South African film music Representation of racial, cultural and national identities, 1931-1969 Christopher Jeffery Town Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements forCape the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICof (COMPOSITION) in the South African College of Music UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN October 2017 University Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Morné Bezuidenhout Assoc. Prof. Adam Haupt The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Plagiarism Declaration “This thesis/dissertation has been submitted to the Turnitin module (or equivalent similarity and originality checking software) and I confirm that my supervisor has seen my report and any concerns revealed by such have been resolved with my supervisor.” Name: Christopher Jeffery Student number: JFFCHR002 Signature: Signature Removed Date: 28 February 2017 i Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Background and rationale ............................................................................................... 1 The problem of literature on South African film music ................................................. 7 Research question and objectives ................................................................................. 10 Research question ..................................................................................................... 10 Research objectives ................................................................................................... 10 Research design ............................................................................................................ 11 Sample design ........................................................................................................... 11 Research methodology .................................................................................................. 11 Sampling methods ..................................................................................................... 12 Analysis of primary source material ......................................................................... 13 Interpretation of primary source material ................................................................. 14 Outline of chapters ........................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 1 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework ........................................ 17 South African film and music studies ........................................................................... 18 Film music ................................................................................................................ 18 Film ........................................................................................................................... 25 Music......................................................................................................................... 32 Theoretical relevance of film and music studies....................................................... 34 ii National film music studies .......................................................................................... 34 Britain ....................................................................................................................... 37 Continental Europe ................................................................................................... 41 Australia .................................................................................................................... 43 Bollywood ................................................................................................................. 44 The Soviet Union ...................................................................................................... 47 Theoretical relevance of national film music studies ............................................... 47 Mainstream film music studies ..................................................................................... 48 Theory of film music ................................................................................................ 51 Analysis of film music .............................................................................................. 60 History of film music ................................................................................................ 66 Theoretical relevance of mainstream film music studies .......................................... 67 Chapter 2 From Silents to Sound Film ......................................................................... 68 The silent era ................................................................................................................. 69 The beginning of sound: mainstream contexts ............................................................. 72 South African early sound films ................................................................................... 73 Sarie Marais (1931) ................................................................................................... 74 Moedertjie (1931) ..................................................................................................... 74 Building a Nation (1938) .......................................................................................... 77 Concluding remarks ...................................................................................................... 81 Chapter 3 Rural African Music in South African Film ............................................... 83 The rural environment ................................................................................................... 84 The 1930s to 1940s ....................................................................................................... 86 Rhodes of Africa (1936) ........................................................................................... 86 iii King Solomon’s Mines (1937).................................................................................. 89 Building a Nation (1938) .......................................................................................... 95 Simon Beyers (1947) .............................................................................................. 102 Trends in the use of African music in the 1930s and 1940s ....................................... 105 The 1950s to 1960s ..................................................................................................... 106 Dingaka (1964) ....................................................................................................... 107 The Naked Prey (1966) ........................................................................................... 113 The Jackals (1967) .................................................................................................. 116 Trends in the use of African music in the 1950s and 1960s ....................................... 119 Chapter 4 Urban African Music in South African Film ............................................ 121 The urban environment ............................................................................................... 121 African Jim (1949) .................................................................................................. 123 Come Back, Africa (1959) ...................................................................................... 126 Dilemma (1962) ...................................................................................................... 138 Concluding remarks .................................................................................................... 146 Chapter 5 Afrikaner Nationalism and Film Music .................................................... 148 Afrikaner nationalist vs African-oriented films .......................................................... 149 Nationalist strategies in Afrikaans cinema ................................................................. 152 Manifesto nationalism: pioneers ................................................................................. 155 Simon Beyers (1947) .............................................................................................. 155 Mythologized nationalism: films of the South African Wars ..................................... 158 Myth creation and heroism ..................................................................................... 160 National anthems and icons .................................................................................... 166 Pathos and kitsch..................................................................................................... 170 iv Bourgeois nationalism: social intrigue........................................................................ 172 Geboortegrond (1946) ............................................................................................