Cry Freedom essays

Cry Freedom essays In the movie Cry Freedom Steven Biko is a black human rights leader. He is loved by the black community but hated and feared buy the white South African community. James Wood, the editor of a white newspaper, befriends Biko and agrees to go to a black township with him. Biko, however, is banned from these townships by the government. While in this township a situation arises where an analogy of the governmental and humanistic situations is compared to a table. The conversation begins when Woods says that the government is beginning to give blacks better education. Biko then says, I wont be forced into your society. You can do whatever you want to me, beat me, torture me or kill me but I wont be what you want me to be, I will be who I am(sic). Woods the says, I dont know, something about it still scares me(sic), and Biko replies, Of course it does. Your world, the white world depicts white as pure and the color black as evil(sic). Bikos friend portrays the table analogy. He says that the problem with society is that the you (referring to whites) allow us- referring to blacks to come to your table, sit in your chairs, eat your food, use your silverware, and if we are good enough, you will kindly allow us to stay. But we cant have that, we must wipe the table clean, and make a black table, live in peace as we did before you came. Woods then makes a sarcastic remark enforcing the notion of paternalism, You did have tribal wars then, didnt you?(sic). And Biko intelligently replied, What do you call World War one and two? The black perspective calls for confrontation as mentioned in the movie. At Bikos trial, a lawyer uses one of Bikos speeches where he called for direct confrontation. The lawyer says that Biko was inciting a revolt against the government. Biko then says to the lawyer, Im am here now, con...