Because the (South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission) focused on perpetrators and overlooked the beneficiaries of mass violations of rights abuses – such as the pass laws and forced expulsions – it allowed the vast majority of white South Africans to go away thinking that they had little to do with these atrocities. Indeed, most did learn nothing new. The alternative would have been for the TRC to show white South Africans that no matter what their political views – whether they were for, against or indifferent to apartheid – they were all its beneficiaries, whether it was a matter of the residential areas where they lived, the jobs they held, the schools they went to, the taxes they did or did not pay, or the cheap labour they employed.

We’re taking a well deserved break. Back on January 11th. Meanwhile, go crazy in our archive.

Ah, 2013 was good for the beautiful creature that is the music video. From big budget studio productions to creatively bootstrapped independent visuals, the year provided a bumper harvest. And with the magic of youtube channel subscriptions, music videos became ever more accessible. The incredible pace of production made it nearly overwhelming to keep up, […]

My favorite South Africanism is an Afrikaans expression: “Ja Nee”. The expression – “Yes/No” in English – has contested meanings. For some, it signals agreement in a conversation, “Ja Nee, you’re right.” The expression is also used to signal hesitation: “Ja nee, it depends.” When reality is too stark, hesitation creeps in. We hesitate not […]

I’ve had Shane Cooper’s “Oscillations” in my possession for the past four months. From the onset, it was clear that it wasn’t music I’d be content with listening passively to. It was necessary for me to live with it; to let it disturb me and put me in a state of unrest. This I did because […]