The Bang-bang Club: The Making of the New South Africa |
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Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva
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Pages: 336 (Paperback)
ISBN: 009928149X
Pub: Arrow Books Ltd
Pub date: 2001-09-06
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 40342
Editorial Review:
Ask any foreign editor on a national paper what part of the job gives them the most grief, and you'll almost certainly be told, "the foreign correspondents". Almost without exception, the reporters who bring back the best stories from war zones are neurotic, dysfunctional, paranoid and almost impossible to deal with. And if The Bang-Bang Club is anything to go by, you can include war photographers in the same category. The Bang-Bang Club was the name given to four South African photo-journalists, Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva, Ken Oosterbroek and Kevin Carter, who made a name for themselves going into the townships to capture first-hand the violence that erupted in South Africa between ANC supporters and the predominantly Zulu Inkhata party after the release of Nelson Mandela and prior to the first democratic elections. As a guide to the different factions and as a record of brutality, the book cannot be faulted. The British media predictably only ever reported the more sensational atrocities, and The Bang-Bang Club is a potent reminder of the ever-present violence and hatred that have dominated South African life since the early 1990s. Where the authors are on shakier ground is in the analysis of their own condition. Marinovich writes of the "addiction to adrenaline" in his pursuit of the story, and we do get to hear the downside of the booze, drugs and failed relationships that were a by-product of this addiction. But though Marinovich admits to questioning his motivation in getting up close and personal to the violence, he rather lets himself and the others off the hook with the notion that everything is justified by the importance of the story. This is as maybe, but another interesting line of enquiry might have been to ask whether the photographers' sublimated their own violent urges through their work. In other words, they let the death squads act out their feelings, while still retaining a moral high ground. The Bang-Bang Club exacted a high price of membership; Oosterbroek was killed by a stray bullet, Carter committed suicide and Marinovich was badly wounded and it's certainly not a club I would have been keen to join myself. But whatever you might think of the authors' psychiatric condition, you have to give them credit for exposing the stories that other journalists refused to touch. As The Bang-Bang Club might have said, "It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it." --John Crace
Reader Reviews:
Excellent read but it won't make you happy (0/0 people found this helpful)
As with the other reviews I did not feel comfortable buying this book (from a charity shop) due to the photographic content and the voyeuristic aspects. None the less I bought it and within a few pages was hooked on the story of the photojournalists and the extreme situations which they find themselves during their 'normal' day job.
This book gives us a glimse of what they go through, the harrowing events that they witness and the sometimes impossible question - photograph the event or try to prevent it.
A few simple words on this book... (0/0 people found this helpful)
Simply, the best book that I have ever read.. I am so jealous of people who have yet to read this and who will experience it for the first time.
Fantastic Book (0/0 people found this helpful)
Didn't know quite how I felt after reading this as so much happened in this tale of 4 photographers, 2 of whom died. Kevin Carter's name is well known, but they all have tales to tell in the roller-coaster that was South Africa towards the end of apartheid. I learned from this; not only of SA's political history ( a lot of which I hadn't really understood ) but also about humanity, Carter's dilemna and subsequent soul searching over the 'vulture shot', for instance. A fantastic book.
Superb Read (3/5 people found this helpful)
This is a story that really touches the soul. How the photo journalists of South Africa covered the defining moment when the White Supremecy Rule was finally defeated. A touching story about there lifes and there conflicts within themselves. If you want to try and understand what happened in South Africa before democracy and want to read it from the horses mouth then pick this book up, i promise you wont put it down.
The Bang-Bang Club about people not war (6/6 people found this helpful)
I found 'The Bang-Bang Club' a very powerful and moving book. It gives a personal and honest view of a difficult period in all the authors’ life with the backdrop of a chaotic and disturbing period in world history. The book is jointly written by two photographers but follows the life’s of four photographers mainly constricting on there joint time in South Africa. I started the book thinking that they were heroes, the pictures that they took were horrifying and they rest they life’s to let the world see what was happening. The book adds depth to this view, it turns the heroes into real people with there own problems. It show how they coupled with death on a daily basis, they thought they were invincible. This changes when a stray bullet shoots one of the group. They then have to try and deal with there own problems, in there own way, some manage some do not. The fact that the amazing photos were not taken by ‘heroes’ but real people makes their photos more powerful not less. I found the book fascinating not only for adding an other view to the conflict in South Africa but also giving me insight into what these amazing people go though. A must read for anyone who wants to try and under people better (that I hope is everyone!)
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Art, Architecture & Photography -> Photography -> Subjects & Types -> Photojournalism
Books -> Subjects -> Art, Architecture & Photography -> Photography -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Art, Architecture & Photography -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Art, Architecture & Photography -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Historical -> Countries & Regions -> Africa
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Political -> Countries & Regions -> Africa
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Political -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Countries & Regions -> Africa -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Society, Politics & Philosophy -> Government & Politics -> Civil Liberties & Political Activism -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Society, Politics & Philosophy -> Government & Politics -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Font Size (format_browse-bin) -> Regular Size