Journal article
"The only truth I know is what I felt with my entire body": Traumatic Memory in Zulu Love Letter
Research in African literatures, Vol.43(1), pp.136-150
03/01/2012
DOI: 10.2979/reseafrilite.43.1.136
Abstract
Zulu Love Letter expands the repertoire of films often labeled "Truth and Reconciliation films" in its portrayal of Thandeka Khumalo, a political activist, journalist, and mother. Her painful journey recognizes the moral ambivalence of a victim who has to learn to forgive herself for a past for which she holds herself responsible. With its frequent temporal shifts, highly subjective point of view, and self-conscious narration, the film employs a "modernist" representational style that intends to represent the trauma of the past and its post-traumatic resonance in the present. Such a visual landscape, however, also challenges the audience's ability (and willingness) to engage with a character whose testimony already threatens their sense of moral order and human compassion. In this article, I examine the aesthetic and ethical challenges of rendering personal pain accessible to an audience often far removed from the experience of the victim.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- "The only truth I know is what I felt with my entire body": Traumatic Memory in Zulu Love Letter
- Creators
- Marie Kruger - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Research in African literatures, Vol.43(1), pp.136-150
- DOI
- 10.2979/reseafrilite.43.1.136
- ISSN
- 0034-5210
- eISSN
- 1527-2044
- Publisher
- Indiana Univ Press
- Number of pages
- 15
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/01/2012
- Academic Unit
- International Programs; Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies; English
- Record Identifier
- 9984269241002771
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