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Cry Freedom is a film directed by Richard Attenborough. Attenborough shows his bias point of view through out the film. The film is centered around the brutality used by the white man and the death of black activist Steve Biko. The film is also shows consciousness, racial hatred and many other issues.
The opening scene is set in the black township of Crossroads early in the morning. There is little noise and only the sound of crickets and peaceful South African music. The peace is broken by the loud police trucks and the sound of people running and screaming. Black and white snap shots capture this. This gives the audience a dramatic feeling of fear.
Attenborough allows the audience to have a sense of realism by using effective sounds and camera angles to get the best picture. An example of this is when the little boy sounds the alarm to warn the people of the township of the police. He shows the audience how black South Africans have been chased and raped so they have an idea of the Brutality and force used by the white police. Through out the Township there are posters of Steve Biko. Attenborough does this to let the viewers how important Steve Biko is.
When it returns to the scene of destruction the black peoples homes and belongings are been destroyed by bull dozens and fires. This leaves the black South Africans of the township with no where to go. This gives the audience a feeling of sympathy for the black's situation. Also an important scene is the meeting between Donald Woods and Steve Biko. This scene is important in the film because this is the scene that Donald Woods changes his thought about life of black South Africans.
This is because of what he hears and sees in the black township. This scene is dark because it is set at night. In the black township it is very noisy, dirty and crowed. The people have to stand around the fires for warmth and there is no electricity or running water. Richard Attenborough uses many techniques to show the viewers images of the poverty and filth the black people have to live in. He also uses sounds and voices to show how scared the children are.
An example of this is the bottle smashing on the road and the child running off scared. Also so important in this scene is the dialogue spoken by Steve Biko when I was a student the only history I read was written by the white man, cars, television even football were all inventors by the white man and good jobs were only for the white man. Now in world like that its not hard to believe theres something inferior about being black. The tone Biko uses while he says this is very convincing and very effective. Attenborough does this to convince the viewers on how serious Steve Biko is. In the film Cry Freedom Biko's imprisonment and treatment was very unfair.
The director starts the scene in the dark to give the audience a sad and cold feeling. Attenborough then uses arial shots to capture Biko's body. He also uses sound of screaming in the background and dim lights to convince the viewers of how badly the blacks where treated. Attenborough also uses many other techniques to show his bias. Some of these are type written messages across the screen. He does this to inform the viewers of Biko's death techniques are the music and singing after Biko's death, to give the viewers a sad feeling.
In prison Biko was brutally beaten and his freedom and rights where broken. Biko was left almost a month after been beaten before a doctor was sent to see him. This was very input and unfair and backs up the directors bias. After Biko's death the director a shot of Biko's widow and young children and then straight away shows Kurger at the meeting. Attenborough does this to express his bias, by showing Biko's family very upset, as Kurger is making jokes about Biko's death. One of the remarks Kurger makes is I guess I would be sad about my own death (crowd laughs).
This shows the audience how great the division and segregation between the two rates is. In Richard Attenborough's movie Cry Freedom he shows his bias point of view towards the black South Africans, Attenborough has established and maintained his point of view throughout the film by showing the audience the black South Africans struggle to gain freedom from white oppression. The movie constantly shows racial hatred, black consciousness and the apartheid situation in South Africa.
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Research essay sample on Film Analysis Of Cry Freedom
