0 Tsotsi

What the Film Is About 

Tsotsi is a 2005 movie which Gavin Hood authored and directed. Gavin Hood in turn had adapted the concept of Tsotsi, from a novel that had been authored by Athol Fugard. While many point out at the film winning the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film in 2005 and 2006 respectively, scholars and literary artistes cite the film’s thematic value as proof of its importance. With its plot having been set to develop in South Africa, particularly in Johannesburg’s Alexandra slum, the film presents Tsotsi, a youthful street urchin as the protagonist. Having often times resorted to stealing as a means to earning a living, Tsotsi one day steals a car, not knowing that a baby is in its backseat. 

The Theme of the Film 

There are several themes in this film. First and foremost, there is the theme of redemption which begins to play out immediately Tsotsi is stranded with the baby he had inadvertently stolen. The theme of poverty and criminality and the interrelationship between these two is also revisited in the movie, since Tsotsi is pushed into a life of crime because of poverty. The same poverty constrains Tsotsi from being a law abiding citizen, and makes him a brutal criminal instead, though he knows that robbery in itself is wrong. Likewise, Tsotsi’s friends- Butcher, Aap and Boston have been compelled to live in the streets and to dabble with crime by poverty. The existence of street gangs is also spurred on by poverty. At an instance, Butcher and Aap are almost shifting their loyalty from Tsotsi’s gang to a richer rival. 

The concept of fatherhood also heavily and prominently features in the film, to the point of setting the plotline running and leading to the film’s denouement. It is Tsotsi’s abusive father that drives Tsotsi into a criminal life in the streets of Johannesburg, and thereby helping in the development of the plotline. Tsotsi finds himself inadvertently in the same state of fatherhood after he ends up with a baby after a carjacking spree. This unplanned state of fatherhood triggers the humane part of Tsotsi, and thereby causing the plotline to change, thicken and quicken towards the climax. The same concept acts as a tool with which the author displays the true intent of Tsotsi’s heart. Particularly, at a given point, Tsotsi attempts to raise money for Boston’s exams, albeit this is done through robbery. Conversely, the same concept of fatherhood plays out subtly in the film’s climax, and thereby shaping its conclusion. As Tsotsi hands over the child to Pumla’s husband John, John plays a fatherly role to Tsotsi by attempting to dissuade the police from shooting Tsotsi. 

Whether the Film Conveys Any Messages That Will Make A Difference In Americans’ Ordinary Life 

The film conveys messages that can change American lifestyles for the better. This is because the movie addresses themes such as fatherhood, poverty, criminality and redemption. By considering fatherhood in light of this film, American parents must take stock of their roles towards their children. Likewise, by considering poverty and criminality, America has a chance to address the disproportionate distribution of economic values among racial and class lines, and racial profiling. The theme of redemption on the other hand reminds every American citizen of his personal responsibility towards the law and the state. The outlaw is reminded in his conscience that no matter how far he thinks he may have sunk in crime, he can still change for the better. 

Nevertheless, the problem with America is that instead of taking the film’s themes into its life system, it is likely to pass Tsotsi as just another literary piece that lacks the clearest quality of originality. This is because, in Tsotsi, Americans are likely to see a sequel of Tony Montana of Al Pacino. America has also watched similar movies such as Raoul Walsh’s Regeneration, where an orphan becomes a leader of a gang, but is eventually succored by a woman of noble intent and character. 

Ways in Which the Techniques of Filmmaking Were Used To Get the Film's Message Across, Or To Make the Message Plausible or Compelling 

Hood uses different techniques to make this film more compelling. He for instance uses non-diagetic sounds. Hood includes 19 soundtracks to this effect, with the genre of these songs being hip-hop, Kwaito and Afro-pop. Among some of these hip-hop songs is Ghetto Scandalous by Bonginkosi and group. This song remains an important technique in filmmaking since it helps the audience identify with the mind of street gangs who think that dabbling in criminality is fun. Hood also makes the film a polyglot since it comprises the languages, English, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans. For instance, that Ian Roberts acts as Captain Smit, an Afrikaner police captain, is a matter that is helped by the introduction of the Afrikaans. This multilingual approach to film making helps validate the movie, since the approach covertly concedes to the reality of South Africa being multiracial and multilingual. 

Hood also uses diagetic sounds such as the roaring of car engine, the barking of dogs and the crying of a baby to make the movie plausible. 

The author also uses lightning techniques to make the movie plausible. For instance, when Tsotsi’s gangs carry out night raids, very little or weak light is used, so that the audience can realize that that event is taking place during nighttime. Likewise, Tsotsi and his gang are heavily shadowed through the use of silhouettes to make them readily identifiable as villains. Not using proper lighting could have given a different meaning since it could have portrayed the robbery as diurnal and thereby painting Johannesburg and its environs as very insecure (to a point that robbery takes place therein, during daytime). Hood has also edited the different shots and put them together into a film or a montage. At the instance where the police intervene in the encounter between Tsotsi and Mr. John, Hood allows the use of close-ups to build tension. 

Hood’s dexterity in movie-making is underscored by the way he artistically interweaves these techniques to a point that it is almost impossible to cite an instance of ineffective use or misuse. 

Three Sequences That Are Most Important In the Film 

There are three sequences that are very important in the film: the depiction of Tsotsi’s background which is characterized by challenges and suffering at the hands of an abusive father; the inability of Boston to pay for his exams; and the robbing of Mrs. Pumla. The unveiling of Tsotsi’s background is important since it sets off a chain of events that develops the plot and leads to the film’s climax. Specifically, it is poverty, the misery of watching a terminally ill mother die slowly and the merciless oppression at the hands of an abusive and highhanded father that drive Tsotsi to resort to the streets and particularly, huge concrete pipes as domicile. This sequence which is heavily wrought with social, financial, physical and psychological suffering serves as a window through which Tsotsi’s subsequent actions are to be understood. This means that such a past serves as the springboard from which the rest of the plot develops and thickens. 

The robbing of Mrs. Pumla’s car plays a very critical role in the development of the film’s plot, the revealing of Tsotsi’s heart and in changing the course of the plotline altogether. This is the case, primarily because the robbery leaves the baby fortuitously under Tsotsi’s custody. It is at this juncture that the true character of the protagonist is revealed, or where the protagonist changes his character for the better. Tsotsi begins to look after the infant but realizes that he is inadequate in taking care of it. He hands the baby over to Miriam to taker care of it. It is most probable that immediately the baby gets into Tsotsi’s life, he becomes aware of the damage his larcenous deeds were wreaking on the social fabric. Tsotsi knew very well that it is his robbing and shooting of Mrs. Pumla that the baby was suffering under his custody. At the same time, Tsotsi knew very well that he had failed to stand in the gap as the baby’s father and only parent. 

It is at the retrospective juncture above that Tsotsi becomes morally conscious, and thereby changing the plot of the film. As a matter of fact, Tsotsi being touched by Boston’s inability to pay for his exams comes after this transformation. This transformation on the other hand develops and changes the course of the plotline, since the need to help Boston drives Tsotsi and his gang into another robbery spree that would see the baby’s parents (Mr. John and Mrs. Pumla) and Tsotsi and his gang meet. 

As far as the third sequence is concerned, it is this Boston’s inability to afford his exams that lets the audience in on Tsotsi’s heart. By reacting that each gang member contributes to this end, the author shows Tsotsi as someone with a caring heart but lacking the means to carry this goodwill. It is this disparity between having the goodwill and lacking the wherewithal to execute this goodness that eventually drives Tsotsi into another robbery expedition. This also sets the stage rolling towards the film’s denouement, since by engaging in this final act of robbery, Tsotsi and his gag encounter the parents of the baby that he had inadvertently stolen. 

What the Film Reveals About the Personality and Interests of the Filmmaker 

The film indeed reveals some personality and interests of the filmmaker. First, the film reveals Gavin Hood as someone who is very conscious about social justice. Hood’s interest in social justice is seen by him addressing the causes and undercurrents of crime, instead of simply echoing the chorus about crime being the bane of any society. This is seen in the manner in which he shows failed families, poor fatherhood and poverty as agents that collude to drive an individual into crime. Tsotsi is an individual who has been failed by his abusive father and lives in Alexandra slum. He resorts to robbing and stealing as a way of realizing his self preservation. It can therefore be rightly surmised that to Hood, crime has sociological forces and reasons as its underpinnings. Repudiating Hood’s postulation may also be hard, since there can never be successful combating of crime in any society that has a yawning chasm between the rich and the poor. 

The film also betrays Hood as an experienced and skillful filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. This is not only underscored by the film winning the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language, but also by the way he is able to form a complex weave of relatable matters such as failed parenting (fatherhood), poverty and crime, and to show how these sociological elements shape the course of human conduct, vis-à-vis, the person of Tsotsi. 

The film also readily confirms Hood as a scholar and a literary artiste who has a great respect and love for nationalism and consciousness of the country’s economic and sociopolitical issues. It is not in doubt that Hood could have found other items to write about in Europe or America, seeing that Hood is a Caucasian who studied filming in Los Angeles, at the University of California. Instead, Hood chooses to address matters that take place his country, South Africa. While addressing matters that are autochthonous to South Africa, the film displays an intricate knowledge on the country’s physical and geographical terrain that Hood as the author possesses. The physical terrain that link Johannesburg and the slum is very well elaborated on. 

Conclusion and Insights That the Film Gives Into the Foreign Country's Unique Customs and Traditions 

There is no denying that because the movie was shot in South Africa, it must carry with it, cultural values and undertones that belong to this particular country. For instance, the movie confirms the reality of multiculturalism in South Africa. This, Hood does by orchestrating a stage that is graced by characters who speak English, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans. In the same way English carries strong anglicizing forces, so do the isiZulu and isiXhosa act as mediums through which indigenous African traditional values are preserved and perpetuated from one generation to another. Thus, in the movie, each language represents a culture. 

The film also speaks of the negative culture of ethnic segregation. In it, Tsotsi’s gang comprises only the Zulu and the Xhosa. The Afrikaner comes into the picture as the police captain, and thereby showing that they occupy the elitist portfolios in this society. On the other hand, the autochthones as are portrayed in the persons in Tsotsi’s gangs are living in the outermost fringes of the country’s economy. While Tsotsi and John get along readily despite the former being a criminal, Captain Smit and his lieutenants are ready to shoot Tsotsi. This also underlines the negative culture of ethnic intolerance and discrimination that continues to persist in South Africa. 

In another wavelength, the film covertly revisits fatherhood as an important institution in the southern Africa country. The disharmony that is being viewed in South Africa’s social order is attributed to the denudation of fatherhood. Tsotsi substantively stands in place of a generation that has received no inculcation of societal values from its fathers. To this effect, Tsotsi’s generation is compelled into a life of vices. 

Works Cited 

Dovey, Lindiwe. “Redeeming features: from Tsotsi to Tsotsi” Journal of African Cultural Studies,. 19.2: (2007): 143-164. Print