The Journal of South African and American Comparative Studies A Confusion of Cinematic Consciousness

any documentary films available for teaching purposes in the United States were made prior to President F. W. de Klerk’s dramatic political reforms begun in February 1990. This month marked the unbanning of all liberation movements, both internal and exiled, including the Communist Party. The films made prior to 1990, then, refer to apartheid in the present tense, and often encode the despair of ever being able to defeat this iniquitous system. However, films made after 1990 begin to reveal the difficulties, but also the possibilities that emerged as South Africans of all constituencies negotiated their way towards a democratic future. In this study I review films made up to 1990, largely evaluated by a team consisting of African (especially southern African) specialists with expertise in a variety o