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Sarafina summary in chapter 1 introduction Chapter 2 research design and methods and chapter 3 literature review.
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Mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters in Music at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University
Supervisor: Dr SI Viljoen
May 2016
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I wish to express my gratitude towards everyone who supported and assisted me with this mini-dissertation. I thank my partner, family and friends for their support and words of encouragement. A special word of thanks to Mapula Mahlo, Ndumiso Mahlangu and Jeannette Masumpa for their involvement with the transcriptions and translation of the iZulu songs in Sarafina!. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Dr Santisa Viljoen, for all her support and guidance.
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human experiences are articulated. Each song has its own unique focus, but ultimately contributes to our understanding of how the youth was affected within these contexts.
Key words: Sarafina! , context, songs of struggle, South African protest music, resistance theatre, township theatre
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Sarafina! (1992) het oorspronklik tydens die 1980’s ontstaan as ‘n inspirerende produksie naamlik Sarafina, The Music of Liberation. Nadat die verhoogproduksie groot sukses op Broadway in die VSA behaal het, het filmdirekteur Darrell James Roodt Sarafina! as ‘n musiekrolprent aangepas en is dit in 1992 vrygestel. Sarafina! is ‘n kombinasie van township teater en weerstandsteater en maak onder andere gebruik van liedere wat bekend staan as songs of struggle. Sarafina! weerspieël ‘n konteks waarin die sosio-politiese weerstand van die jeug gedurende die 1980’s geartikuleer word, asook die interne stryd van ‘n jong swart meisie wat haar rol in die stryd tot vryheid probeer bepaal.
Die doel van hierdie skripsie is om te verstaan hoe die liedjies in Sarafina! bydra tot die daarstel van kontekste in die rolprent_._ Deur die aard en betekenis van die liedjies van Sarafina! te verstaan, sowel as die verskillende kontekste in die rolprent te identifiseer, kan ons verstaan hoe die musiek in Sarafina! tot die daarstel van kontekste bydra.
Hierdie skripsie is ‘n kwalitatiewe, hermeneutiese navorsingsstudie wat vanuit ‘n sosiale konstruktivistiese paradigma benader is. ‘n Tradisionele literatuuroorsig is gebruik om data te versamel en ‘n sistematiese literatuuroorsig is toegepas om die mees gepaste en relevante bronne te identifiseer vir die gebruik in hierdie studie. Die data is geanaliseer deur van teksanalise-strategieë gebruik te maak. Dit word gebruik om die teks te interpreteer, asook om die verhouding tussen die teks en die konteks wat in die teks weerspieël word, te identifiseer.
Uiteindelik is daar gevind dat nie al die liedjies in Sarafina! songs of struggle is nie, maar wel ander vorme van worsteling artikuleer. Die liedjies in Sarafina! word geïdentifiseer as songs of struggle , protesmusiek, asook vryheidsliedere. Daar is ook bevind dat die liedjies in Sarafina! kontekste van sosio-politiese omstandighede en persoonlike ervarings artikuleer. Hierdie veelvlakkige kontekste van Sarafina! weerspieël die temporale en ruimtelike kontekste.
Die uiteindelike gevolgtrekking is dat die songs of struggle in Sarafina! bydra tot die konstruksie van veelvlakkige kontekste wat sosio-politiese en persoonlike ervarings
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... i
SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................ii
Music has always been a part of South African political discourse (Shultziner, 2010:140). It is a mode of communicating, amongst many others, protest against political domination. Protest music started among the Zulus in the early 1900s (Urbain, 2008:65). Urbain (2008:65) identifies a few genres of this time: iMusic , iRagtime and Toyi-toyi. According to Urbain (2008:65), the music of black South Africans was a modification of styles which were influenced by their socio-political conditions. From 1948 to 1994, a time during which South Africa was governed according to the principles of apartheid, socio-economic and political conditions for black South Africans grew increasingly difficult. Segregation was institutionalised, pass acts were implemented and the struggle for freedom from oppression intensified. This period was characterised by several incidents of unrest and violence, noticeably those taking place on 21 March 1960 (Sharpeville massacre) and 16 June 1976 (Soweto uprising). Incidents such as these continued to influence the socio-economic landscape until 1984 when the economic downturn of 1981– reached a critical point. The Vaal triangle, a region that was plagued by socio- political problems at the time, had a rapid decrease of industrial expansion during this time. During the 1980s the economy declined and unemployment increased. Some people were being paid less and others enriched themselves. By 1985, almost 30% of the people earned an income below the Bureau of Market Research’s designated Minimum Living Level (Gerhart and Glaser, 2010:68).
The dire economic circumstances were exacerbated by, for example, a steep rise in rent, which also resulted in further unrest. In 1984 the Lekoa residents’ rent was the highest rent in the country. On 3 September 1984, several townships in the Vaal triangle had a rent boycott (Gerhart & Glaser, 2010:68). The people of the township disrupted transport services and prevented police from accessing the area. Public buildings, shops and homes were burned down. The workers from this area started the stayaway boycott, during which they did not go to work, and children reacted by staying away from school (Gerhart & Glaser, 2010:69).
These three events discussed above mark points in the history of South Africa and became the symbols of the struggle against apartheid (Diawara et al. , 2010:125), and more often than not, human experiences in these circumstances were articulated through the performing arts (music, dance and theathre) – particularly
through songs of struggle. The songs were frequently modified as the politics and circumstances of the people changed (Gilbert, 2007:427). It was out of the 1976 Soweto uprising that many of the struggle songs developed (Gilbert, 2007:437) and after these events struggle songs reached a new intensity to strengthen the struggle (Shultziner, 2010:140). Struggle songs, also described by Gilbert (2007:426) as freedom songs, are songs inspired by the people who resisted apartheid and fought for freedom – commonly referred to as the struggle. The purpose of music during the struggle was to generate and strengthen group identity and group solidarity among the African people. It brought solidarity between various personalities and age groups. Everyone was part of the struggle when singing freedom songs in a group (Shultziner, 2010:140).
Songs of struggle were not the only medium to fight for freedom. Black South African theatre^4 developed into a weapon of protest which articulated oppression and resistance in South Africa (Graver, 1999:2). The beginning of contemporary African theatre can be traced back to the late 19th^ century and even then it started as means of protest (Sirayi, 2012:94). Small musical theatres started in the 1920s and 1930s and since the 1950s, big musical productions were formed, some of which got international recognition (Graver, 1999:5). During this time, as black theatre grew, protest theatre developed (Attridge & Jolly, 1998:257). According to Attridge and Jolly (1998:257), protest theatre was a “theatre of complaint, of weeping, of self-pity, of moralising, of mourning and hopelessness.” When a segregated township audience developed in black musical theatre during the 1950s and 1960s, township musical theatre was formed (Ansell, 2005:132). Graver (1999:6) describes township musical theatre as a combination of “song, dance, melodrama and clowning in extravagant display of talent and energy.”
The beginning of the Black Consciousness Movement in the early 1970s changed everything about the black South African theatre scene. The Black Consciousness Movement gave life to a new approach to African theatre, namely the theatre of resistance, which replaced protest theatre (Attridge & Jolly, 1998:257). The weapons against apartheid and the struggle began to include the arts and culture of which
(^4) Black theatre was created for an only African audience with only African actors, writers and producers (Orkin, 1991:120–121).
Each of these questions will be dealt with in more detail in 1.7 during the discussion of the narrative design of this mini-dissertation. I trust that, once these questions have been answered, a better understanding of how the songs in Sarafina! contribute to the construction of contexts will have been reached. This is the primary purpose of this study. Furthermore, the research questions and the intended purpose will determine the research design of the study.
1.5 Scope of the study
This research study uses the film version of Sarafina! as its primary text. This text is captured on a digital video disk (DVD). The study does not include a detailed analysis of the original stage production,^5 but will point out the major differences between the stage production and the film.
1.6 Research design
This hermeneutic study follows a qualitative research design, is conducted from a social constructivist perspective and considers context-bound realities. The qualitative research technique used to gather and analyse data is textual analysis. Through the use of textual analysis, the researcher will be able to determine the nature of songs of struggle, freedom songs (as representative of protest music), as well as the contexts in which these appear in Sarafina!. The research design and methods will be discussed in detail in Chapter 2.
1.7 Narrative design of the mini-dissertation
Chapter 1 is an introduction that contextualises the research topic and explains the scope of the study. It also offers a very brief summary of the research design and methods used in this study before stating the main questions and the purpose of the study. The chapter concludes by stating the study’s compliance with the ethical policies of the North-West University.
(^5) Such an analysis is available on the web page of The Guide to Musical Theatre (Anon, 2014).
Chapter 2 is concerned with the research design and methods used for this mini- dissertation. It explains my understanding of which methods I had to use in the process of collecting and analysing data. This includes my understanding of what a research design is, what qualitative research is, what a research paradigm is and which paradigm to use to conduct this study. It also explains my understanding of literature overview, how to analyse text, how to apply crystallisation and ensure trustworthiness. This chapter also states the criteria of trustworthiness used in this study to ensure the credibility of this mini-dissertation.
Chapter 3 is a review of the literature used to support this mini-dissertation. It gives an overview of the information gathered from existing literature in order to understand the main concepts and aspects of this study. This includes information on protest songs, songs of struggle, freedom songs, protest theatre, theatre of resistance, the relationship between music and context and additional material on Sarafina!. The chapter also gives a description of the film Sarafina! : its narrative, origins and the differences between the original stage production and the film.
Chapter 4 is an analysis of the eight major songs and their contribution towards the context in Sarafina!. It consists of a close reading of the lyrics of each of these songs, as well as of the contexts in which they occur.
Chapter 5 is the conclusion of this study. This chapter represents the findings of this mini-dissertation, based on the information gathered from the literature overview in Chapter 3 and the analysis in Chapter 4. It answers the sub-questions and the main question before making suggestions for further study.
1.8 Ethical issues
This study adheres to the North-West University’s policies regarding ethical issues in research. The study does not require the researcher to conduct interviews or do surveys. Therefore, no ethical issues relating to protecting participants are expected. However, the researcher acknowledges the ethical integrity needed in conducting the research and writing the research report in such a manner that it is trustworthy and devoid of unfounded bias against any person based on race, class or gender.
research design (Creswell, 2003:17) for it is rooted in social structures, history and text.^6
Qualitative research is based on perspectives from knowledge gathered from the individual’s experiences, history, social background and political structures (Creswell, 2003:17). The focus of qualitative research is to discover, identify and mostly to understand “the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem” (Creswell, 2013:4). According to Merriam (2009:5) the purpose of qualitative research is to understand “how people interpret their experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their experiences”.
2.2 Research paradigm
Both the situation and the purpose of this research study were explained in Chapter 1 and, therefore, it remains only to briefly discuss the research paradigm against which the research was conducted. Creswell and Plano (2011:38–39) identify four levels for developing a research study, starting with the research paradigm. The research paradigm, also referred to as philosophical perspective (Blaikie, 2007:3) and epistemological perspectives (Merriam, 2009:11), is a perspective I used to understand social dynamics (Blaikie, 2007:3). According to Kuhn (2012:144) a paradigm, consisting of different worldviews, is used to solve the “puzzle” of the research. The paradigm is not the focus of the research but assists the research. Blaikie (2007:3) describes a research paradigm as a method to “provide different ways of making connections between ideas about the social world, the social experiences of people and the social world within which social life occurs.”
This paradigm includes how philosophical assumptions and beliefs influence the researcher on how she gathers knowledge about what she knows (Creswell & Plano, 2011:38–39). The paradigms influence the theoretical lens of the researcher, which can be any form of social science theories. These theories then determine the methodological approach the researcher will use, which informs the methods of data collection and analysis (Creswell & Plano, 2011:38–39). It is thus clear that the
(^6) Text is a means of articulating social, cultural and historical events, as well as reflecting the functionality of society (Daiute and Lightfoot, 2004:2).
research paradigm will influence the entire research design, from its strategies to the manner in which data will be collected and analysed.
The philosophical perspective against which this study is conducted involves constructivist interpretivism, also called social constructivism (Creswell, 2013:24). Creswell and Plano (2011:40) define constructivism as “the understanding or meaning of phenomena”. Creswell (2013:24) also describes social constructivism as a worldview defined by the way “individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live and work. They develop subjective meanings of their experiences – meanings directed toward certain objects or things.” Social constructivism is created by the individual’s social interaction, historical background and cultural models. This social constructivism will assists me in understanding the specific context articulated in Sarafina!.
From the discussion above, it is evident that it is of the utmost importance to understand one’s own philosophical and epistemological perspectives in order to approach a study such as this one. To understand one’s own perspective will not only determine one’s socio-political understanding, but also prevent invalid assumptions. According to Belsey (2005:160) the researcher will analyse text with predetermined suppositions. Therefore, it is important to identify the predetermined assumptions by understanding one’s own perspectives.
2.3 Research type
Having decided to use a qualitative research design and a constructivist interpretative paradigm, I had to decide which research type was most appropriate for this study. Each research type has strategies that relate to its own unique way of collecting, analysing and interpreting data (Creswell, 2003:13–15). Therefore, I have to use a research type which will assist me in collecting, analysing and interpreting data to reach a stance of how the songs of struggle in Sarafina! contribute to the articulation of contexts. After studying Creswell’s (2003:13–15) five types of qualitative research (narrative research, phenomenological research, ethnography, grounded theory and case studies) it appeared that none of his research types was suitable for this study. Eventually, having considered Kramer’s (2002) thoughts on the meaning and interpretation of musical texts, I realised that mine is a hermeneutic
It is an overview of existing literature affiliated with the research topic; analysing the information and gather knowledge (Jesson et al. , 2011:9). Jesson et al. (2011:10) describe the purpose of a literature review as a task
where you show that you are both aware of and can interpret what is already known and where eventually you will be able to point out the contradictions and gaps in existing knowledge.
Jesson et al. (2011:14–15) identify two styles of literature reviews, namely traditional and systematic literature reviews. A traditional literature review is used to gather knowledge on existing information. One can approach a traditional literature review from different angles, depending on the purpose of the review. Jesson et al. (2011:15) describe each of these approaches; a critical approach, a conceptual review, a state-of-the-art review, an expert review and a scoping review. On the other hand a systematic literature review is a “standardised, structured, protocol- driven methodology [used to sort through] all the relevant literature” (Jesson et al ., 2011:103) gathered by means of a traditional literature review in order to ensure its contribution towards the specific research questions.
For this study I shall use a traditional literature review to collect data from existing literature regarding protest music, freedom songs and songs of struggle. The literature review will also collect data on black South African theatre and resistance music. Furthermore, this literature review will consider what other authors wrote about Sarafina’ s contexts, as well as consider some of the researcher’s own perspectives on the narrative of the film production. The literatures that will be reviewed also include a CD recording of Sarafina’s soundtrack and a DVD recording of the film.
However, data will not only be gathered by conducting a traditional literature review. Criteria were determined by which the literature that was gathered by means of the traditional literature review will be assessed and arranged systematically. Jesson et al. (2011:108) refers to this as a systematic literature review. I shall thus follow a systematic layout of gathered information to reach the end result (Jesson et al. , 2011:12). The systematic literature review will be used to determine the most relevant and trustworthy sources gathered during the traditional literature review. Jesson’s (2011:104) structure of a systematic literature review is employed as the criteria for this mini-dissertation: scope and map, plan and control, document,
inclusion and exclusion criteria, search and screen, quality appraisal, data extraction, and synthesis. In order to decide which sources to include and the ensure the quality of the sources, I shall only include peer-reviewed articles, articles from accredited journals, most recently published articles and books by experts in the specific field in order to ensure that I use sources that are beyond scrutiny. I also will avoid the use of unreliable websites.
Systematically working through all the literature gathered during the traditional literature review, I shall consider the range of the topic of this study (Jesson et al. , 2011:104). I shall analyse the information and make connections between all the parts (Jesson et al. , 2011:123, 66). Eventually the information gathered through the systematic literature review will be synthesised (Jesson et al. , 2011:66). I shall organise and relate the different aspects of knowledge in the topic of Sarafina! , struggle music and context through the use of mind maps (Jesson et al. , 2011:84). These mind maps will be based on the codes, categories and themes that will emerge as the information is analysed and interpreted. Having gathered the data, I shall proceed to analyse it.
2.4.2 Data Analysis
Analysing texts can be done in various ways. When working with a specific study like this and analysing a comprehensive work, it is important to identify the essential ideas in the text itself. A four steps approach of qualitative research in text, suggested by Marschan-Piekkari and Welch (2004:347), can be used: identify the main research question(s), conduct an analysis of the overall textual material, identify specific texts for close reading and reach a conclusion.
The most suitable research strategy for this study is textual analysis (Strauss, 1987:5). Textual analysis allows the researcher to understand the meaning of texts. It enables the researcher to answer exploratory and conceptual questions (Mouton, 2001:167). Textual analysis is the study of society through analysing and interpreting text(s) (McKee, 2003:1) and is considered to be the most ideal strategy to use for the understanding of others (or society) through text. Both McKee (2003:1) and Brennen (2012:206) believe that textual analysis is “a way for researchers to gather information about how other human beings make sense of the world”. Textual
