Cry Freedom and Mapantsula: The True Spirit of Anti-Apartheid Films

Just as most American western films concern Cowboys and Indians, Mapantsula and Cry Freedom are about liberation and political freedom for black South Africans. They are two films spawned from the same genre: the Anti-Apartheid film. Although the two movies share many of the same qualities and serve many of the same purposes, they have numerous noteable differences. The political goals of the two movies, however, are much more static in purpose.
To understand the political impact of movies such as Mapantsula and Cry Freedom it is important to note the extreme restrictions that the Sout…