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The Individual, Auto/biography and History in South Africa

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1998. 203 Cartoonists work<strong>in</strong>g for a range of newspapers <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Zapiro<br />

(Jonathan Shapiro), <strong>and</strong> Francis, Dugmore <strong>and</strong> Rico constructed cartoon scenes which<br />

commented on various narrated various periods <strong>and</strong> arenas of M<strong>and</strong>ela’s life, or had<br />

cartoon characters comment on events <strong>and</strong> narratives. Sometimes, <strong>in</strong>dividual cartoons<br />

constructed <strong>and</strong> simultaneously commented on well‐worn narrations. 204 M<strong>and</strong>ela’s<br />

<strong>biography</strong> was even depicted on a tea towel as a “journey … from Robben Isl<strong>and</strong> to the<br />

ra<strong>in</strong>bow nation”. 205<br />

More photographic studies <strong>and</strong> coffee table books were produced as different publishers<br />

with corporate back<strong>in</strong>g entered the market <strong>in</strong> M<strong>and</strong>ela’s life. 206 <strong>The</strong> world of film was not<br />

left beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> the scramble for M<strong>and</strong>ela’s life, <strong>and</strong> M<strong>and</strong>ela was made to make a “long<br />

walk to the box office”. 207 A number of c<strong>in</strong>ematic biographies were made <strong>in</strong> the late 1990s.<br />

<strong>The</strong> first to arrive at the <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>n box office was M<strong>and</strong>ela, a feature length<br />

documentary made by Jo Menell <strong>and</strong> Angus Gibson. Made primarily for overseas<br />

audiences, it covered familiar themes, from M<strong>and</strong>ela’s career <strong>in</strong> the ANC through the<br />

Robben Isl<strong>and</strong> years to his eventual release. 208 Described as a “praise song” <strong>and</strong> a “love<br />

letter”, which “never questions M<strong>and</strong>ela’s actions nor <strong>in</strong>terrogates his motives”, 209 <strong>South</strong><br />

<strong>Africa</strong>n viewers were alerted to the value of “the more ‘human’ aspects of the film”. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

would be able to see shots of M<strong>and</strong>ela talk<strong>in</strong>g about his wardrobe with his advisors,<br />

203 ‘Nelson R. M<strong>and</strong>ela 80 th Birthday, 18 July 1998’ (papyrus wall calendar), Cont<strong>in</strong>ental Pr<strong>in</strong>ters,<br />

c.1998.<br />

204 See the cartoon compilation, Harry Dugmore, Stephen Frances <strong>and</strong> Rico Schacherl (eds), Nelson<br />

M<strong>and</strong>ela: A Life <strong>in</strong> Cartoons, Cape Town: David Philip, 1999.<br />

205 ‘<strong>The</strong> Journey of Nelson M<strong>and</strong>ela from Robben Isl<strong>and</strong> to a Ra<strong>in</strong>bow Nation’ (Tea Towel), <strong>The</strong> Blue<br />

Berry Textile Company, c. 1996. <strong>The</strong> tea towel drew substantially (seem<strong>in</strong>gly without<br />

acknowledgement) on the rich visual record of M<strong>and</strong>ela’s public life, turn<strong>in</strong>g well‐known<br />

photographs <strong>in</strong>to sketched biographic scenes.<br />

206Peter Magubane, Nelson M<strong>and</strong>ela: Man of Dest<strong>in</strong>y. A Pictorial Biography, Cape Town: Don Nelson, 1996<br />

(supported by Agfa); Charlene Smith, M<strong>and</strong>ela (Cape Town: Struik, 1999). Another photographic<br />

history of resistance <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> which tried to make capital out of M<strong>and</strong>ela’s image, <strong>and</strong> based on<br />

Drum photographs, was Jürgen Schadeberg (ed), M<strong>and</strong>ela <strong>and</strong> the Rise of the ANC, Parkl<strong>and</strong>s: Jonathan<br />

Ball <strong>and</strong> Ad. Donker Publishers, 1990.<br />

207Sunday Times, 13 October 1996.<br />

208M<strong>and</strong>ela (Directed by Jo Menell <strong>and</strong> Angus Gibson, 1996). <strong>The</strong> US release of this documentary was<br />

delayed until 1997 <strong>in</strong> order to capitalise on the possibility of an Academy Award nom<strong>in</strong>ation. This<br />

nom<strong>in</strong>ation materialised <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> 1997, M<strong>and</strong>ela took a “short walk to the Oscars”. See Sunday Times, 16<br />

February 1997.<br />

209Barry Ronge <strong>in</strong> Sunday Times, 13 October 1996.<br />

263

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