# Help me identify this mildly traumatizing Apartheid movie or TV scene I saw in my childhood **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [December 6, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451 "2025-12-06T15:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/1 "2025-12-06T15:00:23Z")
I think this would have been the 80s, but it could have been the early 90s. I recall my mother was watching a movie or TV show at home, and it depicted a massacre inside a school – my rough memory was an armed Black man with a fully automatic weapon massacred a schoolroom filled with White children, and was so angry he shot them even after they were dead, making them “dance”. It’s possible my memory is off and the races were reversed. I recall asking my mother what the movie was about and she said something like the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa (or in kiddified language). The scene was so brutal it stuck with me. I don’t recall much blood, but the dead children “dancing” from the bullets has stuck in my head since then. What movie or TV show was this? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/2 "2025-12-06T15:28:09Z")
“Sarafina!\*, maybe? I think there was a scene of cops shooting up a school. > **[Sarafina! (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarafina!_(film)?wprov=sfti1)** > > Sarafina! is a 1992 musical drama film based on Mbongeni Ngema's 1987 musical of the same name. The film was directed by Darrell Roodt and written by Ngema Mbongeni and William Nicholson, and stars Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, John Kani, Ngema, and Whoopi Goldberg; Khumalo reprises her role from the stage performance. > An international co-production of South Africa, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, the film premiered on 11 May 1992, at the Cannes Film Festival. > The story f... ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/3 "2025-12-06T15:33:53Z")
I don’t think this is it - I distinctly remember the shooting was indoors, inside what appeared to be a crowded classroom. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/4 "2025-12-06T16:13:28Z")
_Cry Freedom_ was made at that time. Denzel Washington is in it. About the Soweto riots. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/5 "2025-12-06T16:27:02Z")
I don’t think that’s it either. I looked at the scenes on YouTube and they appear to be outside, without the bullet “dancing”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/6 "2025-12-06T20:10:23Z")
Any ideas, @MrDibble or @scudsucker? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/7 "2025-12-06T20:11:24Z")
Nope, doesn’t ring any bells. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/8 "2025-12-06T20:20:01Z")
Not me, either. I doubt @MrDibble - and certainly not me, watch apartheid porn. Documentaries, yes, but that period should be limited to those. Almost entirely for educational purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/9 "2025-12-06T20:21:56Z")
Omg. There’s apartheid porn? Good lord. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/10 "2025-12-06T20:26:44Z")
It is not porn, in the sense of “hot girl-on-girl action”, more in the sense that idiots like to jerk off to… say… arresting San Salvadorians and deporting them. The most depressing part of society, with whom we are unfortunately have to live. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/11 "2025-12-06T20:31:55Z")
Ahh You freaked me out for a minute. I understand now. You guys don’t watch the entertainment(?) Movies on apartheid. But the docs are ok. Gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/12 "2025-12-06T20:42:01Z")
I mean, rule 34 (there is porn of everything) But I, despite diving into the depravity of the early 2000s …and actively sharing some of the more horrific ones. I know my porn. I don’t actually use porn, despite being a single 53 year old, because… it is so boring. My interest in porn was to find the weirdest weird stuff on the internet to scare my friends. And I found someting not even [rotten.com](http://rotten.com) would publish, but just weird in a relatively sane way. Alas, I will not be sharing it here because I’ll be banned SO fast my IP address will not know about it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/13 "2025-12-06T20:44:04Z")
I don’t know if this helps, but I have a vague memory that it appeared almost like it was a filmed stage-play. Not sure if that means low budget, or actually filming a stageplay being performed. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/14 "2025-12-07T11:37:39Z")
I can’t think of any apartheid-set stage dramas that feature Black people slaughtering White schoolkids. That definitely wasn’t the tone of our [anti-apartheid theatre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athol_Fugard). ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/15 "2025-12-07T11:41:15Z")
Maybe I have the races reversed? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/16 "2025-12-07T12:13:15Z")
Probably doesn’t help much, but I think the shooter was wearing some sort of uniform, and the victims were adolescents. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/17 "2025-12-07T13:40:14Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > That definitely wasn’t the tone of our [anti-apartheid theatre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athol_Fugard) I’ve met the man via my equally anti-apartheid actor uncle, although when I did I was too young to really appreciate him. My uncle was Professor of Drama at Rhodes for about 20 years, and still performs. I’ve been a supporter of his eponymic theater venue for years. (To the extent, I turned up there twice in full drag for the Rocky Horror Show… first night.. oops, wrong booking date. Second night… six inch heels really started to hurt) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/18 "2025-12-07T17:58:12Z")
You’re related to the Bucklands? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/19 "2025-12-08T09:08:59Z")
Andrew is my uncle, my father’s youngest brother. I did not get much of the acting skill… but I clearly have that gene because my son is very, very good\* in the same genre as Andrew (and indeed, his own son) has largely embraced. I am proud that both - my uncle and my cousin - have appeared in Cirque de Soliel, which is pretty much the top of phyical comedy. (☆ Albeit, my son is only 8 years old… but he is genuinely good at physical theatre. ) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451/20 "2025-12-08T09:53:55Z")
In the sense like House Hunters is “real estate porn.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-mildly-traumatizing-apartheid-movie-or-tv-scene-i-saw-in-my-childhood/1025451.md?page=2)