For this assignment you are to focus on two different characters in Cry Freedom. Describe which segment of South African society each fits into, as well as their political stance on apartheid. (i.e. Steve Biko, a black South African who is a staunch opponent of apartheid and a political activist) Next describe the relationship that these two characters had to one another in the film. Next, you, very importantly need to describe how this relationship describes the overall system of apartheid, and the political climate in South Africa during apartheid.
Two pivotal characters in the film Cry Freedom are; Donald Woods and Krueger. Donald Woods is a white English South African, a newspaper editor, and by the end of the film is very anti- apartheid and an activist against it. Krueger is a white Afrikaner who is the minister of police and supports and enforced the apartheid.
ReplyDeleteThe first time you see these characters interact is when Donald Woods goes to Krueger’s house. Woods goes to discuss some of the police officers and how they are abusing many rules. Despite the historical hatred between the two white groups Krueger seems in agreement with Woods and on his side. However, there is a lot left not said, yet implied. As the movie continues Krueger does not live up to his word and does not do anything to change the police force. The real turn of the relationship is after Steve Biko dies. Krueger reports false information for the reason to how Biko died. Through that event he becomes very right winged. Krueger than becomes one of Wood’s biggest enemies and Krueger does everything he can to stop Woods from ending the apartheid.
Their relationship shows the difference of two people pro and against an apartheid and the very un-peaceful way that they interact. It is also very interesting to look at because they are both white yet have such different political beliefs. It shows that black and white were not the only sides of the apartheid.
In the movie Cry Freedom, two very different main characters are Kruger and Mr. Donald Woods. Both live in South Africa, and both are white people who are not oppressed in any way. In fact, under Apartheid, they are given the better half of the deal compared to the blacks. Kruger is the Minister of Police, so he is supposed to enforce the laws of Apartheid, while still making sure that justice is served. Donald Woods is perhaps the polar opposite of Kruger. Woods is an editor for a very important newspaper, and at the beginning of the movie he is kind of on the fence in terms of his opinion on Apartheid. As the movie progresses and Woods meets new people, he becomes completely involved in the struggle against Apartheid. Woods goes to meet with Kruger to talk to him directly about incident where white men destroyed facilities belonging to black men. This was an issue that did not receive justice since no one would believe the black witness. When Kruger and Woods talk about this incident, Kruger seems supportive and agrees to help out, but then goes behinds Wood’s back and makes the situation worse. In the meantime, Woods is doing everything in his power to challenge Apartheid and eventually gets banned, but manages to flee to England and publish a book to raise awareness to the unfair treatment of blacks in South Africa. Kruger on the other hand, tries to keep Apartheid alive in every way that he can, and he even lies about the death of Steve Biko, just make the police force look better, and Biko look worse. In short, Woods does absolutely everything that he can to end Apartheid and deliver justice to South Africa, and Kruger does everything to prolong and keep Apartheid laws.
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ReplyDeleteComparison: Donald Woods and Kruger
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods is a man normally working as a editor as a white newspaper. He appointed himself to see Biko and many influential people who brought him ideas about these issues that affected south africa. He stepped to the plate when he knew their was trouble, and gave away everything to show the world what is going on in this country, even though this may of gone off and killed him. Unlike Kruger, the minster of police, knows about the issues that face South africa and turns a blind eye against the issues of the country. He says that "he does not want to give up everything that he earned . Of course they took it, in the case he did not earned it but he still wants to keep it, because any normal man would want to keep their money and all that they had if they have almost everything. And he does anything to keep the viewing public at his side and making sure they do not revolt against his power so he does not lose anything. Donald Woods and Kruger, both start as part of the thoughts of the white members, but Woods takes a look a little more at the mistreatment and Kruger just turns a blind eye.
Donald Woods is a newspaper editor who doesn't quite grasp the ideas of Biko and anti-apartheid activists, but feels something is wrong. Ironically, he originally paints Biko in a bad light because of a misunderstanding, but when he actually meets him his life changes forever. Biko on the other hand is a peaceful political activist, he believes strongly in black consciousness and peaceful confrontation. While his ideas are peaceful, the South African government feels threatened and has banned him. They eventually beat him to death. While they seem very similar Biko and Woods are very similar. Their relationship is a rare exception in the environment of apartheid. Woods and Biko are polar opposites of the system and they work together to bring down apartheid. The huge difference between the two despite their similar political views just highlights the extreme difference between the white and black lifestyles in South Africa.
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ReplyDeleteThe film shows the division between political and racial groups in South Africa: the radical right wing, the victims who were in the struggle with the apartheid, and the left wing. Although there was a severe division between the left and right wing, division also existed within a race, the Afrikaners and British settlers. The film shows a scene of tension between Donald Woods, a British South African, and Kruger, a corrupt Afrikaner official. In the movie, Woods begins at a neutral standpoint, however, as the movie progresses he becomes more and more involved in the struggle in fighting against apartheid. There is a particular scene where Woods is trying to report to Kruger an incidence in which Kruger’s men illegally trespassed and destroyed a black South African’s property. Kruger is aware that Woods is a liberal and justifies Apartheid by claiming that the Afrikaners did not colonize South Africa, they built South Africa. This represents the distorted perception of many Afrikaners who supported Apartheid. It also shows that although Woods and Kruger shared the privileges of being a white South African, their views on Apartheid were drastically different. As a result, the white South Africans who fought apartheid were also mistreated by the government.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the main characters in the move Cry Freedom are Donald woods and Steve Biko. Donald Woods is a white South African who owns a successful newspaper and journalism company. He lives in luxury with his wife and five kids and one servent. Until now he has turned his cheek to Apartheid, Some of his articles are about the danger of Black consciousness. During the movie he meets a man named Steve Biko who anti-Apartheid and serves as a political figure and hope for the Black community. He is non violent and a great orator, but is banned from seing people because he is a "danger to society" The government fears his ideals will challenge the governments hold on the Black community. Woods and Biko's relationship is interesting because they at first have to have a secret meetings because of his ban and it is illegal for a white and a black to be together. Despite this they work together to improve the treatment of blacks. Biko dies and Woods shows his true friendship with him because he risks his life to get the real circumstances of his death exposed.
ReplyDeleteThe two main characters in this movie that I found the most important were Steve Biko and Donald Woods. Steve Biko is a black South African orator who has been banned from speaking to more than one person at a time in the movie. Steve Biko is strongly against Apartheid and wants to change South Africa so that the two races may live equally together in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods is a white South African who is the editor and owner of a newspaper company. Mr. Woods has a beautiful property on the beach and he has five children and a black servant names Evelyn. When the movie is first opened up Donald is for Apartheid, but after meeting Steve Biko and hearing what he has to say he opts to join the cause and fight against Apartheid.
The relationship between these two characters in the movie was huge. They spent time together in the black community as Mr. Woods learned the life that was lived by people of color. Mr. Woods and Steve become really good friends and when Steve Biko dies in police custody in 1977, Donald Woods decides to take matters into his own hands and publish a book in Britain.
The relationship between these two characters was incredibly important. I do not think Apartheid would have changed if Steve Biko and Donald Woods had met each other. The overall system of Apartheid was unfair to people of color and most people South Africans, both white and black, tend to agree.
Donald Woods and Biko were two major characters during in the Cry Freedom film Donald woods was a newspaper editor. He was a white South African and at first he was not against the apartheid. He enjoyed his lifestyle with his family. He had a large house, a large swimming pool, and a black maid. He was happy with his life and did not care about black freedom until Biko came into his life. Biko introduced Donald woods to his race’s life. He showed Donald Wood how it did not matter how smart or dumb the black people were. They had no rights and they grew up in a terrible environment. Biko truly showed Donald Woods that black people had souls to and needed to be treat equally with the white people. Many black people wanted the blacks to be rich and the whites to suffer;however, Biko was different. He only wanted equality. He wanted black and whites to ride the same buses, live in the same sized house and peace. Donald Woods eventually sees the problem with inequality and takes action. The others in his society attack Donald Woods and his family;however, Donald Wood’s passion overcomes the obstacles and he is determined to make change. After Biko dies, Donald Woods works even harder and he eventually gets banned. Getting banned does not stop Donald Woods. He feels like Biko would have died for nothing if he doesn’t take the risk of leaving with his family and getting his book published.
ReplyDeleteTwo important characters in this film were Donald Woods and Mr. Kruger. While they both belong to the white sect of the population, they stand for very different things. Donald starts as an open minded, or liberal, white. Once he is confronted by the realties of apartheid and the inequality of the world in which he lives, he is willing to change his beliefs. He realizes that some parts of his society are very wrong, and he rises to the challenge to change it, regardless of the fact that the unjustness of his society benefits him. Mr. Kruger, however, is one of the Afrikaan government officials. He is chief of police, and he believes strongly that the whites are deserving of their better lives while the blacks are not, mostly because he is afraid of change from his rich life. Throughout the movie, we see him lie, backstab, and threaten people who believe differently in order to protect this misled belief. In the movie, Woods comes to Kruger to report that some of Kruger’s police force have been unjust to blacks in the area. Kruger pleases Woods when Woods approaches Kruger alone at his house, knowing that Woods has the power of the press. Then, Kruger turns on his pleasing words and sends the police force after Woods to scare him away from trying to protect the blacks. This relationship represents society in apartheid as a whole, and the way differences in the actions and life philosophies of the two white groups caused conflict within the race. The difference in ideas between the liberal, open-minded whites (generally English South Africans) and the Afrikaans government officials that were so against change constantly caused tension, and many government officials such as Kruger took to lying to the liberal whites in order to keep their support. They also often practiced the similar tactic of ruling with a kind front and vicious punishment to any who disobeyed.
ReplyDeleteThe two influential characters I picked were Donald Woods and Krueger. Donald Woods was the chief editor of a newspaper while Krueger was the South Africa's chief of police. Donald Woods represents the position of a person that was not opposed to apartheid but also did not fight against it. This was only true at the beginning but after meeting with Steve Biko he changes his ways and becomes an enemy of apartheid therefore he is not in favor of apartheid. Krueger on the other hand believes in racism and does not like the thought of giving power to the blacks. Therefore he is in favor of apartheid. The relationship between them was very controversial. Donald wanted the blacks to have power while Krueger did not. This caused tension between them and led them to not like each other. Their relationship shows the amounting stress during the apartheid. Donald represents the view of those opposed to the apartheid. He stands up against what he knows is wrong while Krueger on the other hand is worried about keeping his power and represents the few that are in support of the apartheid.
ReplyDeleteThe two people that I picked were Donald Woods and Steve Biko. Donald Woods was a white South African. He was a journalist for the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977. Donald Woods was a liberal and somewhat brainwashed by the rules of Apartheid. He didn’t do much to stop it in the beginning. He lived in a typical white South African home and even had a black maid. Once Donald met Steve Biko everything changed. Steve Biko was a black South African who was banned because of his work trying to rid Apartheid. He was an anti-apartheid activist in the 1960s and 1970s. Biko shows Wood the life of a black South African and experiences what black South Africans are going through because of Apartheid. Steve Biko influences Donald Woods and he becomes extremely anti-apartheid. Donald Woods writes a book about the problems in South Africa and does everything he can to get it out to the world and make the problem of Apartheid known about. When Steve Biko dies, Donald works even harder in order to rid Apartheid. Because of the strong relationship that Steve and Donald had, Donald Woods was able to make the problem of Apartheid known and eventually fixed.
ReplyDeleteThe two arguably most important characters are Steve Biko and Donald Woods. Woods is an English speaking white man with "liberal" views. Biko is a black member of the ANC, and as such has more radical views than Woods (at least at the beginning of the movie). Theirs is the defining relationship of the movie: being around Biko educates Woods and changes his point of view, making him into one of the few white South Africans fighting apartheid.
ReplyDeleteTheirs is also an example of a very uncommon relationship: the whites are kept from black townships, disallowed from mingling with blacks, and in general isolated from them. Thus rarely did a white man get the chance to share ideas and learn from a black man.
Two important and influential characters in the South African Apartheid and movie Cry freedom were Donald Woods and Kruger. Donald Woods begins the movie as a typical white liberal South African. He is displayed as a white South African who is not for the apartheid but not particularly against it either. However, after Woods meets Steve Biko and their relationship and friendship begins to develop his opinion becomes much more radical. Woods becomes a extremely ant-apartheid and makes many efforts to put an end to the unjust discrimination in South Africa. On the other hand there were also men similar to Kruger in South Africa. While both Woods and Kruger were white men in South Africa they shared very few similarities and beliefs. Kruger was an Afrikaner and was very pro-apartheid. He was a two faced man who lied in order make his pro-apartheid beliefs clear and active. These two men’s different beliefs are what fueled the apartheid. The opposing views and different lifestyles, similar to Woods’s and Kruger’s, of people during the South African Apartheid are what escalated the struggle.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods and Steve Biko are two different characters in the movie that stand out to me. Steve Biko is a Black man that is against apartheid but still wants social equality among blacks and whites. Many white people in South Africa are afraid of Steve Biko because they think he will spread violence. At first Donald Woods believes that Steve is a violent man. Although Donald is against apartheid he is not convinced that Steve and his followers want peace. As Donald gets to know Steve he not only becomes a believer/ follower in Steve's cause but a dear friend to Steve. This shows that the opposition to apartheid was very evident in South Africa. A lot of white people were indifferent to Apartheid and it was hard to convert to favoring Steve Biko's kind of ideas. Like Donald these whites had nice homes and lifestyles and they weren't about to give all of that up. It took important encounters like the ones between Steve Biko and Donald Woods to really bring to life the immorality of Apartheid. These encounters also helped end Apartheid and bring a better social system to South Africa
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ReplyDelete“Cry Freedom” depicts the relationship between Steve Biko and Donald Woods. Steve Biko is a black South African who has taken a stand against the wrongs of apartheid. An eloquent activist, Biko rebels against his banning by the South African Apartheid government by giving speeches on Black Consciousness. Biko is devoted to black and white equality through nonviolence. Donald Woods is an English-speaking white South African. He is the editor of a “liberal” newspaper and befriended Steve Biko when researching him. Woods was moved into the struggle against apartheid as his friendship with Biko developed; he was eventually willing to risk everything in order to publish a book on Biko that would draw attention to the issue of apartheid world-wide.
ReplyDeleteBiko educated Woods on the struggle against apartheid, what it means to be black, equality, and Black Consciousness. Woods in turn served as a friend to Biko as well as a connection to the media and power in the white world.
The relationship between Woods and Biko is forbidden, for both sides are crossing the social boundaries of apartheid. The fact that a mixed-race friendship like theirs is so uncommon depicts the ridiculousness of the system. Woods and Biko treat each other as equals, which is representative of how things could and should be with a just system.
Had Woods and Biko not met, apartheid might still be prevalent in South Africa today.
For this assignment we are asked to connect two people in the film. I chose one that may not necessarily be the most important and another that is one of the main characters of the film. I chose Donald Wood's eldest son and Steve Biko. Steve Biko is anti-apartheid and a political activist. Wood's oldest son (let's just call him John) is anti-apartheid and firmly believes in equality between blacks and whites. Although Steve Biko did not directly communicate specifically to John, John was changed as a person because of who Steve Biko was. Steve Biko's affect on John's father in turn effected him. Had Steve Biko never met Donald Wood's, John Woods never would have understand the wrongness of segregating blacks simply for the color of their skin. I learned from Mr. Webber that John Woods later became a political activist and a Government official who represented his belief and the belief of his father. This relationship describes the overall system of apartheid in the sense that if Steve Biko had never exposed his ideas to Donald, then John would have never understood the error society had made. The encounters Donald and Biko had started to bring to light the error of Apartheid and brought better solutions to the social system.
ReplyDeleteAs an influential, white South Africa, Donald Woods struggles to choose whether he should give up his cushy life to fight for a cause he is steadily becoming more passionate for-the rights of black South Africans, and therefore the abolition of Apartheid. Biko, a black South African activist, is also greatly opposed to the unequal rights of the different races. Biko's dangerous actions and influence on Woods before Biko's death is one of the primary reasons why Woods decides to take extreme risks, such as illegally escaping South Africa, to further what Biko could not be around to finish.
ReplyDeleteTheir relationship represents the system of Apartheid in that they are often ridiculed, harassed, or threatened by members of their own race for be seen with each other. With the rest of the society they live in against them, the two men must fight through hatred as well as the law in order to break themselves and their fellow South Africans free from the constrictions that Apartheid inflicted.
Two characters in the movie Cry Freedom that are very different from each other are Donald Woods and Steven Biko. Donald Woods is a white, English South African reporter with a very easy lifestyle. In the beginning of the movie, Donald writes a bad article about Steven Biko, and ends up meeting him because of it. Steven Biko is a young black South African who has been banded by the government for promoting his ideas of black consciousness. Donald Woods during the time in the film would have been considered in the struggle about apartheid because he was not for it, but he was not doing anything against it either. When Steven and Donald meet, Steven offers to take Donald to a township. Donald had never been to a township before, and this interaction with Biko and the township changed his perspective on the apartheid. Steven and Donald then become very good friends. Later in the movie, Steven speaks about his beliefs at a soccer game, which ends up getting him in trouble with the government. Steven is later abused and dies from brain damage. The government hides the cause of Bikos death by claiming that he died of a hunger strike. Donald knows the truth behind this and decides to write a book avenging Steven’s death and protesting against the apartheid. In this movie, although Steven and Donald start out as two very different characters, in the end, they become very much alike. They become great friends through the movie, and Donald is called Steven’s brother at Steven’s funeral. During this time, it would have been very unusual to have a black and a white man have this kind of relationship. The apartheid in South Africa put into place many strict laws that kept this type of interaction between a black and a white man separate. The movie significantly and authentically shows what it was like for different people to live during the apartheid and how two men fought for their countries equality.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods is considered by the whites to be pretty liberal, on his views of the apartheid, yet still being ignorant he writes a news paper article that is incorrect in its views of the black people.
ReplyDeleteSteve Biko is a black, native that is getting forced into the worse side of the apartheid, though believes in the nonviolent movement and black conciseness. He is willing to work with the whites, as long as they respect him and give him a voice.
Their accidental friendship that was created by a miss printed article create a powerful anti-movement against the government. Steve opening up a hand showed Donald into the African family, so that he understood the hardship they had to undergo. This friendship let Donald resist a powerful government that was mistreating a large segment of the population. Steve gave Donald to do all the daring stuff he did.
Two very important characters that have quite an interesting interaction throughout the movie are Kruger and Steve Biko. These two characters represent the polar opposite sides/opinions of the Apartheid. Biko represents an African man who is personally fighting in the struggle to escape Apartheid in South Africa and create an equal country. While Kruger is the man playing both sides and pretending to listen and be open to Donald Woods’ ideas, when really he is just trying to take him down and avoid creating an equal country. It is interesting how we never see these two together in the same room throughout the entire movie, and they still have a significant relationship.
ReplyDeleteKruger is responsible for Biko’s death. He could have easily disregarded the cops choice to send him to the other hospital to send him to the nearby one. But he avoided his authority and willingly let him go to the other “secure” hospital knowing that he would not make it. And when Kruger lied to the public and told them that Biko died in a hunger strike, he was showing off and bragging about the fact that those fighting to end apartheid had just lost their most important public figure.
Two characters that contrast the most in this movie are Donald Woods and Kruger, the minister of police. Each is a white male living in South Africa but each have different stands on apartheid. Donald Woods printed truth in his newspaper and openly opposed apartheid in it. Where as Kruger promoted lies as seen when he announced how Steve Biko died in jail. He announced on television, that Steve Biko died of a hunger strike and that the police force did everything they could to save him. But we know that he really died of head trauma from beatings in jail. Donald Woods and Kruger don't have much contact but the form a relationship through apartheid one trying to enforce it the other trying to assist in bringing it down. Both characters are important players in the South African politics.
ReplyDeleteThe movie "Cry Freedom" paints a picture of the struggles that all races faced during apartheid. Donald Woods, a successful white newspaper reporter, was on the fence in deciding where he stood in regards to apartheid. As the movie progresses, he develops a strong disbelief in apartheid. Donald Woods creates this strong opinion when faced with Steve Biko, a black man who experienced apartheid first hand.
ReplyDeleteSteve Biko was an anti-apartheid activist. He obtained a way with words that inspired thousands of people even after his death. He was a very important part of the take down of apartheid because he stood up to it. He believed not in switching roles between blacks and whites, but in creating equals. He inspired Woods to make a difference in society and opened his eyes to the terrible things that were going on around him.
Steve Biko and Donald Woods both depict a significant amount of information about apartheid. Black people were forced to work for little pay while the white people lived very comfortable lives. The two extremes on both sides of the spectrum created an unfair South Africa, specifically for the black population. Apartheid shows the back and forth struggles between blacks and whites during this period of time. Donald Woods lived a very comfortable life, but when he was faced with Steve Biko, he decided that he did not want to live comfortably while the black populous suffered. After Biko's death, Woods decided to take a stand to apartheid and make a difference. Woods exemplifies great characteristics that all of South Africa would have to obtain in the future to create a mutual equal society that would flourish and become successful in the end.
Donald Woods, a white South African, battles with the conflict of living his cushy life style or escaping and fighting for the equality that is needed to be spread in South Africa. Throughout the movie he becomes more and more passionate for the rights of the black South Africans as he realizes the struggles they go through everyday. Another Character is Biko, a strong willed black South African, fights for his races rights in the country eventually being killed because of apartheid and his will to stand up against the government.
ReplyDeleteThere relationship starts off with Donald Woods stand as a liberalist being introduced to the truth of black South Africans. He slowly grows more found of Steve Biko and his strive to push for black South African rights. Biko dies, and Woods then decides that he is in charge of forcing the rest of Biko's intention to free the black South Africans by leaving his cushy life and turning his town against him, just to help equalize the rights between all races. Donald Woods is the higher part of the Apartheid system and goes against all of the few ridiculous laws set in place to be able to break the system for Biko's dream to come true.
Two characters from 'Cry Freedom' that contrasted nicely were Donald Woods and Kruger. Donald Woods is a white liberal, meaning that he is open to new ideas about the apartheid and is in the struggle. Woods is living in South Africa and throughout the movie his opinion on the apartheid changes dramatically. Kruger is the minister of police and a white, pro-apartheid, South African. Kruger is friends with Woods in the beginning, but he seems to care more about keeping the apartheid in place rather than his friends. Kruger betrays Woods' trust and angers Donald Woods.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between Kruger and Woods is a tense angry one throughout the movie. Their relationship shows that there were white South Africans who were against each other because they had different beliefs about the apartheid. The apartheid is a very separated era in history and this relationship is a great example of how many white South Africans were against the apartheid and just because they were white or more well-off, didn't mean that they thought segregating and creating inequality was the right thing to do. Their relationship shows that many white people were separated, as well, due to the issues of the apartheid, not only black and white.
In the movie “Cry Freedom”, a man named Donald Woods stands up to an oppressive government. Yet what makes this man truly great isn’t just that he stood up to a government, it is that he stood up to a government which took from blacks and gave to whites, such as himself. Almost like Friar Tuck standing up to Robin Hood. The movie illustrates his struggle to publish a book about the death of his friend Steve Biko. Biko was a non-violent revolutionary black who was killed in police custody. The Head of Police, Mr. Kruger, gave a B.S. statement about Biko’s death, allowing himself to stay in his mansion, to keep blacks as underpaid, overworked houseworkers, living in terrible shantytowns. Once Woods really starts resisting and opposing the apartheid government, Kruger starts sending police to track and intimidate him. Woods becomes banned, a condition where he is unable to leave the country or speak to more than one person at a time. But this doesn’t stop Woods. The difference between Woods and Kruger, is Woods has the courage to stand up to the oppression in South Africa, to leave his cushy life, house, and workers, and flea to England, penniless, to make South Africa a place of equality.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the most complicated and unusual relationship in Cry Freedom is that between Donald Woods and Kruger. Donald Woods is a very pro-black white liberal (or at least becomes one throughout the movie). He befriends Steve Biko and becomes very close and trusting with him, with Woods’ opinion changing quickly to supporting the blacks after meeting and talking to Biko. He becomes pivotal in the “black consciousness” that Steve Biko is leading, as he is a white jounalist who is open to the black ideas, and therefor can report the truth on what the government is doing to the blacks to gain support of other whites to fight against the abusive, corrupt Afrikaans government.
ReplyDeleteKruger is Afrikaans, and is the head of police. He is very strong about his opinions of how power should be distributed in South Africa. He strongly believes in the system staying as how it was in the movie, with the Afrikaans in charge and in an almost dictatorial style of leadership. He saw the Afrikaans as worthy of being there and saw the blacks as unworthy. He wished to continue the treatment and segregation of the blacks as it was.
Woods becomes angered with unnecessary violence commited by the police themselves on Steve Biko, and the community center that Biko’s family was building. Kruger presents himself decently to Woods, in order to gain some form of trust from Woods, while still presenting and strongly protecting his own ideas on the balance of power in the South African Society. Woods obviously disagrees with his ideas, but all he wants is for whoever commited the violence in Kruger’s police force to pay for doing so. Kruger plays along, but later tries to stab Woods in the back by sending two men to order him to state the name of the witness, or else go to jail. This shows the tricks and strict governing that the Afrikaans used to stay in power and keep the people from organising any sort of protest or rebellion against them: by showing them absolute power and control.
This relationship represents the overall relationship between the Afrikaans and Europeans living in South Africa, with the Afrikaans holding the power and being very strict about the way people lived and the way blacks were treated. On the othe hand, the Europeans do not all agree with the way the blacks are being treated, but much of the bad treatment was kept secret by the media, and many of the Europeans were wealthy and happy in their homes, so not all of them were willing to give up all that they had to fight for the blacks.
Two important characters from the movie are Steve Biko and Donald Woods. Donald Woods, a white South African, has a cushy life. Throughout the movie you see his view on apartheid change. He begins to side with the black South Africans. His morals changed and he then began to fight for the rights of the black South Africans. Another important character was Steve Biko, a black South African that fought to see change in his country. Unfortunately he lost his battle against the government, and was killed due to his strong will and determination to end apartheid in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteDonald Woods was a liberalist who began to see the what the black South Africans were truly facing. After spending more and more time with Steve, Donald considers him to be a good friend. When Biko dies, Donald wants to make sure Steve's message still lives on. He decides to leave his life in South Africa in order to help make all people of South Africa equal. Donald Woods did what many white South Africans would not do, stand up against the government and prove to all the people that what they were doing was wrong. Both characters are important to South Africa, and they could not have done what they did without each other.
Two Important Characters are Steve Biko and Donald Woods. Steve Biko was a Black man who was a strong enemy of the Apartheid and believed equality for all men no matter the color of their skin. Donald Woods was typically as left winged as it got for White people back then, he believed in equality and didn't approve of the apartheid but wasn't willing to do anything to try and stop it until he met Steve Biko. The relationship these two characters had with each other was a strong one, soon after they both met each other they quickly joined the same cause and tried to defeat the Apartheid by using the power of the press. This relationship describes the overall apartheid because while Woods and Biko were fighting against the Apartheid Biko was caught trying to leave and he was put into police custody and beaten to death. Soon after Donald Woods was sure that Biko's family and friends wanted nothing to do with him or the Apartheid, but no Biko's family and friends accepted him as what Biko's wife called it "A Brother or Sister". At this point there was no turning back for Donald Woods, he began to write a book explaining the horrible truths of South Africa and what Steve Biko has done to stop total white power. He ran into a few problems though such as being banned for the next five years. He eventually convinced his wife to leave the country to England and get the book published, Donald woods felt that if he didn't get his book published all that Steve Biko has done will go to waste and he will just be looked at as another casualty of the cause. Donald Woods accomplished all of this with the South African government breathing down his neck.
ReplyDeleteThe two main characters in "Cry Freedom" are Donald Woods and Steve Biko. Donald Woods is a white South African, and chief editor of a newspaper. He is a liberal, and is unsure about what he really wants. He is both comfortable in his cushy life, but deeply desires to actually make a change for Apartheid in South Africa. Steve Biko is a peaceful man who only seeks to confront Apartheid in a non-violent matter. He is a great orator, and has the support of seemingly the entire country as the leader against Apartheid. Donald Woods is first confused about the idea of Black Consciousness, so he portrays Biko as a "bad guy." Though as this was, Donald and Steve meet face-to-face, and this changes things completely. Donald Woods gradually becomes captivated by how strongly Biko wants not only to peacefully confront Apartheid, but also have equality for every South African, no matter what their skin color. The South African government are on stand-by, knowing what these two men are up to. Eventually, they beat Biko to death. In the beginning, Woods wanted nothing to do with Biko, and just wanted to stop what he was doing. Now, with Biko dead, Donald Woods is out to have justice for his lost friend. This clearly shows how much races were separated during the time of Apartheid in South Africa. White people wanting only to better their own luxurious lives not caring of the beyond difficult lives black people were living, while the black people were just trying to bring forward equality.
ReplyDeleteSteven Biko and Kruger are two contradictory people. Steven Biko is a black South African who strives for racial equality and preaches black consciousness, the belief that blacks are just as capable of anything as whites. Kruger, an Afrikaner police commissioner, wants to maintain apartheid, keeping the white minority in total rule over South Africa.
ReplyDeleteThough there is no direct conflict between the two, Biko and Kruger do come to conflict at times. Biko preached black consciousness, which flies in the face of Kruger's beliefs. Some of Kruger's policemen who share his conservative beliefs ransack a church which Steven Biko helped to build. Instead of having disciplinary action for the crooked police officers, Kruger sends two policemen to the home of Donald Woods, a white newspaper editor who is, through his newfound friendship with Biko, becoming more open to black consciousness, and blackmail him in an attempt to discover the name of the witness to the crime. However, Woods remains strong, and withholds this information.
Biko and Kruger are opposite ends of the spectrum of apartheid. Biko wants the system abolished in order for racial equality to prevail, whereas Kruger wants to keep the system in place to maintain a government based on ideas of white supremacy.
There are numerous important characters that play different parts on different sides, but the two that seemed to be most interesting were Mrs. Woods and Steve Biko. Mrs. Woods was the wife of an editor in a highly regarded newspaper. Mrs. Woods and along with many other white South Africans were really unaware of the true affects of Apartheid because of what the media told them. Steve Biko on the other hand, was very involved in what the real Apartheid really was and how it effected each individual. Steve was very much so Anti-Apartheid and he based his opinion on factual evidence and visual evidence.
ReplyDeleteLater on, Steve Biko was introduced to Mrs. Woods and directly guided her to noticing how the real Apartheid was. The both of them were good friends and you can see it in a scene in the movie where they seem very comfortable with each other.
At that time, it was weird to see blacks communicating with whites and being together socially, but the relationship between Steve Biko and Mrs. Woods. His word to Mrs. Woods leaves Mrs. Woods as a representation of the whites against Apartheid. Their relationship is almost just as important as Donald Woods and him, because it shows how influential he really is.
Steven Biko and Kruger have completely different views on Apartheid. Kruger is a powerful Afrikaner - he is head of the Police Force - that wants to maintain Apartheid, as many Afrikaners do. In his perspective, the white minority is the only group of people fit for ruling over South Africa. Biko however, aimed to get racial equality in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteThe two characters represent opposite beliefs (much like Soren and Bobby...) when it comes to Apartheid. Kruger represents a white supremacist, which was the average Afrikaner in South Africa. He was a very conservative man along with many other members of government. Biko's beliefs are appalling when looked at through the eyes of Kruger. He is the the preacher with an open minded crowd. He represents the most articulate members of the black society, he is one of the best members of South Africa's society, while Kruger is one of the worst.
Donald Woods and Kruger exemplify the extreme difference between opinions of apartheid. Donald Woods, a white newspaper editor, is a well off and of English descent. After encountering Steve Biko his feeling towards apartheid changes drastically. He goes from disagreeing apartheid to fully protesting it. Kruger is a white man as well but unlike Donal Woods he is an Afrikaner. Kruger is high up in the South African government and truly believes in apartheid. In Cry Freedom we se Donald Woods go to the house of Kruger to express concern it was suspected that Afrikaner police trashed a community center made by the blacks. While there, Kruger discusses the history of the Afrikaners in South Africa and how they are solely responsible for building up the country however he says that he will take the information Woods give him into account. Later on in the movie we see Kruger deliberately lie about the death of Steve Biko, claiming that he went on a hunger strike. Kruger expresses the whites superiority and ridicules Biko and black consciousness. Kruger or someone even higher in the government calls for the banning of Donald Woods because of his attempt to reveal the truth about Biko's death and his continuation to support Biko's ideas. The relationship between Kruger and Woods shows that each side was persistent to get their point across. It also shows that just because a person was white did not mean that they believed in apartheid.
ReplyDeleteA relationship that is not one of the main ones or even shown in the movie, Cry Freedom; however still very important is the relationship between the people similar to Steve Biko and the people similar to the black officer that watches banned Woods and his family on new years eve. Biko is a black South African that fights against an apartheid and wants to change South Africa into a land that all people can live equally. He is banned because of his writing on Black Consciousness and his ability to change the way the black South Africans think. The black officer symbolizes what some African Americans call an Uncle Tom. We can assume that he does not agree with apartheid; yet he still submits to the white man and does what they tell him because it benefits him individually. While his brothers and sisters die from the white mans hands he stands there doing nothing. This relationship explains why it took so long for people like Biko to change the black South African mind set and dispose of the apartheid.
ReplyDeleteThe two important characters are Steve Biko and donald woods. Woods is the white south african newspaper publisher with liberal views, while biko is a black political leader in the ANC. Biko was more radical in his views. The two had a very interesting relationship in the movie. It was very rare for a white man to get to learn from a black man during apartheid. later in the movie, Biko educates Woods to his views. they had an uncommon relationship because apartheid meant that they couldn't really meet. and Biko was banned so it made it more difficult for Woods to see him.
ReplyDeleteSteve Biko is a black orator for racial equality rather than black supremacy as the Afrikaans government foolishly suspects. He is in the struggle in South Africa for equality. He is a martyr who supposedly died due to a hunger strike but in reality was subject to police brutality and died from brain damage. His death arguably angered and caused more problems for the white government than his life. The government was too oblivious and megalomanic to notice that Steve Biko was actually on their team.
ReplyDeleteThe Minister of Police, Kruger, exemplified the arrogance and stupidity of the Afrikaans government. He is a two-faced authoritative figure. He only appeals to white liberals like Donald Woods because Woods controls one of the newspapers. In reality he is a right-winged conservative who represents the racist Afrikaans government.
Although these two characters never experience confrontation, their separate viewpoints demonstrate the delicate duality of South Africa at the time. When a group of Kruger’s police lay waste to a church that Biko helped to start and Donald Woods complains to Kruger he simply turns a head away and instead of putting the illicit policemen to justice decides to attempt to arrest Woods for lack of a witness. Also, Biko advocates black consciousness, or the belief that blacks are equal to whites. This idea opposes Kruger’s prejudice conservative views.In both these instances Biko represents the pureness of South Africa due to his want not to chasten but join the white governing minority while Kruger essentially represented the insensitive and immoral establishment.
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ReplyDeleteSteve Biko and Donald Woods are two of the most prevalent characters in Cry Freedom. Steve Biko is a black South African. He is a non-violent activist against apartheid. Donald Woods is a white English South African. He starts off being indifferent to apartheid, but after getting to know Steve Biko, he becomes an activist against apartheid as well. Donald Woods and Steve Biko have a very different and interesting relationship. Donald Woods is a powerful white newspaper editor at the height of apartheid and Steve Biko is almost the complete opposite. But one day, a black doctor named Dr. Ramphele comes into Woods’ office to complain about an article in which he talked down upon Steve Biko. She told him that he should meet and talk to Biko. He does exactly this. Woods is intrigued by Steve Biko’s logic and philosophy. The two meet many times over the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteBiko is caught out of the area he is allowed to be in and is then arrested. In prison, he is beaten to death by the guards. The police claimed that he died of a “hunger strike.” Woods knew that this was propaganda, so he got himself into the morgue where Biko’s body was kept. He took pictures of the beaten body. This evidence combined with a book Woods wrote was potent ammunition against apartheid.
The strange relationship between Woods and Biko ended up helping raise awareness of apartheid to outside nations. Without these two valiant men, South Africa may have never broken away from apartheid.
The two characters that for me seemed like exact opposites were kruger and biko, though when looking into their behaviors some are quite similar. Both parties play a game of cat and mouse with one another though the advantage shifts time after time. Biko always breaks the rules of his ban, kruger knows this but cannot convict him based on lack of evidence just like Biko knows kruger uses his police force unethically but lacks the proper evidence to prove such a statement. The main difference however is that one side is courageous while the other is afraid. Steve Biko seems ecstatic about taking South Africa and turning it into an equal nation for all the people that inhabit it. Kruger is afraid of this change but in the end change always wins out and even though Biko was killed his legacy lived on and apartheid was abolished
ReplyDeleteThese two sides represent the two very different ends of apartheid and while both partake in the high stakes chess game between one another they do so in different ways. Kruger uses the brute force he has at hand to muscle his way into a position of power. Steve Biko however uses his words as weapons, he is non violent but not non-confrontational. He often partakes in fights or arguements so long as no punches are thrown; calmly destroying every weak thought out point thrown at him. I think the main reason Kruger doesnt give in to Biko is becasue he didnt want him and his people to have to abandon the lifestyle they had, not knowing that an equal South Africa would chnage none of that
My two characters that I believe represented the two sides of apartheid are Steve Biko and Kruger. Kruger represents the Afrikaans who oppress the native South Africans who are represented by Steve Biko. Kruger is the head of a corrupt police system and Steve Biko strives to bring equality to the natives of South Africa through black consciousness. So Kruger want to keep Apartheid as it is and Steve Biko does not want it anymore. Kruger was always trying to make Steve Biko quiet and Steve Biko was trying to prove Kruger wrong. Eventually Steve was captured by Kruger and then he died in prison.
ReplyDeleteThese two characters represent very accurately the two sides of apartheid. The white Afrikaans holding down the Blacks, who are trying to reason with the whites, but they will not listen to them because their minds are poisoned with racism. One of the first white people to listen to the blacks was Donald Woods who then fought agains Kruger later on in the movie because Donald Woods was not blinded by Kruger's lies.
Alexander Lorenz
ReplyDeleteKrueger was the head of the police, and they were in charge of all of the petty things that corresponded with disobedience with the law. He was a cold-hearted, careless human being who told lies, ruined lives, and killed thousands. He believes that Apartheid is the only way to solve problems and end quarries, so he doesn't give it a second thought when thousands of blacks are killed, fighting for their country.
Steve Biko was a protagonist on the topic of Apartheid in South Africa. He stood by the black people, represented them in every way he could, and when needed, he often put this head on the line for the good of others. He was not an average speaker and protestor. He cared more about what the outcome of his people was, rather than the outcome of his health. He was fearless, just, and he was not scared of Krueger and his men because he had nothing to hide. All that he wanted in South Africa was equality between humans, and he would do whatever it takes to make sure that he goes to bed at night knowing that his black people of Africa are safe. Krueger put out the false information that Steve Biko perished of a hunger strike. However, Steve Biko died not over some hunger strike that may not have too great of an impact He died because he stood up for himself by protecting and caring for what he loves; his racially equal country of South Africa.
Steven Biko and Kreuger were very influential men during the time of apartheid. They were each influential in their own ways. They were each on different ends of the spectrum. Krueger was the most high up in his police academy, and he had a great impact on what he told others to do and how to do it. He had a lot of money and he had no cares or worries because he could lie his way out of any confrontation, big or small. Although Biko and Krueger never had a face to face confrontation, it is know that it would not be taken slightly. They are at completely different arguments on the point of Apartheid, and here, they would be butting heads about it.
Steve Biko and Krueger are two very different characters in the film, “Cry Freedom.” Steve Biko is a black South African who is a strong activist against apartheid. He is banned in South Africa, and the government works at making sure that his ideas do not spread through threats, trails, and separation from most of the people of South Africa. He is found traveling to Cape Town and taken into police custody where he is beaten and tortured until he dies due to brain damage on his way to a police hospital. Biko was interested in creating a South Africa where blacks and whites coexisted. He was not interested in a violent revolution, but once made a reference to the fact that it may be the only way that blacks could gain rights in South Africa. Krueger was a polar opposite of Biko. He was a chief enforcer of the system of apartheid. He was dishonest to the people of South Africa and did whatever he could to keep the people under the system that benefitted the whites and oppressed the blacks. During the time of apartheid, he was police chief and had significant power over most people living in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteThese two were polar opposites in the film and represented the strongest of each side in South Africa. Although there is no direct contact between the two in the film, many people indirectly deliver Krueger’s messages to Biko. The relationship between the two is one of extreme contempt for Krueger, and a strong distaste for the other’s opinions for Biko. Their relationship shows the struggle that blacks had to face in South Africa and the extremely limited ability that had to spread their ideas and opinions and gain rights due to the white government. Their relationship represents the constant oppression created by the police force against the blacks of the country.
both Kruger and Biko are trying to implement their ideals, but they went about it in opposite ways. Kruger prefers to lie, oppress, and cover up and hope that ignorance will continue to preserve his way of life and glaze over obvious logic. Kruger tries to preserve the way that people think by not giving them a chance to experience something that could change their point of view.
ReplyDeleteBiko, on the other hand, tries to fundamentally change the way that people think, removing the chains and ignorance with facts and an invitation to peace. It is a matter of transparency versus preservation. In time, Biko's approach is by far the most effective. This is because, as he says in the movie, once the chains on one's mind are removed it is impossible to put them on again. Enlightenment is a permanent effect that spreads as it takes hold of people's minds and jumps from person to person like a virus.
In the movie Cry Freedom, you find the collision of ideals on equality from both the Africans and individuals of European descend in the area. But there is still a clash in ideals of those of the same race. In the movie a black policeman watches over Donald Wood's house, whom is an anti-apartheid journalist whom wants freedom for the blacks. Although this black policeman may want freedom, his actions clash against that of Steve Biko, a black activist. The black policeman exemplifies Biko's idea of "black consciousness" because of how the black policeman goes against a movement for the freedom of himself.
ReplyDeleteFundamentally, Biko and the policeman probably both have the same yearning for a free life. But with the police he has conformed to the European's right wing point of view, while Steve Biko remains in the struggle for a Africa where blacks and whites live together.
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