Cry Freedom Essay

The opening sequence depicts a siemens African police raid on an illegal shanti-town. Quick push asides create a sense of chaos, holy holy terror and confusion as uniformed police bludgeon Africans who run in fear. Close up shots of a vicious barking police dog ar position against a terrified baby screaming in order to shock the responder. Other quick cuts reveal policeman raping women and assaulting black Africans who are not resisting. The side by side(p) context depicts a young womanhood listening to a radio broadcast which states the raid was peaceful, with many people returning to their home towns.As the woman listens, her facial expression is one of contempt and anger for she knows this is false. A return to the shanti-town uses a panning shot as bulldozers demolish the township. And people are arrested and taken away. The unison which accompanies this is a Zulu protest song which reaches crescendo as the camera seizes its pan. It stops on the poster depicting Stephen Biko, a black rights activist. In Donald wood seat a close up shot focuses on photographs of police brutality during the raid contradicting the official news. When asked if Woods volition print them he relies defiantly Ill risk it.Clearly, Woods is an individual who does not believe in or support the Afrikaner presidential term approach, making him an individual with different values, beliefs and attitudes to the wider gaberdine South African society. A close up on Woods as he declares Biko is building a wall of black hatred and prejudice and I will fight him e driving forcelishes Woods character as a champion of humanity. However he has misinterpreted Bikos philosophy and political agenda at the outset. Bikos black consciousness means he wishes to end the perception of blacks that they are indifferent to whites. However when he put some of these houghts down on theme he was promptly banned by the South African g overnment merely for expressing a desire for equality.The vi ew of the government was that black Africans were subhuman and inferior to whites. We know how you live, we cut your laws, we cook your food, we clean your house combines an anaphora of we and your is an accumulation of alliterative verbs to emphasis the military grouplessness of black Africans. Bikos beliefs begin to challenge Woods views on black consciousness We moderate to kill the idea that one man is superior to another man, we have to fill the black community with our reserve.These declarations are made by Biko at an illegal gathering (a football match where Biko must stay hidden in the crowd) A wide bung shot of Biko surrounded by African man and women and children who all turn to him and listen attentively is used to emphasis his individual power to influence others and flout them with black consciousness. Biko is giving the white people a choice to either fight violently and the blacks will fight them too or to come peacefully with an open palm. When assaulted by a po liceman Biko asserts that I just expect to be treated like you would.When the police officer strikes Biko, he immediately retaliates with violence, sooner explaining we are just as weak as you are. These actions are very brave as the police were capable of murder and Biko may have been beaten to death. Quick cuts from Bikos frightened and anxious close up to the policemans close up, his face enraged, emphasized Bikos danger. When Biko is on outpouring for breaching his banning order he is framed is a neutral angled mid shot and back lit with light falling on his shoulders and qualifying suggesting he has been blessed by god.The neutral angle conveys his humanness inviting us to identify with him. The camera switches to a low angle when the judge asks Biko if he thinks the white government is doing any good, the judge is in the foreground of the frame. Giving power and status to Biko is this scene as Biko says the government does so good, there is so little to say about it. Biko e nds his speech by stating our hope is to build up our own humanity, our own legitimate place in the world. This scene is immediately followed by a wide angled shot of police destroying the community center established by Biko.Donald Woods go to Victoria to speak to the strait chief of the police. Wide angle shots of the police chiefs praetorian mansion reveal the opulent splendor of white politicians in the Afrikaans government in contrast to the poverty of the black townships. The Afrikaans may have built the city but they built it using the Africans. A sequence where the shelter police raid Bikos house and search for illegal documents reviles the extent of danger to Biko as an individual in a society which seeks to keep power and control in the hands of whites.The police raid at night rather than in plain light which suggests they are pernicious motives as they are not prepared to search during the day. Low- get a line lighting casts empennages over the police symbolizing their corruption whilst the musical score is threatening in order to stress Bikos peril. It is only by hiding his writing in the nappies of his son that Biko escapes persecution. The following sequence reviles how Donald Woods was withal subject to police intimidation. Police exertion to harass his domestic helper when Woods intervenes. The officer refers to her as a Bantu female in a derogatory manor, scowling his distaste.Woods points a pistol at the police declaring them to be intruders on his property. A low-angle camera shot of him leveling the weapon makes him appear imposing and powerful, a quick cut to the police shows them to be worried before Woods is again captured in a low-angle close-up reveling his rage at this attempted intimidation, he hurls am imperative at the departing officers piss off further evoking his power. Mupeka, an African minister and friend and supporter of Biko is kidnapped from the street by security police. A high-angle photograph reviles his wide eyed terror as he is bundled into a police car.The following scene reviles Woods record from a high-angle and low-key lighting as he reviles Mupeka is dead. The angle reinforces the design that Woods is powerless in the face of the violence and murder which the security police are prepared to use on anybody who threatens the power of the white Afrikaans government. Constantly reinforced in this film is the idea that there may be catastrophic consequences when individuals challenge the values and beliefs of a society. Biko knew that there are risks to going away to Capetown because he knew that he would be breaking his banning order. When Biko was caught he would be put in jail before trial.Biko would be beaten to death in the prisons because it is behind closed doors where the world couldnt see him and it could be framed as a suicide attempt. The mis en scene which foreshadows Bikos death at the hands of the security police conveys the full horror which comes from challenging those wh o hold power in a society which is determined to keep its power. A big shot of a lit corridor reveals two police officers making their way to the cells where political prisoners are beaten and tortured, they descend into darkness. The low key lighting casts shadow symbolising a lack of hope for those in these cells.Harsh non-diegetic sound of locks opening and gates shutting emphasise the control the police have over their captives. The white teletex is accompanied by non-diegetic typewriter tapping which reports clinically and objectively the date Biko was given medical treatment. The camera pans from Bikos foot along his naked body fable on the floor of a cell before resting on a mid-shot of his face twisted to the side. Shadows of bars across him symbolise his captivity darn the swollen-headed and mangled flesh on his face indicates he has received massive head injuries from the police.His breathing is shallow and laboured/he is close to death. Low-angle shot feel up at the p olice conveys their power their grim faces evoke their hatred and lack of compassion for Biko. Bikos nakedness and prostrate symbolise his vulnerability while the make kneels over Biko pleading to get him to hospital quickly. Low-key lighting casts prison bar shadows over Biko and the unsex emphasising their being trapped by their draw while the police are virtually hidden by shadow symbolising their evil secrecy.A high-pitched synthesised chord creates tension as the doctor demands Biko be taken to hospital to see a specialist. Maudlin strings accompany the police decision to drive 700 miles to Pretoria while a mid-shot of the doctor reviles him hanging his head in despair. A still-shot frames Bikos face in closer as teletex and the non-diegetic typewriter give the date and announce Steve Biko dies in custody. This creates incongruity as Bikos life is worth considerable grief and dismay yet the clinical and objective teletex message denies this.The mis en scene of Bikos wife an d children grieving is a powerful reminder of the cost that individuals may suffer when they challenge a society. A wide-angle shot captures Bikos wife session nursing his youngest child head aloft, eyes closed and tears running down her cheeks. She rocks her son who cries out for Daddy over and over. A Banatul hymn accompanies the scene whilst low-key lighting casts a shadow symbolising the despair and grief Bikos death has caused. In contrast to the previous scenes where shadow from low key lighting abounds Johnny Kruger (police chief) is filmed from a low angled and bathed in a high key lighting.His comments that Bikos death in custody leaves me insensate is met with applause. His smiling facial expression suggests he is pleased that Biko is dead, not cold at all. His deliration that he died after a hunger strike is filmed from a long shot creating distance between him and the responder. A close up on Donald Woods wife begins the campaign of police torture against his family/s he is called a black loving bitch and is threatened with we are coming to get you, clearly audible over the receiver.A hand held camera jerkily captures the panic and the excruciating pain of Woods youngest child who has put on a t-shirt laced with tart. Her screams reverberate around the room as the acid burns her face torso and arms, the security police have deliberately targeted Woods family and now his young children just as Bob Ewell attempted to stab Jem and Scout. These actions are despicable but demonstrate the lengths those in society will resort to, to preserve their values and beliefs which keep them in power. A mid-shot of Woods son, also burned, reveals him crying and afraid.Significantly, this attack persuades Woods wife that Donald needs to escape South Africa to publicize Bikos death. This is a courageous decision as she knows her family will be vulnerable. A mid-shot of Woods wife comforting her daughter as bright slight shines on their face is used to symbolize th e faithfulness and goodness of those who stand up to threats and intimidation. A mid-shot of Biko saying they are kids, they may shout, break a few windows foreshadows the violence of the school childrens protest which closes the film.