Representing issues of South African land ownership in animated film

Abstract

This study aims to understand how issues of South African land ownership can be depicted in animation.

A Screenwriting as Creative Practice Research methodology is used to investigate how Conceptual Metaphor Theory can be used as a screenwriting approach. The study examines the use of the conceptual metaphors CATEGORY IS DIVIDED AREA in worldbuilding, HUMAN IS ANIMAL in anthropomorphic characterisation and DEVELOPING/SUCCEEDING IS MOVEMENT FORWARDS in narrative structure. It then proceeds to propose alternative conceptual metaphors as a mode of border thinking and writing from a decolonial perspective.

The study is informed by a literature review on South African land ownership, colonial processes creating unequal land distribution and attempts at land reform, as seen through the lens of coloniality and the colonial matrix of power (Maldonado-Torres 2007:243). The overview of land ownership is placed in conversation with the South African film about land ownership, Treurgrond (Roodt 2015) and the conceptual metaphor CATEGORY IS DIVIDED AREA is located in the film’s approach to worldbuilding.

The study then moves on to consider animation and the complexities of depicting race in the medium. The Disney film about prejudice, Zootopia (Howard & Moore 2016), is evaluated in its use of the anthropomorphic character metaphor HUMAN IS ANIMAL and the associated metaphor PREDATOR IS BAD, PREY IS GOOD is identified and located within colonial ideology.

Four South African animated films, Jock the Hero Dog (MacNeillie 2011), Adventures in Zambezia (Thornley 2012), Khumba (Silverston 2013) and Seal Team (Cameron & Croudace 2021) are evaluated in their use of the Hero’s Journey as narrative structure. The Hero’s Journey is interrogated in terms of neoliberalism and the conceptual metaphor DEVELOPING/SUCCEEDING IS MOVEMENT FORWARDS is identified in the structure of the four films.

The literature review and three emerging conceptual metaphors inform the writing of an original animated screenplay about South African land ownership. The conceptual metaphor SEPARATION IS DESTRUCTION is used to structure the screenplay’s narrative, HUMAN IS INSECT is used to construct characters and DECOLONIALITY IS CONNECTION is used to guide worldbuilding.

The study concludes that metaphor is a valuable tool in depicting complex social issues but argues for an awareness of hierarchies implicit in the metaphor selection, advocates for the representation of multiple subject positions and aligns itself with Cramer’s (2019:15) view that animated film should endeavour to dismantle systemic injustices maintaining racial inequality and prejudice.