Cry Freedom (1987)

If you have always believed that prejudice only happens against the minority, you are wrong. Cry Freedom (1987) is a historical film which portrays the apartheid system that was enforced through law in South Africa. It supported the idea of racial segregation, in which the Black majority was legally oppressed by the White minority. In this film, Steve Biko, a black activist, disperses the idea of "black consciousness" and successfully influences Donald Woods, who continues Biko's movement against the apartheid system after Biko's death.

Institutional support from the legal system is the major causes of prejudices and racism in this film. Under the system, any people who stand up against the government can be charged or even killed. Biko and Woods are both banned from leaving their defined banning areas as well as disallowed from interacting with more than 1 person at the same time under The Internal Security Act (ISA) because their "Black Consciousness Movement" threatened the power of the White minority. This biased legal system provides much authority to the White minority as the Black activists can simply be murdered with made-up justifications. For example, Biko's real cause of death (beaten up severely by the White authorities) is covered up with the reason of hunger strike. These social inequalities create the prejudice in South Africa. In addition, the twisted beliefs of the Whites promote greater prejudice. This is evident in one of the scenes when one White claims after Biko's death that "I commend the minister for being so democratic that he gives prisoners the democratic right to starve themselves." The just-world phenomenon we have seen in this statement has resulted in prejudice. The strong institutional support has induced the ethnocentrism and conformity among the White community to oppress the Black majority.

This disparity of power induces fear in the Black majority as their underdeveloped residences can be destroyed easily by the Whites using machines. Blacks are underprivileged and are limited with scarce resources, thus threatening their deaths. This is seen in one of the quotes from Biko: "It's a miracle a child survives here at all. People are so desperate for anything they'll beat a kid bloody if they thought he had five Rand ...... a black child, smart or dumb you are born into this. And smart or dumb you die in it." This terror management that makes the Blacks feel vulnerable about their own mortality creates fear and this fear has prevented many voices from the Blacks to be heard. When Biko, with his realization of Black's inferiority that "the only history we read was made by the White man, written by the White man. Television, cars, medicines - all invented by the White man, even football.", he starts the "Black Consciousness Movement" and this makes him the minority influence among the other Blacks who only endure but do nothing to overcome their hardships. His charisma, high self-confidence in his beliefs, and consistency in advocating his idea eventually leads to defection from the majority Black who was initially afraid. Black community becomes more supportive of his idea. They listen to activist speech which is disguised using a football game and some Black students even join protest march to voice against the apartheid system.

Apartheid system has oppressed the Black community for many years. In this film, even the black-colored dogs in the White's mansion have greater freedom than the Black community in South Africa. The story of Biko and Woods tells us that awareness of injustice is leading people nowhere but the actions to stop accepting the prejudice, which is the core concept of "black consciousness", is what makes a sparkle that ignites changes. Stop accepting and make changes today!