CONFERENCE REPORT
CENSORSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA
Jan Beekman
1. Objective.
sentence:
Censorship is always confusing.
agree that
one time, will
that
it
also,
seems true
the lines
the moment, either
to draw the line
faulty
to the discussions
tribute
help those who bear direct
system,
to improve.

in the
and to find facts
responsibility

the line was correctly
almost everyone

but
Very few people,

have been drawn incorrectly,

"I allow you to speak,

Censorship, wherever

I order you to stay

in South Africa~

legislation-:-

at anyone
drawn.

found,

for

is

is

it

could be summed uPlin
.

si lent"

one

pl ace at any

That may be so, but
at

agrees
the procedure

that

or
The Conference

to con-
and muster opinions which might
the design

censorship-

tried

the

of

The Conference 1asted three

Every day had a nurrber of

subject
had ample time for discussions.

and the first

three

.Eill:.IJW:.

2 .
afternoon.
special
sessions
report, was completely
Mathews (scheduled
Miss Miriam Tlali
ticipation
pate in:
day or the whole Conference.

carried

out,

except

full

lectures,
days had a main evening

days and one day unti 1 1ate
a forum on 'a
1ecture.
All

introductory

The progranme,
for
fact
Instead

the

annexed to this
that

Professor

far Thursday morning) was ill.
spoke on the problems of

of his
the black women authors.

lecture
Par-

was open to everybody against
only a morning or an afternoon

a fee.
session,

It was possible
an evening

to partici-
a full

session,

Students

paid a lower

rate.

varied
about 300 people must have participated

at

subject
the sessions

and cannot

compete

between
i~ the

The Publications
at
The decision

Appeal Board and the D1r-
The P A B's

the Conference.

understandable.

less
of
in Cape Town however, was very strange

the Directorate
:he

indeed.

Censorship

Participation.

3.
is a specialised
with issues which draw big crowds. Attendance
80 and 150 people.
Altogether
Conference one way and another.
ect?r~te
had ooth decided not
decls10n was more or
n?t
to be re~resented,
D1rectorau;
s?Und publ1C admlmstrat1on,
c1sm:
,For~unately
part1clpat1on
of the discussions.

1S a~ ~nt1re~y administrative

some censors,
presence

to be present

the deciSion

and their

body and from the point
taken deserves

the severest

of v1e~ ?f
cr1tl-

and present,

past
has been very beneficial

were arranging

their

to the vivacity

The Conf~~nce was fortunate
and part1clpants.

Their contribution

in having a limited

was maybe the most

number of black
revealing

speakers
of all.

I twas, moreover,

belonged in the majOrity

ned ~eo~le. mee~lng at a University.

Parti:ipants
sP:~k1 ng South Afri ~ans .
~r
11C~~~lus1on
o
of
Ul1fdt,res:1mated e1~her, because even this
o

;he C?nclus1o~,therefore,
ne

ng, nor w1shed to do so,

o~herw1se than that

vox POPUll".

this

to the group of 1iberal white Engl ish

a group of mostly

academi ca11y

As such one cannot

speak about a

particular

group, which represented

came to certain
should not be exaggerated.

conclusions.

It

select

group represents

The importance
should
not be
some aspect
_

Most of

~'nforganiSa~io~.
c~mm~~~ce, urC TG Dru~er,
Princ'
e;
dispo~~f\~

;~:l~~~f~~:~~:.and

provlded some of
put

'.

the organisation
the coordinator, Ms Carolyn Winter

was done by the director

and a student

of

the

the
the

technical
facilities

assistance
of

through
the University

the
at

the

42

Summing up.

The discussions had clearly four focusing points.

Four possible attitudes were

For a small conference like this, the reaction has been very
Both before and during the conference there has been wide press

The Conference was made financially possible by a generous 9rant from the
Chairman's Fund of Anglo American.
The British Council brought Mr James
Ferman, the secretary of the British Board of Film Censors, to South Africa.
Mobil Oil, Barclay's 3ank and Volkswagen made donations to the Conference.
The organisers are extremely grateful to them all.
5. ~t.
positive.
coverage and radio and T V have given attention to It. Questions in Parlia-
A number of
ment have been asked as a direct result of the Conference.
The papers of the Con-
articles will be written in different periodicals.
ference, there were many and of a very high standard, will be published.
6.
Attitudes towards censorship in general.
mentioned, taking the S A conditions into consideration.
The attitude of acceptance of the situation as it now exists, on the assump-
tion that it is the correct one.
This must have been the opinion of the
majority in Parliament, in theory representing the opinion of the majority
At the
of the South African population, at the time of passing legislation
Conference nobody, not even the recently retired Chairman of the Publications
Appeal Board was of that opinion.
The second attitude was that censorship, more or less in the intensity in
which it is now practised in S A, is acceptable.
It is acceptable on the
grounds that one assumes that the majority of the population wants it and
that the country, for reasons of political safety and racial stability, needs
But, although one accepts the intensity of South African censorshi~ of
it.
1980, one rejects its system and the structure of the relevant legislat1on.
The rejection is based on practical and legal grounds.
One cannot expect a
body of 250 censors, rooreor less at random operating in groups of three and
without either the guarantee that their judgements are really expert judge-
ments or the guarantee that their judgements could be criticised, can produce
a sensible and consistent body of decisions.
The appeal procedure, which is
not a real appeal procedure, but rather a first instance procedure, is not
sufficiently clear and accessible.
A small minority of the conference, including the retired Chairman of the
P A B was of this opinion.
attitude is one of Objecting against both the l~tensity and t~e
The ~
structure system of the present censorship, but of accept1n~ the necess1ty
of some censorship.
Some censorship is deemed necessary, elther to protect
~he safety of the country or to protect some particula~ly vulnerabl: groups
1n our society.
give and take way such as the Brlt1sh system does, would be quite in order
according to this point of view.
The possIbility of taking cases to ~ no~al
court of law with a right to appeal, always using reasonably clear crlter1a
as to what const1 tutes harmfulness or danger, would be another example of
acceptable censorship In this category
This was the majority of the con-
ference participants' oplnion.
of course, no legal or state censorship at
The fourth possible attitude is
rather optimistic.as to the b~sic integrity
all.
People of this opinion a~
that human be1ngs are baS1Cally good,
of the human mind.
it follows logically that under normal circumstances one does not need state
If one believes that the human species is basically bad, one
censorship.

Screening films for age groups in a h1ghly professlonal

If one believes

43

needs full
positions

censorship.
is possible.

Between these

two extremes

a continuum of

in-between

responsibility

censorshi p lreans:

responsibi
No state
and teachers
full
censorship,
social
It does not mean that no censorship
several
censorship

group censorship,

control.
at all
do exist.

of parents

forms of

informal

full

1ity
for

shall

for
children;
But..!lQ. censorsnlp

the human being himself,
self
1egls1atlon.
soclety

emp~asis?n

In every

exist.

The Political
was vOlced that
system of conservative
this means the policy

Significance
censorship

of Censorship.
in South Africa

Right
is an essential

from the start
part

the opinion
of an overall

the country.

In our case,

political
of separate

management of
development.

than a rather

the end of

At
least
One paper,

some sinister

of that

opinion.

the conference

to the conference

against
civi1isation".

In the beginning of
nothing more in censorship
good safeguard
Christian
nobody left who had not at
validity
input-output model was very clear
butors
by definiti
conserved,
.!l.!lli, at
deve10plrent.
separate
one may not
lines,
censorsh~p ~n the present
censorshlp

quo.
this molrent. Our society,

s~pa~ate development

that practically

development.

Censorship,

ln a much wider political

forget

in this
showed abundantly
on - conse rvati ve . Conservati
namely the status

both in its

is evil

form for political

context.

some participants

doubted

decent,

innocuous
forces whicn threaten

the conference

that ~nd saw

and baslcally
our

"Western and

a reasonable

doubt

presenting

there was probably
in his mind as to the
as a cybernetic

censorship

respect
clearly

sm means that

The status
as it

stands
structure

quo in society
now, stands
and its

but almost
how ~

all

censorship

contri-
is
somethi ng must be
it
run
separate
stands

as
for"
practice,

is

-

for

According to the vast majority

of participants,

the whole world thinks
and unjust.

By consequence

along

reasons.

This argument put

and
the same
then so is

qroups

to participants,

that whites,

of other

the way censorshi p works out

for
in our country.

Rlght

for different

!rom the start

it was made clear

ways censorship works out

l1bera1 South Africans.
no knowledge about

Thediffere~t
1abon.
that more a~tent~on could have been paid to the interests
than the ~hlte
had practlcally
black man or womanauthor,
people had ~ccess
Re~ources l1ke money, performance halls,
thlnk,
peop~e have, o~ the other hand,
tenslon
from suffering.
a veryspecla1

to reSOUrces which are simply cut off

to draw from, easier

film maker

That urge

playwright

urge
'

education

the vital

Secondly

res~ltlng

better

quiet

way.

or

rooms in which to write

cOll11lunication etc

etc.
(emphasi s on vital),
tnat

tension

is

creative

in our.popu-
flrstly,
groups
in general,
the.
Whlte
the black.
or
Black
the

for

in

~~e has, of c:ourse,

to be more sophisticated

~c~ ~~d whlte.

was said about
n lan groups and this was an omission of

Very little

than just
the
the Conference.

situation

to distinguish

between

in the coloured

hc lon Wl

an
Speci a1 reference wa
conne t'
'th 1"
h
par~" agalnS~ these
a~~ ~s~~s~~
.
~~~ co

111

h'"

t

d
s ma e
1terature.
authors,

0 t e Afrlkaner
The censor's
presumably because

attitude

~Ihlte group - partlcu1arlY

has been surprisingly

ln
background

their
~~ to b:10ng to the group which defends

cu1 tura1
the status

.'

quo.

They,
English med-

em e Afnkaans

culture,
eagtuh:s, behcause the latter
impossible

s, SOIre 1ng w ich is

are hit harder

than their

can always
for

the ftJrikaans writer.

try to find publishers

over-

In theory it
ference made

~s Po~sib1e to go to the Publications
It qUlte clear,

however,

a great

that

44

Appeal Board.
number of authors

The Con-

and

particualrly

on principle.

and playwrights
understanding

playwrights,
islation
the opinion,
be tantamount
authors
although
of view, were of
go to the Publications
conference
try to use the means of
authors
reached on this
absolutely
a similar

point,

and categorically
project.

on the possibility

in the most efficient

the opinion

black

artists,
They, and their

refuse
publishers

any step towards

that
to recognising

redressing

the system and its
it below their

consider
and respecting

to use the tools

of

the leg-

agree with them, are of
by committee would
for existence.
to do so. Others,

a decision
reasons
dignity

These

that

Appeal Board.

this

attitude

it would be preferable

Some negotiation

of creating

a body of expert

from an emotional

point
authors would

if

took place during the
people, who would

the existing

legislation

of banned
way. During the Conference no conclusion was
of

the benefit

the

for

that

fact
too many authors
to have anything whatsoever
after

are continuing

however,

and publishers
to do with
the Conference.

refused

because

Negotiations,

a certain

literature,

censorship
censorship
T V and others.

and ways of approach have to be different.

fie~d~ of censorship.
censorship,
Polltlcal
censorship,
religious
theatre,
amount of censorship,

Diff~rent
of Vlew.
violence,
the cinema,
if one accepts
fields
the the Appeal Board is more tolerant
or public
th~n in the cases
talnment more vulnerable
than other
a stage
that
have their
tors were mentioned which are specific
expression
of censorship
specific

can never be put
and their

for one particular
ought

production
own problems

to be sufficiently

needs greater

circumstances.

production

approach

a stage

films

together
own possibilities.

of

or

Censorship was discussed

in matters
in matters
It

from many points
on

censorship

of sex,
of state,
soon became clear

the press,

that,

the rules

for

the different

It was said,

in cases where people
entertainment.
fields.
safeguards

It
seems to be true
than a book, whereas

instance,
read in private
enter-
This makes public
also,
that
it may be
again. Mass media again,

for

for one particular
to censorship.

sophisticated

A great number of
form of human
A concrete
all

to reflect

system
these

fac-

The Conference

ended with a number of questions

and coni::1usions.

needs a drastic

censorship,

overhaul.

object

agains!

unreliable
between a purely administrative

and extremely

unfalr,

Even peo~le
the eXlst-
Several

system

possible

taking

into account

of strict

system urgently

it

censorship

amateurish,
ranging

in favour
is

were mentioned,
system.

The present
~ho are in principle
lng system because
a1 ternatives
and a court
Is an acceptable
the specifi
c requi rements of specifi
In connection with the above point,
that
case!
of
llneS as
rules might

is,
the criteria

they are
serve

would probably

as an example,

acceptable?

of criteria

formulated

culturally

cross

set

for censorship
c fie1 ds?
is

such a set of criteria
That might be desirable
have to be formulated.a1ong

in some European countrles.
to be adapted to the needs of

internationally,
and ln that
the s~me sort
The ~rlt1sh

thlS country.

taking

calculated

This strategy

In the meantime a strategy
followed.
cunning,
It can also be more moderate,
~ation
often
1S complete
system.
However one decides

goes
refusal

less

to proceed,

vis-a~vis

the present

censorship

system has to be

can be very militant,

risks,

using all

concentrating

fightin~ with all.poss!ble
1n the le~ls~at10n

..

that

eXlstlng

1egls-

loopholes
on the fact

far

than people generally
to have anything whatsoever

assume: Another.st~ategy
to do W1th the eXlstlng

the best

strategy

is~.

Truth, meaning

45

to talk about censorship, publish about it, study its.details and effects,
unravel facts and organise conferences.
That is preclsely what the U C T
Conference on Censorship in South Africa has tried to do.
NOTE
1.

"Je permet que tu parles, mais j 'exige que tu te taises".
Hugo:

Napoleon le Petit (1852).

Victor

Conference on Censorship will be published in

Papers delivered at the
book form by David Phillip.
Druker who organised the proceedings.
Vyver, John Dugard, Nadine Gordimer, Barend van Niekerk, James Ferman,
Andre Brink, Sipho Sepamala, Mirium Tlali and many others.

The editors will be Jan F Beekman and Kalman G
Authors will include Johan D van der

Ethnographic Film Festival

tha~ the

film studies

School of Dramatic Art, University of the Witwatersrand
The first Ethnographic Film Festival to be held in South Africa will be held
at the above university. from 2ist-26th July, 1980.
Visual anthropo~ogy and
ethnographic film are becoming two of the most rapidly growing grow1ng
academic disciplines in the United States, and it is appropriate
School of Dramatic Art - the only University department in South Afr1ca
offering major courses in film studies - should host the festival.
South Africa is uniquely suited to be a centre for ethnographic
since it has a rich variety of preliterate cultures which must be recorded
filmically before they disappear.
Furthermore, there are many other con-
temporary cultures and sub-cultures which should be documented
visually.
Lastly, there is a wealth of visual material
in the form of photographs
and old films which must still be catalogued'and analysed.
All of this is
doubly important when one realizes that South Africa has one of the oldest
film histories - the Anglo-Boer War was the first war to be reported on
film and
African Mirror was the longest running newsreel in the world.
Speakers will include:
Jay.Ruby, Profes~or of Visual Anthropology at Temple University,
He 1S also the D1rector of the Centre for Ethnographic Film making at Sante
Fe, a Member of the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian
Cent~e for South:rn ~olklore.
Professor Ruby is the editor of the Journal
o~ V,sual Commun1cat1ons and the author of many articles on Ethnography and
V1sual AnthropOlogy.
Gei Zantsinqer, independent film maker and Associate Professor at the
University ?f PennsYlvania, Temple University and Rhodes University.
laberated w1th Andrew Tracey on six films on the Art of the Mbira.
Peter Becker~ author.of Path of Blood and many other works on the History of
the Zulu ~at1on.
South Afr1can television.
Fion~ Barbo~r, Curator of the MacGregor Museum in Kimberley which houses the
Dugg1n-Cron1n collection of photographs.
Other speakers will include John van Zyl and Keyan Tomaselli.

Wr1ter and presenter of The Tribal Identity series for

Institute and the

--~~~~~--~

Philadelphia.

Col-

46