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Rachidi Molapo on African Posters: a Catalogue of The Giorgio Miescher, Dag Henrichsen. African Posters: A Catalogue of the Poster Collection in the Basler Afrika Bibliographien. Basel: Basler Afrika Bibliographien, 2004. 301 pp. No price listed, cloth, ISBN 978-3-905141-82-5. Reviewed by Rachidi Molapo Published on H-SAfrica (March, 2005) History writing and its representation are as mobilizing agents to promote collective memo‐ aided by the use of evidence or sources. In con‐ ry against oppression. Among the images repro‐ temporary society, there is ample evidence that duced in the book are some that depict events that historians can use them in their interpretation of received wide national and international cover‐ society; however, one source that historians (and age at the time, for example, the killing of about politicians) have not utilized extensively is the 1,000 unarmed Namibians by the South African "poster." Giorgio Miescher and Dag Henrichsen forces at the Kassinga massacre in 1978 (pp. define a poster as an "established fxture of 26-27); the Soweto uprising of 1976; and, the modernity and a part of everyday life" or as a death of Hector Peterson, one of the frst victims, medium of communication to sell "ideologies and being carried by Mbuyiswa Makhubo (pp. 64, 66, products" (p. 8). In other words, the poster is a 77). Some of the posters also depict the ideological feature of contemporary society used to promote conflicts that characterized oppressive regimes a political or an industrial product. Posters fall opposing the liberation movements. The use of within the category of visual history but are dif‐ "Black Danger" or "Rooi Gevaar" ("Red Danger") ferentiated from other visual images such as flm, as an election strategy to win the "hearts and sculpture, photography, painting, and so on. minds" of the white electorate was very clear. Posters are, therefore, part of the historical repre‐ SWAPO of Namibia was depicted as a "hyena" or a sentation of important historical events. "snake" (p. 91). The African Poster is a product of the Basler The politics in South Africa and Namibia Archival Collection, which initially focused on shaped the way in which this book is organized. South West Africa (Namibia), and then on South‐ The banning of the liberation movements in the ern Africa more broadly defined and some other 1960s saw some leaders going into exile to estab‐ parts of Africa. The book is divided into the fol‐ lish offices to rally support against apartheid lowing chapters: introduction, solidarity move‐ domination in both countries. These offices em‐ ments and exile, solidarity and anti-apartheid, ployed posters in their work. The chapters on soli‐ elections, nation-building, awareness and health, darity/exile and anti-apartheid are a case in point. economy, knowledge, information, belief, and By the late 1980s, the political situation in both leisure and pleasure. countries and in the Soviet Union was changing, The posters in this book vary in terms of the creating the possibility for exiles to return and themes being covered. For example, posters acted contribute to free elections and nation-building H-Net Reviews themes. In the new states, the challenges of re‐ made more readable by theoretical or introducto‐ building the economy and the health system were ry comments on what each particular chapter is acute. Health and hygiene were promoted to about. The good quality of color reproductions make people aware of killer diseases such as TB and the paper have improved the appeal of visual and the AIDS pandemic, and again posters were images. It is not, of course, the last word on the one medium used. Through these campaigns, the subject, as posters from various other African state became responsible for the creation of a countries, such as Nigeria and Tanzania, as well "modern" lifestyle and "responsible" citizens (p. as from other countries where posters on the re‐ 163). Other initiatives, such as the saving of water gion were produced, such as the United States, resources, were also undertaken. Through the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Cuba, China, posters on these subjects, one is able to see the Australia, and Japan, are not included in this col‐ different themes that were used as part of the na‐ lection. tion-building project. The chapter on knowledge, information, and belief deals with the "politics of knowledge." Insti‐ tutions of higher learning and other information centers were places for the production and trans‐ fer of knowledge. Overseas scholars in ex-colonial capitals and elsewhere have dominated the inter‐ pretation of Africa's past; however, this situation is changing, as African scholars have found plat‐ forms to produce knowledge. The last part of the book deals with leisure and pleasure. The codes are varied, and include soccer, boxing, music, wrestling, karate, etc. Such leisure activities were highly contested under apartheid. In the mining sector, the compound system and sporting activities were meant to con‐ trol the "leisure" of the migrant workers. As the authors argue, in "African townships, leisure ac‐ tivities played key roles in constructing sociability among the many strangers and migrants arriving and settling in them" (p. 263). With industrializa‐ tion and urbanization, many Africans saw sport as a medium through which they could improve their social and economic circumstances. The posters from Pace, a Johannesburg-based maga‐ zine, are a reflection of the achievements of these sports heroes, who have become role models in a number of social circles in South Africa. African Posters is a valuable collection for understanding ideologies in contemporary South‐ ern African societies. The chapters have been 2 H-Net Reviews If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at https://networks.h-net.org/h-safrica Citation: Rachidi Molapo. Review of Miescher, Giorgio; Henrichsen, Dag. African Posters: A Catalogue of the Poster Collection in the Basler Afrika Bibliographien. H-SAfrica, H-Net Reviews. March, 2005. URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=10262 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3.
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