Textualization and re-textualization: the construction of identity in South Africa
Date
2015-03-11
Authors
Fainman, Ronit
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Abstract
Thin research explores the construction of identity m Mark
Behr's The Smell Of APP-lsa and Ivan Vladislav, c's BLUXLUW
neranns. Both texts are written by white males who occupy
positions of power within society, yet their depictions of
identity differ while sharing concerns. The texts emerge from a
context of Apartheid Ideology which attempted to determine
identity in its creation of a social structure based on
officially regulated foundational identities. Thus a theoretical
framework is delineated in which to situate the operation of
identity within ideological and historical formations. The Small
of Annies is a subtle depiction of the construction and
perpetuation of Apartheid identities despite cognisance of the
violence which underlies its formation, illustrating the
mechanisms which ensure that dissent is Incorporated into the
dominant paradigm. M1 Fining Persona portrays identity as being as
fragmented and dislocated as the social structure in which it is
formed, illustrating the dissolving authority of the Apartheid
system and constituting an alternative to official prescriptions
of reality.