Arts & Culture

A friend who recently moved to South Africa once spent half an hour driving in circles, looking for the landmark his colleagues had pointed out to him: a robot. Naturally, he thought that this referred to a gigantic figure erected by some toy manufacturer.

Do not make the same mistake. When visiting South Africa, take the word “robot” to mean what it means in South Africa – a traffic light. (Robot can also mean robot in South Africa, but it is not likely that you will be directed to “turn right” at the robot-robot). ... more

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Nadine Gordimer, iconic South African writer, activist and 1991 Nobel Laureate for Literature, was born in 1923 to an English mother and a Latvian father, both Jewish immigrants. Her writings reflect her preoccupation with moral issues, with particular emphasis on the injustice of apartheid. During the apartheid years, Gordimer’s books were a cause of great discomfort to the then white-supremacist South African regime. Several of her books were consequently banned repeatedly in South Africa, even in the post apartheid era.  ... more

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Invictus (meaning unconquered) is a gripping story about the involvement of South African President Nelson Mandela in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Mandela used this sports event to bring together the nation divided along racial lines and to assuage the fears of white South Africans regarding the dawn of majority rule. The victory of South African side was celebrated by both black and white South Africans and is regarded as the country's first important symbol of national unification. ... more

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District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp, is a sci-fi thriller with a difference. The film’s title refers to the home of a refugee community in Johannesburg – over-crowded and utterly neglected by the authorities. These refugees, unwanted and hated by the other residents, are just a little different in that they are not of this Earth. ... more

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A colleague of over a decade is said to have remarked that in all the years of their acquaintance, he had seen J. M. Coetzee laugh but once. A profound, serious man with no time for frivolity, Coetzee is the epitome of discipline in his personal life, and was a vocal critic of the apartheid movement. He still speaks out forcefully against practices that discriminate between human beings. ... more

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