[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-135733-en":3,"doc-seo-135733-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},135733,2336474459895,"Gloria","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000baeef7a5ed0655?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786071322749376916",2,"Literature","De Voortrekkers - Some Stereotypes and Narrative Conventions","“De Voortrekkers”(1916) is examined as an epic film and as a national narrative shaped by filmic conventions and historical representation. The text situates the production within African Film Productions’ early ambitions for the international market and describes its later, recurring prominence at the Day of the Covenant celebration. Drawing on scholarship (including Gutsche, 1972), it discusses how the film uses realistic detail, large-scale spectacle, melodramatic motifs, and documentary elements such as the treaty between Retief and Dingaan. The discussion further frames the story’s structure as a persecuted group supported by God facing a tyrant, and identifies the film’s villains, including melodramatic and politically framed antagonists, to explain how identity and social order are narrated.","The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social scienceand humanities journals.This item is from the digital archive maintained by MichiganState University Library.Find more at:http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/  \nAvailable through a partnership with  \nAfrican e-Journals Project  \nScroll down to read the article.  \n“De Voortrekkers”(1916):Some Stereotypes andNarrative Conventions  \nHannes van Zy¹  \nDe Voortrekkers was the first of five expensive film epics produced by AfricanFim Productions between 1916 and 1922.1 With these films,and with a numberof less expensive productions,the young company sought to secure a₂place in theinternational film market,an ideal which never quite materialized.2  \nHarold Shaw was brought out from London to direct the film and the Afrikaanshistorian and writer Gustavs.Preller was commissioned to write the screenplayand to see to the historical accuracy of costumes and settings  \nIt is probably not entirely accidental that De Voortrekkers is the only one ofall the early_South African feature films stiTT avaiTabTe for study.³0f a7lAfrican Film Productions'early films it seems to have been the biggest commercialsuccess both abroad and locally.But it was more than just a commercial success.Besides having an initial record-breaking three week run at the JohannesburgPalladium,it was to become a regular feature_at Day of the Covenant celebrationsevery year for at least three decades.4 Dr.Thelma Gutsche in her study of thehistory of motion pictures in South Africa notes that in 1938:  \nDe Voortrekkers(now twenty years old,silent,jerky and antiquated)wasshown extensively in the Transvaal and particularly along the Reef whereit played to thousands of people even more enthusiastic than its originalaudiences.At Germiston,crowds numbering 1100 waiting for the fifthperformance of the fi¹m caused serious disturbance by rushing the doorsof the Apollo Cinema,bursting in and knocking over the manager andattendants.The police had to be called and order was not restored untilqueues were formed.In subsequent years,the showing of the English TheyBuilt a Nation and the Afrikaans Die Bou van 'n Nasie(both talkies)aswell as the amateur production 'n Kasie hou Koers failed to break the holdof this remarkable national film which,forgotten throughout the year,punctually appeared on the 16th December and played to packed audiences.  \n(Gutsche,1972,p.316)  \nIn this paper some of the narrative conventions at work in this rendering ofhistory wili be discussed.Without going into the complexities associated withthe concepts of 'type'or'genre',and simply assuming that one recognizes a filmas belonging to a certain type(on such grounds as iconography,structure andtheme)De Voortrekkers will be looked at as an epic.  \n# Structure of the Epic\n\nThe epic is an expansive form.Every epic usua11y contains a nunber of differentnarrative styles,but there is almost always close attention to realistic detai¹.It often deals with history,and in doing so,it often explains a society's onsocial contract with God,as we11as the origin of the socia?structure,thevalidity of certain norms,and other such matters that are of central importancetoa community's faith in and concept of its identity(Frye,I957)  \nIn film,the epic is usually also long,spectacular and obviously expensive.Bigcasts,spectacular costumes,impressive and usually pyrotechnic decor and the likeare part of the iconography of the epic and_visible proof that a lot of money hasbeen spent on the production of the film!Ear¹y film epics were also permeatedwith the conventions of popular melodrama and with evidence of a crude faith invisual realism.  \ne icortrekers contains nost of these elenents.It has a cast of thousands;n merous Crowd scenes;burning ox-wagons;realistic costumes and settings etc.:aiso contains various narrative styles,while historical documents such asthe treaty between Retief and Dingaan are an integral part of the film's st","cbCaig2T3gv78dhA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaig2T3gv78dhA","pdf",563673,1,9,"English","en",105,"# Structure of the Epic\n## Epic conventions in film\n## Villains and historical framing","[{\"question\":\"Why is De Voortrekkers discussed as an epic film?\",\"answer\":\"The text argues that the film follows epic structure and conventions: expansive form, attention to realistic detail, historical framing, and a persecuted group supported by God that gains victory with significant historical meaning.\"},{\"question\":\"What recurring event is De Voortrekkers associated with after its initial release?\",\"answer\":\"It becomes a yearly feature at the Day of the Covenant celebrations for at least three decades, drawing large audiences and notable public responses.\"},{\"question\":\"Which historical element is described as integral to the film’s structure?\",\"answer\":\"The treaty between Retief and Dingaan, along with the Covenant text, is presented as a key documentary component used to position God and justice on the side of the Trekkers.\"}]","De Voortrekkers - Some Stereotypes and Narrative Conventions | 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is De Voortrekkers discussed as an epic film?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"The text argues that the film follows epic structure and conventions: expansive form, attention to realistic detail, historical framing, and a persecuted group supported by God that gains victory with significant historical meaning.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What recurring event is De Voortrekkers associated with after its initial release?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"It becomes a yearly feature at the Day of the Covenant celebrations for at least three decades, drawing large audiences and notable public responses.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"Which historical element is described as integral to the film’s structure?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The treaty between Retief and Dingaan, along with the Covenant text, is presented as a key documentary component used to position God and justice on the side of the 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