Sanctioning Apartheid - KORA

402 Smrctioning Apartheid
be pamadled of their vested interest in the possibility of peacefwl
revolutidw The organizers of the conference also make
considerable attempb to sarren the fhs in the black townships
of Durban due to the cost d diEiculty for blacks to travel to the
sP.eening and discusions in Durban. The festival apparently
receives some funding horn the South African government and
special dispensation from the Rtm censors board." Film people
who oppose participation in this festival argue that it gives
legitimacy to the pvernnmt's reformist image. As one &tic
suggesbl 'There is no dividing h e between this Mval of
Apuheid and the Apartheid system iW~"15 {Arguments in
support of the Durban F h Festival will be dismsed further in
the nlext section)
Opposition to a Total Cultural Boycott
The cultural boycott has been criticized from various
perswves. It is important to distinguish between those who
oppose the dtural boycott altagether, and those who 011 for a
seIectIve boycott. There are certainly those who oppcxse the
cultural boycott of South Africa because they are ultimately
€rim& of the South African government and oppose all pressure
on SDuth Africa, either poliw economic, or d d
There are
others, however, qually opponents of aparthad, who believe
that keeping the dtuml gates open to South Africa does more
good than harm in contributing to a new society in South Africa.
This argument is based on the belief that cukting white South
Africans off from the outside world forces them into a
whm they become more intransigent and defiant and thus 1 s
likely to take the steps neassary to move towards a post-apart-
heid South Africa. In contrastI it is argued, by expasing South
Africans to cultural experiences, ideas, and images which overtly
or subtly propose an altwmtive to the dominant ideology of
racial superiority, white South Africans will become more
receptive to th%se possibilities.
W view suggests the educational due of expure to
cultrue from outside South Africa that promotes a positive image
of blacks. l5pm.m to such media will teach whits to accept the