Emblematic features of fictional female Afrikaner characters in selected South African television and theatre productions

[摘要] This thesis examined the emblematic features of fictional female Afrikaner characters inselected South African television and theatre productions.The purpose of this study was to determine how female characters are represented in theperforming arts in relation to different cultural and temporal moments of transition in SouthAfrica, namely, the Anglo-Boer/South African War (1899-1901), post-apartheid SouthAfrica (1994-2006) and contemporary South Africa (twenty years into democracy). Thiswas done in order to determine whether or not the objectives, strategies, and operationsthat manifest in these representations can be examined in relation to the historicalbackgrounds of the specific timeframes.The study analysed three South African performing arts productions (Feast of theUninvited [2008], Kruispad [2008] and Avu [2016]) in the form of case studies, with thetimeframes of the productions being set during three cultural and temporal moments oftransition in South Africa. The methodology of the study employed James Thomas'formalist approach and Jason Mittel's insights on character engagement in The Poeticsof Contemporary Television Storytelling.The study identifies cases where women have been underrepresented in a temporalmoment of transition is South Africa.

[发布机构] University of the Free State