Journal article
"Meniscus': A Vision for Sensible and Sensuous Geographies
English studies in Africa, Vol.61(1), pp.16-26
01/01/2018
DOI: 10.1080/00138398.2018.1520451
Abstract
Meniscus' follows the journey of a young boy by the name of Thulani from his home in Kliptown to an overcrowded prison in the centre of Johannesburg where his father is incarcerated. Tracing Thulani's movements in contemporary Johannesburg, the short film by Marc Thomas and Chloe Speller offers a poignant reflection on the physical and social production of space and arrives at the troubling conclusion that the confinement of the prison cell is uncannily reflected in the restrictions of urban life. Inevitably, a film concerned with the lack of adequate and hospitable space in the urban present has to excavate the temporal layers of the not too distant past. And thus, in one of its pivotal scenes, the film returns to the infamous apartheid prison in the centre of Johannesburg. Now known as Constitution Hill, the former prison doubles as a place of commemoration for past human rights violations and as a celebration of those institutions (the Constitutional Court) that safeguard a still young democracy. The architecture of detention' (press kit) is thus never far removed from the desire for spatial justice and the advocacy for a different, liberating map of the city.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- "Meniscus': A Vision for Sensible and Sensuous Geographies
- Creators
- Marie Kruger - Univ Iowa, English Dept, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- English studies in Africa, Vol.61(1), pp.16-26
- DOI
- 10.1080/00138398.2018.1520451
- ISSN
- 0013-8398
- eISSN
- 1943-8117
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 11
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2018
- Academic Unit
- International Programs; Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies; English
- Record Identifier
- 9984271969302771
Metrics
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