To do this, the effects of apartheid and colonialism on South African society had to be identified and eliminated, replaced by the “narratives and discourses” (Bloomsbury) of the indigenous people. After 1994, the first generation of postcolonial dramatists sought to “create a national body of drama that could culturally support the political process of nation-building” (Bloomsbury). In South Africa during apartheid, theatre was focused on resisting and protesting the oppressive regime. Theatre rife with political and socio-economic themes and messages is typical of this period. The importance of culture to decolonization means that the arts play a central role in the process.
It must also include a cultural healing from the exploitation of colonized people.
Postcolonialism is characterized by formerly subjugated groups and individuals attempting to reclaim the land, culture, language, and history taken or suppressed by colonial powers. Thus the process of decolonization and the period of post-colonialism could not really begin until 1994. The continuation of apartheid past the technical end of the colonial period ensured that European-descended whites maintained their power and native or colored peoples and cultures were still subjugated. South Africa gained independence from British colonization in 1961, but apartheid was not abolished until 1994, when the country held its first democratic elections and Nelson Mandela became its leader. The effects of this system are still felt today. The National Party of South Africa, which implemented the policy, sought to keep control of the country’s socio-economic system in the hands of the white minority population. One of the most consequential ways this was accomplished was through apartheid, a system of institutionalized, legal racial discrimination and segregation in South Africa enacted in 1948. They deemed native South African people “savages” and systematically ensured that white, European-descended people held all the power. Both colonial powers attempted to erase native cultures and ways of life by imposing European ideals and subjugating native populations. Afrikaans, the third-most widely spoken language in South Africa, is descended from the Dutch vernacular of the first colonists it is spoken by Afrikaners, the white descendants of Dutch colonists, and “coloreds,” the South African ethnic group defined by mixed racial descent. Both of these imperial powers and their colonial legacy is still ingrained in modern South Africa. The Dutch were the first to colonize South Africa, in 1652, followed by the British in 1815. Athol Fugard’s “Valley Song” and the Legacy of Colonialismįor over 300 years, South Africa was colonized by foreign powers.
0 kommentar(er)
