This essay-in-progress has two distinct sections, which I try to bring together in the conclusion with a discussion of betrayal and narrative form. The first section is about the history and meaning of the word “revolution” in South Africa; the second is about a film that bears the marketing tagline: “FREEDOM IS A REVOLUTION”: Otelo Burning, directed by Sara Blecher.

It is available for viewing on Amazon Prime and is quite gripping—beautifully filmed and acted. If you can watch it, great; if that is asking too much, take a look at the superb trailer: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gek4b3x0TTQ).

The film, which came out in 2011, is about young black surfers during the last turbulent years of apartheid, just before Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and explores various ideas of freedom and its co-optation.