From a description of what it is like for black prisoners in the South African gaol ‘The Island’, the unreasonableness of apartheid is shown. It was also here that Nelson Mandela was held captive for many years. The film examines the role of language (as an expression of the penal code, social convention, metaphysics) in political repression and challenges the viewer with an unconventional combination of first-person oral history accounts, music, still images and computer graphics.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
015412
Language
English
Subject categories
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Prisons
Documentary → Documentary films - United States
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Apartheid - South Africa
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Blacks - South Africa
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Political persecution
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Political prisoners - South Africa
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Race discrimination
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → South Africa - Race relations
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → South Africa - Social conditions
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Repression (Psychology)
History → Apartheid - South Africa
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)