White Wedding,movie review

White Wedding,movie review

White Wedding, a South African movie released in 2010, was created fifteen years after the apartheid in South Africa had ended. The apartheid legalized segregation even though it had existed decades before 1990 and was a common practice in South Africa. Therefore, it is no surprise that discrimination still occurs in more traditional regions of South Africa post-apartheid. In White Wedding, a South African romantic comedy, director Jann Turner portrays the conflicts modern South African society struggles with, such as equality, while providing the audience with hope for what it could potentially become. Using White Wedding and Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born A Crime, it is possible to compare traditional South African practices with the country’s post-apartheid society to evaluate if South African society has indeed changed since apartheid has ended.

The title of the film White Wedding demonstrates the effort made towards naming the movie. It could have been called European Wedding, however by using the connotation “white,” the audience recognizes that the problem lies with race and skin rather than geographic origins. Furthermore, White Wedding implies that the European wedding customs of being married in a church and the bride wearing a white dress have yet to be widely accepted amongst South Africans. By contrast, in the movie, some characters remain set in their traditional practices. This is seen from 11:00-12:45, during which Ma Valerie expresses her discontent with the direction of Ayanda’s wedding. Ma Valerie states that Ayanda should be married at home and have three outfits for the day – her wedding dress, a two-piece suit, and a traditional garment. She wants Ayanda to have a large township wedding for which everyone is invited and helps to make preparations. In Trevor Noah’s memoir Born A Crime, more customs of South African weddings are identified, particularly the apartheid law that prohibits blacks and whites from being romantically involved with one another. On page 21, Noah writes, “during apartheid, one of the worst crimes you could commit was having sexual relations with a person of another race. Needless to say, my parents committed that crime.” This proves how strict and restrictive laws were during apartheid. So much so that his title, Born A Crime, represents how he views himself as the product of an illegal mixed-race couple. With laws like this, it is understandable that Ma Valerie is struggling with the thought of Ayanda having a more European-type wedding. To her, it is seen as taboo. It is possible she never thought the day would come when her children could choose to have a “white” wedding.

In addition, it appears that both Turner and Noah want to show that everyone is born equal. It is what we are taught by society that makes us believe that we are superior or inferior to others. From 01:03:50 to 01:13:30 in White Wedding, Elvis’ relationship with Fanie evolves. When Elvis first enters the pub and asks to sit with Fanie, Fanie leaves the table to sit at the bar. However, after they talk and begin to learn more about one another, Fanie takes a liking to Elvis and helps him to make it to his wedding on time. They agree that women are difficult to handle; however, they will always love their wives. Their shared struggle with women enables them to bond, and Fanie no longer sees Elvis as less than himself. During apartheid, that was a common idea, that whites were somehow better than blacks. Furthermore, Noah recounts his view on race growing up during apartheid on page 52 of Born A Crime. He states, “as a kid I understood that people were different colors, but in my head white and black and brown were like types of chocolate. Dad was the white chocolate, mom was the dark chocolate, and I was the milk chocolate. But we were all just chocolate. I didn’t know any of it had anything to do with ‘race.’ I didn’t know what race was. My mother never referred to my dad as white or to me as mixed.” In this statement, Noah’s chocolate metaphor shows how he was able to view those around him as equals despite the propaganda fed to the South African people by the government. Together, Turner and Noah teach their audiences that we are all equal and should treat one another as such.

Jann Turner utilizes his romantic comedy film, White Wedding, to remind South Africans that at our core, everyone is the same and that no one should be treated any differently because of their background. Though it is a rather cliche message, romantic comedies are known for being cliche, and this lesson is one that would greatly benefit the people of South Africa as they all begin to enjoy equal freedoms after the abolishment of apartheid. Trevor Noah reveals the difficulties he endured during apartheid in his memoir, Born A Crime. However, both Turner and Noah appear to believe that with time black South Africans and white South Africans will come to understand one another and possibly view each other as equals.