Opening the wound: Receptions and readings of Inxeba in South Africa

Abstract

This reading of Inxeba (2017) foregrounds the relationship between the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall movements in South Africa with the theme of wounding as an enduring social affliction in a country caught up in the midst of redefining itself after apartheid. Overtly narrated in the telling of Inxeba (2017) is the striking, amplified distinction between tradition and modernity among isiXhosa. Indeed, the polarized reception of the film among South African audiences shone a light on the slow burn of this most enduring trope. At universities across the country, Black students called for an end to the symbols of imperialist and colonialist White domination, as well as the desire to decolonize higher education by redressing Eurocentric canons of knowledge production. On the heels of the #Fallist movements, a White director makes a film about Xhosa initiation, and folds into this story a tale of homoerotic love. Notwithstanding the film’s official entry for best foreign language film at the Oscars, multiple forms of wounding came quick and heated upon the showcasing of the film’s trailer on social media. Film: Inxeba (English: The Wound): 2017 South African drama Director: John Trengove Language: Xhosa Cast: Niza Jay Ncoyini as Kwanda Nakhane Touré as Xolani Bongile Mantsai as Vija