What abou' de lô

The animation film What abou' de lô is inspired by a poem of the same name, written by Adam Small (1936–2016) and originally published in his anthology Kitaar my kruis (1962). Small was a South African writer who was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement and other activism. He remains a noted Coloured and Afrikaans writer whose writings dealt with racial discrimination and satirised the political situation of apartheid. Small pioneered writing in Kaaps, a colloquial Coloured dialect of the Afrikaans language.

In the video, the poet is heard reciting the poem for this film, which is about a couple whose love is forbidden by apartheid law, specifically the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, that prohibited marriages and sexual relationships between "Europeans" and "non-Europeans" or between those classified as "white" on the one hand and those classified as "non-white" (Blacks, Coloureds, Asians) on the other. The scenes of familiar daily life depicted in the film are relatable to all, suggesting that language and apartheid affected all aspects of life, even the quotidian, in a similar way to how racial discrimination was institutionalised by the apartheid state on an everyday basis.

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