Having arrived in South Africa from
Canada this past August in order to become involved with the Rural Women’s Movement, many questions have arisen. More specifically questions around
political consciousness; what does it mean to be a conscious person and how
does that look in contemporary South Africa and the world in general?
One observation that continues to make me
uneasy is the blatant commodification and appropriation of an image
representing the ostensible Aboriginal authentic,
specifically the logos used by fast-food chains Spur and Mochachos. Presenting static images such as these
can be insensitive or insulting at best, while damaging to consciousness
vis-à-vis indigenous or traditional
peoples in general as it makes these groups appear outside of modernity or as a
vestige of presumably simpler times.
The ubiquitous presence of these images
may correlate to the existence of both negative and stagnant perceptions of
South Africa’s rural, indigenous communities. This situation is as one
commenter on a previous piece of mine correctly alluded to, paradoxical as
most of the country has roots in rural communities.
Perhaps the normalization of these images
(even in some activist circles) reflects a shift away from transnational activism
and internationalism in general, truly absurd in an increasingly globalized
world. The hyper-localization of consciousness appears antithetical towards
solving our era’s most pressing issues such as climate change. This is also
dangerous in the neoliberal age as the relevance of borders has decreased
except perhaps in terms of the militarization and exclusion encouraged in reactionary, populist circles. Unfortunately, simplistic conceptions
of the world’s indigenous populations deludes and prevents us from linking the
battles for cultural, environmental and spatial preservation and empowerment of
indigenous peoples in places as widespread as New Mexico and KwaZulu-Natal; battling resource-based abuses or
conflict driven by contemporary capitalism should also be framed as a reaction
to modern environmental racism.
As a newcomer it is also disturbing to
see the commodification of South African symbols of resistance, including the
use of Steve Biko’s image in bars and nightclubs, particularly unsettling given
his ideological emphasis on aesthetics.
Moreover, in many of these circumstances the environment conforms to
dominant (or white/western) norms.
Cultural or symbolic misappropriation is
not limited to South Africa, in North America; the sight of traditional
indigenous garb at raves or parties is all too common. Again, here symbols
of resistance (the refusal to conform to western norms of fashion and the
brilliance that is/was Biko) or of identity, are co-opted as symbols of de-personalization;
the identity or idea represented is broken down into one base level component
while furthering personal and/or commercial excess. If we are to build cohesive
social movements we must retrieve our existing images of resistance in order to
create the foundation needed for new ones to flourish.
