Academic literature on the topic 'Fokofpolisiekar'

Thesis (MA (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
The aim of this study is to examine the rise of Afrikaans rock music and the literary status of Afrikaans rock lyrics, with Fokofpolisiekar as example. An investigation is done into how the specific sociopolitical context within which Afrikaans rock music developed manifests in lyrics and musical style. The implications of Afrikaans rock with regards to the identity of Afrikaner youth in the new millennium are also explored. A case study of the Afrikaans punk rock group Fokofpolisiekar is done by way of demonstration of this interdisciplinary and contextual investigation. Not only the formation and impact of the group are examined, but a considerable section of the thesis is dedicated to the analysis and interpretation of this group’s lyrics, which are viewed and explored from a literary point of view. In this process certain questions regarding the position of lyrics in the Afrikaans literary system comes under scrutiny. The analysis and interpretation of the lyrics of Fokofpolisiekar are therefore aimed towards examining the literary status of this group’s lyrics. It will be proved that the sociopolitical context within which Fokofpolisiekar’s lyrics came to be formulated, impacted on the character and themes thereof. The thematic struggle with issues like liberation (redemption) and identity in the lyrics are shown to bear relation to the sociopolitical context of the Afrikaner youth after the Afrikaner’s loss of power in 1994 and the postmodern condition at the turn of the millennium. This postmodern condition is characterized by the continuing fragmentation of identity. The conclusion is made that Afrikaans popular music sets up a space within which new ideas with regards to ‘truths’ of identity can be formulated. In other words, the punk rock music of Fokofpolisiekar offers an opportunity for the re-articulation of Afrikaner identity. By incorporating the polysistem theory (and other relevant theories) in investigating the creation and reception of Fokofpolisiekar’s lyrics, it is shown that the Afrikaans literary system holds a place for Afrikaans lyrics. Although similar, lyrics should not be regarded as synonymous to poetry. Seeing that the creation and reception thereof differs from that of other literary forms, I argue that lyrics are lyrics and should be regarded as such in order for it to come to its full right in literary study.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies. Johannesburg, September 2014
The broad aim of this project is to examine the attitudes and opinions of the younger generation of Afrikaners born in or after 1994 at the birth of democracy in South Africa, also referred to as the ‘born-free’ generation, through the medium of long-form journalism. The project consists of two parts. The first is a theoretical and scholarly exploration of Afrikaner identity, including its history and how it is positioned in South Africa today. This is to highlight the baggage that the younger generation could be inheriting from the older generations, which have been described as suffering from a profound identity crisis since the advent of democracy in 1994. The research also examines some of the debates around Afrikaner identity that has played out in the media, as well as some of the writing about it. This includes debates around the Afrikaans language, as the language has been closely associated with Afrikaner identity from the outset. The second part of the project is a long-form article based on interviews with young Afrikaners. They were asked questions to probe how they see themselves in relation to the concept of an Afrikaner identity and how they see their place and future in South Africa. The article also contains elements of my own experiences as an Afrikaner and the issues around identity pertaining to that. While most of the research is not repeated in the long-form article, the article was informed by the theoretical and scholarly piece.

Text in Afrikaans
Die doel van hierdie studie is om op die liedtekste van die kunstenaars, Bok van Blerk, Fokofpolisiekar, The Buckfever Underground (en Toast Coetzer) en Karen Zoid te fokus en om te bepaal wat hulle funksie in die eietydse Afrikaanse kultuurlandskap is, en wat hulle rol in die definiëring van kulturele identiteit is. In hierdie studie sal daar ook klem gelê word op die sosiopolitieke faktore wat tot die opbloei van die Afrikaanse musiekbedryf gelei het. Deur die analise van dié kunstenaars se lirieke, sal ek vasstel of hulle wel betekenisvolle werk van literêre gehalte lewer. Ek het spesifiek hierdie musikante gekies omdat hulle jong eietydse musikante is.
The purpose of this study is to focus on the song texts of artists, Karen Zoid, Fokofpolisiekar, The Buckfever Underground (and Toast Coetzer) and Bok van Blerk and to determine their function in today’s cultural reality, and whether these musicians and their music have an influence on today’s youth and their search for a Cultural Identity. This study will also focus on the socio-political factors that led to the rise of the Afrikaans Music Industry. By analyzing these artists’ lyrics, I want to determine whether they are significant works of literary quality. These musicians were chosen because they are regarded as young contemporary musicians.
Afrikaans & Theory of Literature
M.A. (Afrikaans)

ABSTRACT Popular music is rarely seen as a valid vehicle for public debate anywhere in the world, and especially in South Africa. Popular music is traditionally seen as “low art” – to be reported in the arts and entertainment pages of publications, and nothong more. The music of Afrikaans punk band Fokofpolisiekar, however, has been a catalyst for public debate in both the Afrikaans and English print media, in editorial and opinion pages as well as in the news sections of publications. Drawing on theories of the public sphere, public intellectual life and the media, this research shows that the media’s response to the band has brought many discussions around Afrikaner identity in post-apartheid South Africa into the public sphere, beyond the arts and entertainment pages of newspapers, and that through the act of cultural consecration by other public intellectual figures, the band has been validated as commentators in the South African public sphere.