As the title suggests, the film talks about what has become Zapiro's trademark in portraying former president Zuma.
Shower head The film, which opens in select cinemas today, details Jonathan Zapiro Shapiro's journey from his beginnings as a liberation artist and apartheid-era political prisoner to his emergence as a champion of freedom of expression.
The documentary is directed by American director Craig Tanner, who first approached Zapier about the project several years ago.
“I can't remember when he first reached out to me, but we started in 2016. He lives in Sydney, Australia, so he came over. We had to do a lot of planning to make sure he would come and that I had enough time to do the interviews and research,” Zapiro said.
Shower head
As the title suggests, the film talks about what has become Zapiro's trademark in portraying former president Zuma.
“Even just the name Shower headI thought this was a really powerful contextual overview that people would respond to, to tell the story of this powerful politician and the cartoonist who stands up to him or tries to stand up to him.”
The first major interview took place in 2016.
It was also during this period that the director met with other documentary filmmakers.
These include: Weekly Email and Email and Guardian Anton Haber, media lawyer Dario Milo and former army commander and minister Ronnie Kasrils.
“He'll come back here in 2018 and do some more stuff and then the final [interview] The scene where I'm wearing a different shirt came later on as the story progressed.”
“So it was very difficult for him to actually complete it and still keep it up to date. It was a big ask of him.”
The film begins with a look at Zapiro's childhood, in which he and his sisters grew up in an activist family, with their mother spearheading the family's political activism.
Related article: Zapiro criticizes age restrictions for his films as “absurd” [Video]
Lack of personality
The focus on his life is hasty and inadequate, with only passing mention of his private life and no mention at all of the impact death threats from disgruntled politicians had on his wife and children.
However, this is due to his wife Karina Tulloch's maternal instinct to protect and raise children. Shower head.
“My wife was very concerned about safety issues because of all the attacks I've been under, not just my issues with Jacob Zuma,” the artist said.
“I'm a cartoonist who pushes the boundaries, so I drew cartoons that caused death threats and very scary situations. My wife was very worried about our safety, and so was I. She tried to stop me talking too much about them.”
“There was so much that Craig was trying to include in the film that ultimately, or perhaps fortunately, the story ended up very closely intertwined with events and the comics that were driven by those events.”
Zapiro and his wife are currently separated after 37 years of marriage.
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Authenticity
There is a refreshing scene in the film in which Unionist Zwelinzima Vavi admits she was wrong to defend Zuma.
Vavi says, talking about Zapiro’s most controversial cartoon. The Rape of the Goddess of Justice The painting shows Zuma, along with other politicians who support him, forcibly holding down Lady Justice and sexually assaulting her after Zuma pulls down his trousers.
“He was the man who appeared in the most powerful cartoon I'd ever done and then publicly, very publicly retracted and said he was wrong and harshly criticised Zuma for corruption, and I would say that became his public persona,” the cartoonist said.
But South Africa's best-known satirist recognised its value when Vavi, in a film based on Zapiro's work, spoke in a way that made Zapiro look good.
“It was a huge success that Craig interviewed him and articulated those things in the film. I think it was fantastic and it worked really well and it was incredibly powerful,” the New York School of Visual Arts graduate asserted.
Related article: Gender Equality Commission rates Zapiro's cartoon as offensive
Shower head mismatch
The presence of the aforementioned contributors to the film industry, namely respected members of the media and civil society; Shower head A mark of moral and social approval that money can't buy.
Original The Sunday Times Editor Mondli Makhanya recalls the surprise of a waiter who arrived to hand over a copy of the “Lady of Justice” cartoon that Zapiro had faxed to the restaurant because he wanted the editor to see it urgently.
But I felt the film contradicted its original co-writers and protagonists by not addressing one of Zapiro's darkest periods, 2016, when he portrayed Zuma as an organist and former Director of National Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams as a monkey dancing to Zuma's tunes.
The cartoon drew criticism for its offensive content, depicting Abrahams, a person of color, as an ape.
“I would like to forget about that picture. I strongly feel that there were elements of the cartoon that were misleading,” the cartoonist admitted.
“You know, the target of this attack was an entirely human being, Jacob Zuma. There were no generalisations whatsoever.”
By the time the Abraham cartoon was drawn, Shower head The documentary was progressing well, he says, and essentially its purpose was to detail events from about 2006 to 2012, but certain moments needed to be highlighted to give viewers the whole truth.
The contradiction is that Vavi retracted in front of the cameras, while Zapiro did not.
“The nature of the trial and the conflict was there long before that painting was made. In my opinion, it would be a distraction and a devaluing act,” he said.
“Personally, I was relieved that I didn't have to go into that detail the way that I'm doing in this interview. I felt like it obscured in some ways the main storyline, the early parts, the big events and developments. But I accept the criticism that it would have been better if that part had been there.”
Related article: Zapiro uses “Vaseline joke” on Gigaba in latest comic
A must see for South Africans
The film is a must-watch for South Africans, especially in a year when South Africa celebrates 30 years of democracy.
Shower head As I watched this look at Zuma's scandalous rise, reign and eventual ouster, I succumbed to what I might call “Zuma overload.”
The film is a refreshing portrayal of South Africa's democratic journey.
The film depicts the media's anxiety about its watchdog role in the country's euphoria after the first democratic elections in 1994, and Thabo Mbeki's incompetence in responding to the AIDS epidemic after President Nelson Mandela left office.
The film is good because of the variety and depth of its subject matter, but after watching it you will probably come away thinking that it would have been better as a three-part documentary about Zapiro the man, the activist and the cartoonist.
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