Di ta go; ons het dit gedoen; we did it: Khoekhoe ethnicity, sexuality and temporalities in Proteus

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Periodical article

Title:	Di ta go; ons het dit gedoen; we did it: Khoekhoe ethnicity, sexuality and temporalities in Proteus
Author:	Stobie, Cheryl
Year:	2016
Periodical:	Critical Arts: A Journal of Media Studies (ISSN 1992-6049)
Volume:	30
Issue:	6
Pages:	915-930
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	homosexuality Khoikhoi films
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/02560046.2016.1262885
Abstract:	The film Proteus (2003), directed by John Greyson and Jack Lewis, fictionalises the true story of the relationship between two prisoners - a white Dutchman and a Khoekhoe man - who were executed for sodomy on Robben Island in 1735. The film employs anachronistic features to reveal and critique cross-historical instances of cataloguing, language usage, homophobia and racism within the South African context. The textual analysis in this article uses the notion of bisexual temporalities, as articulated by Chung-Hao Ku. The argument made here is that the directors portray and celebrate interracial same-sex sexual behaviour and intimacy, but employ a relatively Eurocentric lens that endorses gay identity formation and inadvertently confirms prejudices about homosexuality being alien to African people (contrary to anthropological evidence). However, the film, true to its allegorical symbolism, allows for varied interpretations, and this article explores the significance of the portrayal of the Khoekhoe character's sexuality as an allusive example of indigenous queerness. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]