Many white South Africans still regard their culture as being inextricably bound up with apartheid. Following the abolition of apartheid in 1990, a lot of young South Africans chose to speak English instead of the traditional Afrikaans. An exception to this trend is a punk band, formed in 2003 under the Afrikaans name Fokofpolisiekar. Fuck Off Police Car follows the five members of this band over a four-year period, during which they become the best-known punk group in South Africa. Torrents of beer, fights, drunken recording sessions, and rusty Volkswagen vans contributed to the band’s successful procession across the biggest stages in South Africa. For many young people, the success of Fokofpolisiekar — a name designed to provoke their conservative compatriots — means that the Afrikaans language is no longer associated just with the horrific history of apartheid. Suddenly, it became possible to be Afrikaans-speaking and left-wing. Nonetheless, controversy has continued to dog the band. In 2006, for example, a national scandal ensued when the band’s bass player signed an autograph with the words “Fuck God.” The band eventually asked for forgiveness, “because that’s what Jesus would have done.” —IDFA
