Introduction
The documentary, 21 up South Africa: Mandela’s children, is a film that has been set in South Africa, and it seeks to show how race and class played a part in shaping the lives of individuals from diverse communities in South Africa, and its continued influence even after the country gained independence (Molitorisz, 2007, par. 2). The documentary has Angus Gibson as its director, while Icarus Films are the distributors. The subjects of this documentary are six children, from three races, whites, the coloured, and Africans. They are also from different social settings. The film then traces the lives of the subjects from the bushveldt, where those on the high social class live, to the townships, where the black children live.
Plot synopsis
The documentary provides a distinctive insight into the political as well as the social changes that have been experience throughout South Africa, ever since apartheid was defeated (Buchana, 2007, par. 2). The six children that have been featured in this particular documentary start in 1992, a time when they were aged eleven years. At the time, South Africa was characterized by an unparalleled wave of change, not to mention that the world of these children had an explicit inclination towards the racial divide. The first shooting for the documentary took place in 1992, at a time when the subjects were only seven years old. Ten years later, while they are 21 years, they still live in the slums. These are the black children, who now as young adults, are desperately looking for jobs. At the same time, the children at this age have children to take care of, if not members of the family that they are supporting. Jobs deficiency in post-apartheid South Africa is revealed, with a number of the young adults of the African descent featured in the documentary being seen to express their sadness and frustration due to their inability to earn a living (Brenner, 2009, par. 2).
On the other hand, their counterparts from the white race are in a position to get jobs, because they were able to go to school (Kenneth, 2008, par. 2). This film appears somewhat striking in terms of its closeness and familiarity, with regard to the affection that these children get, not to mention the fact that they are very honest in the way that they tell their stories. The documentary has also succeeded in bringing out a very strong message; the fact that it was an uphill task to be born and raised in apartheid South Africa, especially for the Africans. The little economic opportunity that dogged apartheid South Africa is also revealed, as the documentary portrays how race and class has ensured that certain opportunities gets reserved for some children, while the same opportunities cannot be accessed by other children (Brenner, 2009, par. 2). The colored or black families that have money have managed to send their children to better schools. This, in addition to having connections with the members of the white community, has enabled them to maintain their heads above the looming economic depression.
Children from the black community are seen to have greatly been affected by apartheid. With time, these children slowly adjust to the life of post-apartheid South Africa and at this point, it is not hard for a view to become acutely aware of the existence of new challenges and opportunities that waits this generation. Those who are black or colored with money can be sent to better schools and make connections within the white community, helping them to stay above the economic depression. One privileged, black young man admits that even with all white friends, and a company manager with mostly black workers underneath him, he is still trying to find his place (Brenner, 2009, par. 5). At only 21 years of age, three children that had all along been followed by the cast crew of this documentary succumbed to AIDS (Fanelli, 2008, par. 4). Incidentally, they were either or colored or blacks. It is also quite tragic that the subjects are very adamant on getting tested because as one of them contends, “he does not feel sick,” , not to mention that the subject in question is not keen on knowing his HIV status, despite his having had sex with multiple partners in the past. The interviews that these children are exposed to reveals their unguarded honesty, often oscillating between on the one hand, heartbreaking and on the other hand, humorous, as these children openly talks about the exceptional experiences in life that they have had to undergo, ranging from their education, employment, and family, not to mention their having to struggle with the rising epidemic of HIV/AIDS. This latter crisis in the end results in the death of a number of the children who took part in the documentary.
Conclusion
Even as this documentary has a small scope, nonetheless “21 Up South Africa” is a moving and quite interesting depiction of the way in which apartheid, along with its ongoing influences, has impacted on the lives of both women and men from diverse races. It is a pointer to the fact that though apartheid may have ended, still its negative consequences looms large, owing to the wide disparities in terms of education and material possession amongst people of diverse races and social class, in addition to the high prevalence of HIV/Aids amongst the Africans in south Africa, when compared to the other races.
Reference List
Brenner, A. (2009). 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children. Web.
Buchanan, J. (2007). 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children. Web.
Fanelli, C. (2008). 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children. Web.
Kenneth, N. (2008). 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children. Web.
Molitorisz, S. (2007). 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children. The Sunday Morning Herald.