Skin questions

SKIN is one of the most moving stories to emerge from : Sandra Laing is a black child born in the 1950s to white , unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her up as their ‘white’ little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out of white society. The film follows Sandra’s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world.

Please answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper and in complete sentences.

1) How do the students at Sandra’s school treat her because of her skin color? Give specific examples.

2) Sandra’s father says to his wife about Sandra, “I’m going to get her reclassified as white.” Sannie, Sandra’s mom, responds, “How will that change the color of her skin?” What does this imply about skin color and South Africa’s system of racial classification?

3) When Sandra is shopping for dresses with her mom, why does she have to look at the dresses outside the store through the window while her mom is inside?

4) What are two ways in the film that Sandra or her parents try to make her appear more white? Explain why this is done.

5) Why do Sandra’s parents want her to be with a white boy so much and not Petrus?

6) Sandra’s mother says to her, “You can’t help what you are born with but you can help what you become.” What does she mean by this?

7) Why does her father burn all pictures of Sandra and her clothes?

8) Why does Sandra want to be reclassified as “Coloured” after her parents had fought for her to be classified as “white”?

9) What is the difference between where Sandra’s parents live and where Petrus lives?

10) Why is the township where Petrus and Sandra live destroyed by bulldozers and the police?

11) Explain the following political cartoon, which depicts South African prime minister B.J. Vorster, who led the country in the 1960s and 1970s, and how he ruled the country during apartheid. How does this cartoon connect to Sandra Laing’s story?