The Gods must be Crazy, or the Rhetoric of Apartheid: A (Re)evaluation of Jamie Uys's Film in the Context of French Anti-apartheid Solidarity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Jamie Uys’s film The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) became an instant blockbuster as it opened up in theatres worldwide. However, critics were quick to note that its humorous tone subtly propagated the central tenet of apartheid, namely separate development. This article analyses the reception of the film in France and places it within the context of growing anti-apartheid solidarity and rhetoric. Although journals such as Politique Africaine were quick to denounce the film’s racist undertones and implicit support of apartheid policies, condemnation remained limited to militant circles, which raises questions regarding the ways in which French society perceived the situation in South Africa. Drawing on the works of Keyan Tomaselli and Brendon Nicholls, this article offers a critical analysis of the film in the context of apartheid ideologies and growing anti-apartheid rhetoric by (1) looking at the state of the mobilisation and the specific context of cultural anti-apartheid manifestations in France prior to the opening of the film on French screens in 1981, and (2) analysing how the positive reception of the film inserted itself within a broader framework of European colonial discourse and thus effectively served as a tool of apartheid propaganda.