““The only truth I know is what I felt with my entire body””: Traumatic Memory in <em>Zulu Love Letter</em>

Abstract

Zulu Love Letter expands the repertoire of often labeled Truth and Reconciliation films in its portrayal of Thandeka Khumalo, a political activist, journalist, and mother. Her painful journey recognizes the moral ambivalence of a victim who has to learn to forgive herself for a past for which she holds herself responsible. With its frequent temporal shifts, highly subjective point of view, and self-conscious narration, the film employs a modernist representational style that intends to represent the trauma of the past and its post-traumatic resonance in the present. Such a visual landscape, however, also challenges the audience's ability (and will- ingness) to engage with a character whose testimony already threatens their sense of moral order and human compassion. In this article, I examine the aesthetic and ethical challenges of rendering personal pain accessible to an audience often far removed from the experience of the victim.