Cry Freedom Essay

The opening grade depicts a mho African police force force foray on an outlaw(prenominal) shanti-t proclaim. Quick abscissions urinate a sense of chaos, panic and confusion as uniformed police bludgeon Africans who run in fear. Close up scissures of a cruel barking police dog ar juxtaposed against a terrified bollocks screaming in order to shock the responder. Other quick cuts rat policeman raping women and assaulting grisly Africans who argon not resisting. The quest sight depicts a young woman listening to a radio broadcast which states the foray 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 use ups a panning shot as bulldozers demolish the township. And people are arrested and taken away. The euphony which accompanies this is a Zulu protest song which reaches crescendo as the camera seizes its pan. It lettuce on the po ster depicting Stephen Biko, a b want rights activist. In Donald woodwind office a close up shot focuses on photographs of police brutality during the raid contradicting the official news. When asked if woods provide print them he relies defiantly Ill risk it.Clearly, timber is an unmarried who does not gestate in or support the Afrikaans political relation approach, do him an individual with different values, beliefs and attitudes to the larger dust coat South African guild. A close up on woodwind instrument as he declares Biko is building a beleaguer of black hatred and prejudice and I allow fight him e dead reckoninglishes woodwind character as a champion of humanity. just he has misinterpreted Bikos philosophy and political agenda at the outset. Bikos black understanding means he wishes to end the perception of blacks that they are humble to whites. However when he put some of these houghts rase on paper he was immediately banned by the South African governme nt merely for expressing a desire for equality.The view 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 accruement of alliterative verbs to accent the powerlessness of black Africans. Bikos beliefs begin to repugn Woods views on black consciousness We claim to kill the desire that one man is superior to another man, we retain to fill the black community with our pride.These declarations are made by Biko at an smuggled gathering (a metrical football match where Biko must stay hidden in the crowd) A wide lean 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 inspire 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 policeman Biko asserts that I just expect to be set like you would.When the police officer strikes Biko, he immediately retaliates with military unit, before explaining we are just as weak as you are. These actions are truly 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 attend enraged, emphasized Bikos danger. When Biko is on trial for breaching his banning order he is framed is a apathetic tendd mid shot and back lit with light dropping on his shoulders and head suggesting he has been blessed by god.The neutral angle conveys his humanness inviting us to identify with him. The camera switches to a modest angle when the valuate 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(predicate) it. Biko ends 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 travel shot of police destroying the community center conventional by Biko.Donald Woods go to Victoria to speak to the head of import of the police. Wide angle shots of the police chiefs praetorian star sign 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 security 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 dictation 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 da y. restrained illumination casts shadows over the police symbolizing their corruption whilst the musical progress to is threatening in order to accentuate 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 also subject to police intimidation. Police attempt to harass his house servant helper when Woods intervenes. The officer refers to her as a Bantu womanly in a derogatory manor, scowling his distaste.Woods points a side arm 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 unequivocal at the departing officers piss off further evoking his power. Mupeka, an African minister and patron 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 filmed from a high-angle and low- observe lighting as he reviles Mupeka is dead. The angle reinforces the notion that Woods is powerless in the sheath 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 altercate the values and beliefs of a society. Biko knew that there are risks to going 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 piece of ass closed doors where the world couldnt see him and it could be framed as a suicide attempt. The mis en scene which foreshadows Bikos dea th at the hands of the security police conveys the full horror which comes from challenging those who bond power in a society which is determined to keep its power. A long 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 designly the regard Biko was given medical treatment. The camera pans from Bikos foot along his naked body lying on the floor of a cell before resting on a mid-shot of his face twisted to the side. Shadows of nix across him symbolise his captivity enchantment the swollen and mangled trope on his face indicates he has received massive head injuries from t he police.His external respiration is shallow and laboured/he is close to death. Low-angle shot looking up at the police conveys their power their grim faces evoke their hatred and lack of compassion for Biko. Bikos nakedness and prostrate symbolise his vulnerability while the doctor kneels over Biko pleading to get him to hospital quickly. Low-key lighting casts prison bar shadows over Biko and the doctor emphasising their being trapped by their circumstances 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 finish to drive 700 miles to capital of South Africa 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 Bik os manners is worth considerable sorrowfulness and dismay yet the clinical and objective teletex message denies this.The mis en scene of Bikos married woman and 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 sitting treat 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 cold is met with applause. His smiling facial expression suggests he is satisfy that Biko is dead, not cold at all. His deliration that he died after a hunger strike is filmed fro m a long shot creating outdo between him and the responder. A close up on Donald Woods wife begins the campaign of police harassment against his family/she is called a black lovely 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 torturesome pain of Woods youngest child who has put on a jersey laced with acid. Her screams reverberate around the room as the acid burn 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 the purity 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.