filters may become enlightening lenses in changing societies. It seems as if the dissonance may only disappear when the human glance at our reality, through the eyes of faith, becomes one with the vision of God for His Kingdom.