Tsotsi and The Parable of the Prodigal Son: Stories of Loss and Redemption

Tsotsi is a beautiful story of loss and redemption.  Tsotsi is a teenager who is finding his way on his own in South Africa.  His mother was to ill to care for him and his father too angry and abusive.  This caused Tsotsi to raise himself.  He winds up running with the wrong crowd, a gang of boys who steal and eventually kill to make their way through the world. Tsotsi decides to go out on his own one night and steal a car.  In the process he shoots a woman and unwittingly steals her baby.  Tsotsi decides he will raise this child to somehow correct the errors of his own childhood.  Tsotsi eventually has a moment of clarity and returns this child to the rightful parents.  The father shows grace forgiveness to Tstotsi realizing that Tstotsi is but a child himself.  

The Parable of the Prodigal 

Son is a biblical story of loss and redemption in which a son, most likely the same age as Tsotsi, requests his inheritance from his father so he can live his life on his own.  This devastates the father as he loves his son very much.  The son squanders his inheritance hanging with a wild crowd and has to live the life of a beggar on the streets.  He convinces a farmer to hire him to care for the pigs in exchange, the son gets to live with the pigs and watch them eat their slop while he is fed nothing. The son realizes that his life was much better at home with his father and returns to beg his father to hire him as a servant.  Of course, the father is filled with so much love for his son that he welcomes him back with open arms and will not hear of his son becoming a servant in his own home. The father shows mercy and grace to his son and forgives him.  The son learns to appreciate the life that he has and to show respect and love towards his father.

WHY THIS CONNECTION?

Tsotsi is rich with Biblical references.   There are many Biblical names and many references to cleansing , such as when baby David is cleaned by Miriam (two biblical names right here).  In the Bible, Jesus comes from the line of David and Miriam is the older sister of Moses and she watches over him when their mother puts him in a basket in the water to spare his life. Much like Miriam watches over both David and Tsotsi.  

The director of Tsotsi, Gavin Hood, was originally a lawyer in Johannesburg, where Tsotsi is set.  He saw many of the children who grew up in conditions such as we see in the film.  He was quoted as saying, "I think that issues of redemption and forgiveness are themes and ideas that South Africans have wrestled with more than almost anyone else..."(Accomando, 2006)  These are themes carried out in the story of the Prodigal son as well, making these two pieces quite compatible. Also, many people know some version of The Prodigal Son whether it be the Biblical story or a secular one.  Most people can relate to the loss/redemption qualities of this story.

The way that Gavin Hood told this story through the Biblical perspective really impacted me.  I grew up in a church-going family and know these biblical stories by heart.  This connection allowed me to draw deep meaning from the film that I might not have otherwise.  As soon as we began watching the film in class, my synapses were firing connecting the biblical knowledge that I have with the trials that Tsotsi was navigating his way through.  I really felt deeply connected to the film for this reason. 

VISUAL AND AURAL QUALITIES

Visually, we see the great differences between the classes depicted in this film and from the language of the story The Prodigal Son.

In Tsotsi, we see children living in cement cylinders and poor young people living in a shanty town.  All the while, the rich have beautiful homes protected by security gates.  In The Prodigal Son, a young man leaves behind a comfortable palace of wealth and lives among the pigs in the field trying to eat their slop, in many ways like the people of the shanty town in Johannessburg.  Both are very impressionable and disparaging visual depictions connecting these two stories.  

The music that we hear in Tsotsi is sometimes contradictory to the action happening at the time.  A wonderful example of this is when Tsotsi steals the car and shoots the woman.  The music we hear is upbeat while the story playing out is quite sad. 

This clash between the action and the music can be compared to the battle between good and evil, right and wrong, that we see Tsotsi constantly struggling with in this movie.  This struggle is also evident with The Prodigal Son.  He battles also with doing what is right and leaving behind what is wrong.  Both young men are searching, ultimately, for redemption. 

 

THE DEFINING MOMENT

The moment that really caused me to make the connection between these two stories were their endings.  The Prodigal son comes home expecting to be either turned away, or at best, a slave to his father.  The son is surprising greeted with open arms and is forgiven by his father.  

Tsotsi comes to return the baby to the rightful parents.  He has a moment of weakness in which he just wants to take the baby back with him to the shanty town in which he lives.  The father of the baby comes out and basically gives Tsotsi the redemption that he so desperately desires in his life.  He finally has a moment in which someone accepts him, even if it is only a brief segment of time.

  

Sandy's Final Presentation Proposal - Tsotsi and The Prodigal Son

For my final blog project I plan to blog on the film Tsotsi.  This is a film rich with Biblical imagery and references which got me to think about the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  There are many similarities between the two stories and I would like to explore them further.

JAWS - You Know He's Coming!

We all know it, that ominous, tell-tale sound as the base of the string instruments play their DaDum, DaDum, DaDumDaDumDaDum.  We know that Jaws is coming and someone will most likely be eaten.  

This music has become synonymous with that carnivorous shark who wreaks havoc on innocent oceanic swimmers.  I saw the movie Jaws as a child and to this day when I hear that music I feel the hairs on the back of my neck raise.

The music associated with Jaws, in my mind, isn't music at all but is actually the sound that the shark makes as he moves and attacks.  Similar to the the way a person makes sound as they walk or move.  This is simply the sound that Jaws makes as he is on the prowl.  

The above clip starts out with normal sounds that you would associate with the beach.  There is nothing unusual except the anxiety displayed by our main character Mike who simply cannot relax.  As Mike is looking out onto the ocean at the swimmers, we begin to hear it.  We hear the sound of the shark coming.  We don't see him right away but we know it's Jaws because we know the sound of his movement.  I get chills just thinking about it.  DaDum, DaDum, DaDum, DaDumDaDumDaDum----and a scream!  He has attacked someone.  

Brilliant use of music to create the character of the shark!

SPECIAL EFFECTS

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

 This is a television show that utilizes it's special effects team!  I have posted only two clips from the show but I could have dedicated an entire blog post to video clips. 

The two clips that I have chosen are from two different seasons.  The first is from season three, Coven, in which we see one of the witches being burned at the steak.  Obviously they did not light this actress on fire and burn her to death.  This was a digital effect that was added later.

The second clip is from season four, Freak Show,  where they had to create two headed twin sisters.  This was done with makeup, prosthetics, computer generation and green screen.  In the final product, you can't even tell which head belongs to the actress and which is fake.

Tsotsi - Music and Sound

In the film Tsotsi, we are taken on an emotional journey through the life of a troubled youth. Our guide on this journey, music and sound.  

In the opening scene of this film the music gives us clues to what is going to happen.  Tsotsi's friends are playing a game and then ask Tsotsi what they will be doing for the night.  The music changes to rap music and has a tone that tells us that whatever the boys are going to do, it isn't going to be good.  

When Tsotsi steals the car, we hear a contrasting sound.  The music is upbeat while the situation is quite the opposite.  Tsotsi has just shot a woman and stolen her car, which, to his surprise has her infant son in the back seat. We are also shocked along with Tsotsi to hear a baby crying.   This sound causes Tsotsi to crash the car.

The music selections, I believe, were beautifully paired with the situations in the film, even when the music seemed as though it didn't fit.  

 

The Maori People and The Whale Rider

The Maori people are indigenous to New Zealand.  They have many traditions and customs that are unique to their people.  We see many of these such customs in the movie The Whale Rider.

 Facial Tattoos:  The Maori use the facial tattoos the men shows rank in the tribe.  These tattoos are also known as the Moko.  This is their identity card and different symbols represent different ranks.

For the women, the tattoos are  more subtle only defining the lips and chin.  

For all tattoos, a bone chisel was used to carve the images into the skin.  This chisel was then dipped in pigment and tapped into the carvings to create the image. 

We see this tattooing in the film The Whale Rider. 

 
The Haka:  This is the  dance of the Maori people, particularly the men.  There are many types of Haka, the most well-known is the war dance.  This shows their strength and is meant to ward off their enemies.  It is also supposed to motivate the warriors in battle.  In this dance there chanting, stamping of feet, bulging of eyes, tongue extension, and waving of weapons.

In The Whale Rider, we see that this tradition has been lost among the younger generation and there is an attempt to teach the young men in the tribe how tow perform the Haka.

The Woman's Role:  Women in the Maori culture were not allowed in battle or to perform the Haka.  They were however, well respected for their childbearing abilities.  Women were also allowed to do the opening calls and to welcome guests.  They were also revered for their storytelling abilities.  

In the film we see that women must take a back seat to the men.  Paka could not even accept that a female could be chosen by the gods to be the chief of the tribe. Pikea could only prove herself in her death.  This is when she is finally free to follow her destiny.

 
 

Transitions

Transitions are necessary in films to move us from one scene to another.  Without them, a film would drag on and lose it's excitement as we would have to watch the character's every movement as they go from one place to the next.  

A transition that I am particularly fond of is the use of lap dissolves.  A lap dissolve is a transition in which the previous scene fades into the next scene in the film creating an interesting transition.  

I have chosen an interesting example from the movie Citizen Kane. Here we see the actor walking through swinging doors as this scene dissolves into the newspaper headline of the next scene.  This transition is done so smoothly that it almost tricks your eyes.  Beautifully done!