
The Story of Die Antwoord is a 2024 documentary that narrates the controversial South African band, and it’s available for watch on Veeps. It is the portrayal of the personalities of Yolandi Visser and Ninja and their bond and the essence of the term ‘together’. The most identifiable conventions of documentaries about music performers can be as well found in this film. There are two choppy intervals attempts at constructing their public image and the racism, homophobia, and sexual harassment issues. There is an extreme sorrow and conviction that can be found within Zef’s The Story of Die Antwoord, and the audience is left speechless, in trying to find their side of the story.
Ninja used to be a junkie, and Yolandi was a stripper. They both met outside a club back in Cape Town in 2001, which changed their lives completely, as they managed to make it around them. And like many seasoned with music, she often boasts that this was where they first had the chance to make music together. In their eyes, this was going to be something revolutionary, and even groundbreaking if they were able to make such good content right off the bat. The couple ended up bringing life into the world together and named the beautiful child Six Teen. They managed to settle down in an apartment in Cape Town, which was two minutes away from the central business district. In one corner you can hear a normal family bursting with love and laughter alongside rescue footage and in the other corner, Ninja promises to always provide for the family. And like every Welsh musician trying to make it out in the world, it was a struggle for him.
As the Chopovski myth would have it, Die Antwoord does not come from the stereotypical low-income, white families that members like Ninja or Yolandi suggest. The reason why Ninja and Yolandi decided to become Zef was due to pure chance. As they were traveling around Cape Town, a bakkie suddenly came into their line of sight. In the car that was looking back at them, a man was seated. Yolandi named him Zef. Ninja was taken aback by the comment but noted that Yolandi was attracted to him. He changes her style and so does she. So due to these over-the-top character traits, they then proceeded to create over-the-top music. They were set to release their single ‘Enter the Ninja’ and SOS, which was the applicable name of their band for the first time. Most biopics have a tendency to follow a pattern and this one is no different. They still bottom and top quite self convincingly, and claim that their success was not in fact intentional. Yes, it is true that we have concentrated our resources time, and funds into making this. There’s no denying that they did put in a lot of effort.
Such changes can be interpreted as a path of development over certain periods within and across global networking. But one must keep in mind that it was 2010 and virality was a more pressing concern Back then. Even so, with all the reproach they managed to do what a number of singers, particularly those from South Africa, did not manage to achieve.
They all too easily help with the project and show off the celebrities associated with them. Jack Black’s involvement is uncomfortable, huh? Of course, he describes that when he first watched Enter the Ninja his “jaw fell open”. Later in the documentary, Sharlto Copley, who played the main role in District 9, speaks.
The South African Zef group and its society creating a sketchy name, Die Antwoord, has been criticized by several critics, but this, however, has only been quite recent with the growing fanbase of their narrative. The first controversy arises from the televisions in the room showing both younger women naked and a slideshow of their engagement thanks to their songs and music video interviews. Introducing the third member DJ Hi-Tek this is also the introduction of their third member DJ Hi-Tek. Yo, so check it out! I saw a movie where they interviewed the famous DJ Hi-Tek, and they immediately jumped into the controversy surrounding them. They ask the guy, “But weren’t you guys accused of being gay some time back? And the rumor is why you guys refuted it”.
‘South African musicians do have commendable traits to mention them eg the singer Moonchild.’ This singer toured with the band in 2018 and supported them. As they give their account, the anger towards them by South Africans is sparked by the violence transpiring within South Africa. As the scene progresses, we meet this enraged Afrikan man disapproving of their music branding it as Satanic. Not all international viewers are familiar with the fact that he is an Afrikaan actor. Nowhere, however, is this expressed in the film on the contrary, it seeks to introduce him as if he were an ordinary person whose viewpoints can be generalized to that of a larger population in that country.
The entire commencement of this video is a disorganized mess and borderline confusing. Sausages on Hey provided the fusion of bass guitars and famous songs such as Hey Will Be Patriotically Enough for a Scream and Naked People Dogs. Between 2011 and about 2015, the group was riding high on the success of singles including “I Fink U Freeky” and “Baby’s on Fire” which are both popular among fans. Their daughter, who is just over sixteen, explains how much she loved being involved in their videos. It is my belief that there is no such possibility, this statement was made member’s desires due to the direction of filming.
Interestingly enough, in the context of this timeline, considerable amounts of the drama and aftermaths from South Africa had little to do with the band’s relationships. Die Antwoord face paint uproar and terrible content sent South Africa into a stir which rubs them into vulnerability for criticism, even being South African Poet renowned for his work, Rustum Kozain coined an image of them in which they are bluntly being black-faced. The irony of this statement lies well outside the critical use the poetry aligns itself. If anything the theme of Die Antwoord revolved around racism and the dark side of South political vibe, it’s certainly not a coincidence that they put blackface paint on.
Why South Africans could not care less for the Drex’s hoard of filthy lies would certainly stem from the damage associated with the group brought upon them. Their Polish Polish offers the Polish statement as if they knew that blacking out their baby to promote their kids’ music was uncool. Even more off-putting is the idea. The Documentary film ignored the fact that she was forced to wear blackface when shooting ‘I Fink U Freeky.’ This all but calls into questing whether this particular member who is dominating the band was Selly Makondoro or Marko. She’s just a little girl that had to perform. Most importantly, the truth that is now emerging in Zef’s The Story of Die Antwoord differs a lot from what was told previously, everything Zef has done that is a picked and cherished to this day lie I would be frank, the film adopts a narrative that is not desired by the band.
In this sense of confrontation, it is perhaps the most lucid, in how they react to the sexual abuse charges leveled against them by their adopted child Tokkie. This is something that they do not at all concede, that he is abusing them by alleging so. She said, “In the hood” was but one of the many occasions when they went out to socialize with their friends, and that was the first time they were introduced to Tokkie. They say they helped his mom by sponsoring his school fees and buying some clothes for him. These days they have started taking him on tours. Yolandi worried that may be they have spoilt him too much for ‘he has always been a little more than a little bit mischievous.
She elaborates that these aspects were outside their control, and hence the funds were cut as soon as they turned 18. Shortly after, he turned to YouTube and started asking every one of his followers if we abandoned him in poverty. Afterward, she says that this was never part of their plans in the first place.
Which video? One of the most eye-catching videos in Tokkie’s biography is the one he made with the title Wide Awake Podcast. He made claims like drug addiction, sexual grooming, and so on. So, it was more than just being abandoned and ignored, why does Yolandi think this is the case? If we assume she is thinking about one of her other YouTube videos, which video are we looking at?
As all this plays out, the crucial part is how much, and in what manner, they portray their efforts of resolving those allegations in the context of a storyline where there is ambiguity with respect to the fidelity of the characters of Yolandi and Ninja. The two had been drifting apart for some time now. They are the de facto blood of the band and this blood is under pressure to ko together and pull out the stunning performance that all musical movies conclude with. And after the accusations are put down and after them leave the building, yes, they do this.
Yolandi and Ninja say that she has turned sixteen now and is suicidal over the breakup of her parents. Yes, they do this for her. This is a small family moment that I don’t want to be so cynical about.
Reunited as family, and what’s next for the bad, this and so many more how to confront the man who stands with the camera. On the other hand, however, Ninja is more optimistic, arguing that he wants them to record music again and stating that he and Yorandi are about to get married. “Age of Illusion”, the last credits of the music rolls put the blame on them.
Zef: The story of Die Antwoord is such an emotional rollercoaster for the fans, but in my opinion, it’s not anger or disappointment. I for one do not care about the band since I listened to their music for the first time years back while in a cuisine. This band is above all expectations and the way they mix genres and repurpose cliches I thought was impossible, but in reality, it isn’t. The collage they put together all feels and looks so right. Just by pure disgust and confusion, they somehow manage to appeal to their audience, I should applaud them for that.
If they wish to be ‘out there’ as real diehards would say, they can use the film as a case study to prove that the band is perfect. This however is blatant disrespect as the evidence of their bad actions is almost everywhere in the story.
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