Cry Freedom

Cry Freedom was released in 1987 while Apartheid was still the law of the land in South Africa. Primarily shot in Zimbabwe, this film introduced many to the story of Steve Biko, who founded the Black Consciousness Movement. Most of us are familiar with different aspects of Nelson Mandela's work for equality throughout South Africa. This film powerfully depicts how power can be misused to subjugate people, and how our innate fear of "otherness" can lead to segregation, either explicitly or implicitly. While you watch, please consider the following questions.

1. What does Donald Woods originally believe about Steven Biko's writings on "Black Consciousness? What changes his "liberal" attitudes?

2. What are the limits that the South African government puts on Steve Biko in an effort to lessen his impact on the consciousness of his country?

3. How is he able to avoid them? What are the risks he faces, and ultimately experiences?

4. Why are the Afrikaners so threatened by the Black Consciousness Movement? How do they justify such restrictive laws against 90% of their country's population? How do they explain black activists' deaths in custody?

5. Why does Woods's own white government turn against him and his family?

6. Why do you believe the Afrikaner soldier fires into the crowd of schoolchildren in Soweto?

7. It's easy to believe that this is something that happens somewhere else. Is that true? How have you seen limits placed on the "others" in our own community?

Follow up: While considered very historically accurate, most legitimate criticism of Cry Freedom regards how it primarily portrays the white editor's experience more so than the black African's. I would add that it does not reflect Wendy Wood