Hacker Cinema
The Bang Bang Club
2011 · Film · 106 min
Directed by Steven Silver
In the early to mid '90s, when the South African system of apartheid was in its death throes, four photographers - Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and João Silva - bonded by their friendship and a sense of purpose, worked together to chronicle the violence and upheaval leading up to the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as president. Their work is risky and dangerous, potentially fatally so, as they thrust themselves into the middle of chaotic clashes between forces backed by the government (including Inkatha Zulu warriors) and those in support of Mandela's African National Congress.
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3 comments on Hacker News
I highly recommend the movie Bang Bang Club as well as Greg Marinovich's book The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War [1]
[1]: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bang-Bang-Club-Snapshots-Hidden-War/dp/009928149X
There is an inherent and inescapable ethical tension in photojournalism. On the one hand, these images are part of a market- they are bought to sell advertising, clicks, newspapers. That’s grubby, dark shit. On the other hand, they’re vital to public understanding and action. That’s as noble as any calling. But that tension attracts quite strange and often unbalanced people to the role. I read the Bang Bang Club years ago (read the book, don’t watch the film). And Carter did sound a bit unbalanced. And the job - and tension I describe above - probably made it worse.
There is a really great documentary about Kevin Carter and the bang bang club called "when under fire, shoot back" [0]
It's much better than the fictionalized version that TFA references. Although it doesn't seem to be widely available so it might be a bit of a chore to hunt down.
[0] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3478564/