Writing ‘Whiteness’: Representing the Afrikaner in Post-Apartheid South Africa – A comparative Study of Athol Fugard’s “Sorrows and Rejoicings” (2002) and Jason Xenopolous’ “Promised Land” (2002)

This paper interrogates the dramatic representation of white Afrikaner identity in two postapartheid South African texts: Athol Fugard's play, "Sorrows and Rejoicings" (2002) and Jason Xenopolous' film, "Promised Land" (2002). Race, as one element of identity construction, has been a problematic area of analysis within the South African context, given the legacy of apartheid. Globally, whiteness has often been seen as normative: notions of whiteness have been seen as transparent, and have been presented in an uninterrogated manner (Delgado and Stefancic, 1997). Melissa Steyn (2001) has applied such ideas to the South African context with specific reference to post-apartheid white identity constructions, which are complicated by the recognition of two different white identity frameworks: English speaking and Afrikaner. White Afrikaner identity is a contested field of study; perceptions around it are inscribed with values relating to language, religion, history, and land, among others. Such perceptions need to be interrogated. The post-apartheid context has demanded a rethinking of all white identity constructions, including that of the Afrikaner, whose position has often been associated, rightly or wrongly, with apartheid policies. The two texts considered in this paper contain examinations of whiteness in post-apartheid South Africa, offering a perspective on constructions of Afrikaner identity, and exploring the challenges to which it is exposed in the current context. The paper offers a comparative discussion of the representations of Afrikaner identity contained in the two texts, within the framework of identity theory, race debates, and the post-colonial context that is contemporary South Africa.