Pseudopod 173: Bophuthatswana

[Bdoomed]

Pseudopod 173: Bophuthatswana


By Lavie Tidhar
Read by Elan Ressel, voice actor for hire through voices.com

It was just before the referendum, when white people voted on giving black people the right to vote. The skies were clear, the African sun was hot on my young face, and the wild scent of earth, of renewal, was in everything. All the Stop signs had F.W. sprayed on them. Stop F.W. Stop De Klerk.

Eugène Terre’Blanche was king.

I watched the Boer Nation on TV. Eugène, big and red-faced, a barrel of beer full of righteous White-Christian indignation. Eugène and his boys. I watched the bombs flower over Johannesburg in brilliant reds and yellows, fire and blood. Eugène and his boys valiantly rode to battle with pipe-bombs and guns, and I watched it on television. I felt like I was locked up, bound within the confines of the house, the garden, the walls, the barbed wire.



A quick primer on Afrikaans slang:

bankie - a bank coin bag, or bag of similar size, in which marijuana is sold (i.e., a dimebag)
dagga - marijuana (pronounced Dacha — the gg is the sound in Spanish J or hebrew Chet)
lekker - good, excellent
moer - to beat brutally
moffie - homosexual (slur)
jol - fun, good time
kaffir - a black south African (slur)
voetsek - go away; get lost; fuck off
tokoloshe - spectre/gremlin (orig. Zulu mythology)



Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

[Robin Sure]

Good story. Minor note, if you're going to introduce terms that the majority of your audience don't know, it seems like it might be better to ease them into the story than require a glossary. Might stretch your word count a little, but I know I found having to check words a little awkward.

[kibitzer]

Wow. I found this outstandingly good. It was so evocative, I felt I was there with the characters. And a very affecting story too. I was out walking my dog and arrived home before it finished; had to walk around the block a couple of times to hear it out. And even then, I felt I had to sit quietly to take it all in.

The reading, also, was outstandingly good. I can't speak to the authenticity of the accents but they sound so to me, and they were well differentiated so there was no problem discerning who was talking.

Wow.

[That Hirschman Guy]

I'm assuming "vampire" in this story was metaphorical. This was more of a history lesson than a horror story. Horrific, yes, but I didn't subscribe to a political history podcast.
Great voice work, though. South African/Afrikaans accents are among my faves.

[Unblinking]

Very well written, very well read, very powerful images and emotions.  I didn't have the glossary with me as I listen on my commute, but I got the gist of everything, I never was held up wondering "what the heck did he just say?"

That being said, the story just wasn't my cup of tea.  I prefer speculative fiction to historical.

[Scattercat]

Fascinating.  Exceedingly good at evoking a dark and ominous mood, even well before the actual nature of the night's adventure becomes clear.  I particularly liked the "we fight crime" line; nothing like a bit of flippant humor to properly set off the chills.

I think it's fascinating that several people have commented that they prefer speculative fiction to historical.  I mean, in the first place, this is a horror podcast, not a spec fic podcast, and there have certainly been non-supernatural stories on Pseudopod prior to now.  The apparent mental divide, however, started me thinking:

One of the joys of speculative fiction is that it frees one from the requirement to maintain pure reality; instead, one is free to distill a moment or two, a particular mood or attitude or idea or facet of human nature, and exaggerate it.  It lets you ask questions.  "What if?" is the mantra of speculative fiction.  What if humans stopped being able to reproduce?  What if there really were monsters who preyed on humanity and manipulated world events to their own ends?  This story did almost precisely the same thing - asking 'What if?' - but it did it while standing on the other side of the fence.  Let me clarify. 

Vampires are former humans, dead bodies which have, through their own wickedness (or, latterly, through purposeful infection) become a vile darkness that stalks and preys upon humanity.  Vampires beget more vampires, in the classic exponential-growth thought experiment.  In this story, the use of vampires is very, very clear and specific: the 'monsters' against whom the protagonist fights have, indeed, created and bred more of their own. 

They made him, after all. 

Thus, rather than using explicit vampires, the story simply evokes the concept and all the history and etymology of it and distills it down to the cold, hard wooden point; without the mythic concept of the vampire, that point would not be able to be made.  While this story contains no real supernatural elements in itself (a few visions of the sort which are far from uncommon in real life, etc.), it could not possibly exist without the speculative fiction which uses vampires as a more distant metaphor for the dark places in the human soul. 

To put it bluntly: this is historical fiction which draws upon the speculative fiction in order to create its effect.  Someone else is drawing on us to write stories, using the power of our metaphors and our visions to highlight the real-world horror of a vicious circle of violence.  Speculative fiction is the source of this piece rather than the outgrowth. 

That means we won.  ;-)

[cdugger]

Really didn't care for this one. It just didn't seem "horror-y" enough to be on The Pod.

Not bad at all, just not my kind of tale.

[Unblinking]

I think it's fascinating that several people have commented that they prefer speculative fiction to historical.  I mean, in the first place, this is a horror podcast, not a spec fic podcast, and there have certainly been non-supernatural stories on Pseudopod prior to now.

In general, I do prefer speculative to non-speculative.  There are notable exceptions--Deep Red was my favorite Pseudopod story to date, and that had no supernatural element--but I do tend to like them more on the speculative side.

That's not to say that Pseudopod shouldn't run historical fiction.  I like their wide variety of stories they run.  But the historical ones will be less likely to be my favorites.

it could not possibly exist without the speculative fiction which uses vampires as a more distant metaphor for the dark places in the human soul. 

Okay, but would the story really be significantly different if the word "vampire" was never used?  I would say:  not really.  But again, the stories here don't need to be speculative, so that's not a complaint, just a comment. 

[MacArthurBug]

This struck me as a strong and interesting story. Not the usual horror fare at ALL. I listned w/o the glossery I was driving and needed a story fix now. The lack of understanding a few words didn't bother me much at all, I'm used to people having strange slang (we move a lot and are exposed to people from everywhere) so it was fine. I liked the reading, and the story style. Good stuff!

[Scattercat]

Okay, but would the story really be significantly different if the word "vampire" was never used?  I would say:  not really.

And would Shakespeare's sonnets be different if he never used the word "summer's day" or "lilies"?  Surely if he just talked about how pretty the girl/boy was and said that love is short, then it would have had exactly the same impact.

[Unblinking]

And would Shakespeare's sonnets be different if he never used the word "summer's day" or "lilies"?  Surely if he just talked about how pretty the girl/boy was and said that love is short, then it would have had exactly the same impact.

If Shakespeare had never said "lilies" than he would've found something else to make his point, and I'm certain he would've done a lovely job of it--if lilies didn't exist he would've found another metaphor.  Just as in this story, if vampires did not exist (in myth at least), I'm certain the author would've used another apt comparison, and the story would've been essentially the same.  So my point is that this story definitely could have existed without the vampire myth to make the comparison to.

But anyway, we're digressing...

[kibitzer]

But anyway, we're digressing...

Actually, I don't think we are. You make a valid point with which I agree. The word "vampire" was used deliberately to evoke an image because it was an effective shorthand, but the story certainly could have worked without it.

[Scattercat]

Actually, I don't think we are. You make a valid point with which I agree. The word "vampire" was used deliberately to evoke an image because it was an effective shorthand, but the story certainly could have worked without it.

And a car can work without shock absorbers (and early models did, indeed, and still propelled - ha - the car to prominence as a mode of conveyance), but it won't be nearly as impressive or as fun and, I would argue, would be a very different experience.  A skillful metaphor can pack a large amount of information into a small amount of space and evoke a much stronger reaction from a reader (or listener) as the implications and meanings blossom out in one's mind.  That experience, that dawning understanding, is important; metaphors aren't just shorthand or convenient. 

[Unblinking]

Actually, I don't think we are. You make a valid point with which I agree. The word "vampire" was used deliberately to evoke an image because it was an effective shorthand, but the story certainly could have worked without it.

And a car can work without shock absorbers (and early models did, indeed, and still propelled - ha - the car to prominence as a mode of conveyance), but it won't be nearly as impressive or as fun and, I would argue, would be a very different experience.  A skillful metaphor can pack a large amount of information into a small amount of space and evoke a much stronger reaction from a reader (or listener) as the implications and meanings blossom out in one's mind.  That experience, that dawning understanding, is important; metaphors aren't just shorthand or convenient. 

True, a skillful metaphor can pack a lot of punch, but I'm just saying this story isn't dependent on speculative metaphor.  Rabies, for instance, would make a pretty good metaphor as well, in that it causes violent behavior, and spreads by bite.

[Jim Bihyeh]

This story hummed in my head all day. I’m not particularly attracted to stories set in Africa (and especially South Africa), but the author so compelling set me into that car driving to Melville that I was all but forced to buckle, set my forearm against a window, and hope for the best.

So much worked here. The town that held its breath all day and released it after dark. The fat black woman smoking in tender puffs. The tan, white beggar critiquing the stereo music. 

The vampire concept tied well to the story, blending subtly as the evening spread out like a vampire’s cape. Then you had the “blood is the life” splattered over the narrator’s World Peace T-shirt. So I felt prepared for the vampire metaphor. And – while the archetypal ties to the vampire myth are usually sexual or pathological – Tidhar pulls off the political vampire with far more craft and panache than Stephanie Meyer attempts the suburban, sexually-frustrated “angst-pires” of the Pacific Northwest. So kudos to Tidhar.

Tidhar’s vampires made me think of two other political vampires I’d encountered recently. There was Stephen King’s latest monster: the big-fish-small-pond Republican Big Jim Rennie from his recent novel “Under the Dome.” King often reveals the Rennie’s emotions through his teeth and lips.

And then there was the corrupt, porky bureaucrat from the foreign film “The Lives of Others” (if you’ve seen it, then you probably can’t get that scene between the bureaucrat and the actress inside the car out of your head either). I still get triumphant chills when Georg Dreyman looks the bureaucrat in the eye after the Wall’s fallen and says, “To think that men like you used to run a country.”

Now I wish Dreyman had pulled a Bophuthatswana and just pulled the trigger. 

The realism seemed to dim, though, when the narrator and his cohort just happen to be packing uzis and knives “sharp enough to bleed the air,” like they’re straight out of a Wachowski brothers film. It felt too convenient. All it would have taken was a simply clause explaining where the weapons had come from (I’m sure they’re easily obtained in post-apartheid South Africa?).

Ultimately this story is one of the best I’ve heard on Pseudopod. It has a clear, realistic sense of place and dialect that so imaginatively anchored the emotions and anger of the characters.

“No more bad poetry.” Great line, as well. 

I listened to this story twice today, and I’ll probably give it a third listen tomorrow during my commute. I don’t normally do that.

[eytanz]

This story was really great, a chilling study into a very human kind of horror/terror. I found it very interesting that this story was written by someone, like me, who grew up in Israel and subsequently left. I've been far too close to events similar to those described in this story (not actually close, mind you, but still too close), and it spoke to me on quite a few levels.

[Loz]

Non-typical fare from Pseudopod and I liked it. Not having my computer to hand I didn't have access to the glossary but to be honest those half dozen or so words weren't really that much of a part of the story and I generally thought the context was clear in each case, even if you couldn't be sure of the exact wording. But considering some of the problems that have been expressed in these fora in the past about non-American English narrators or stories not set in the USA I was a bit anxious, looking at the story summary, as to what we'd get. Which is presumably why the editors went and found a South African narrator, I thought Elan did a splendid job and would like to hear more from him in the future please!

[DKT]

I'm running a little behind but had to chime in on this one - high marks in every category from me.

First, this was a great story from Lavie Tidhar. The setting, the dialect, the characters - it all enveloped me. Of course, that's also due to the fantastic narration by Elan Ressel. And for me, the historical ties only make it richer. So thanks to everyone all around for bringing this one to us. I'm really kind of in awe of it.

[Millenium_King]

I'm not really sure how I felt about this one.  The second half was strong, but the beginning made me sleepy.  The story felt about 50% backstory and about 50% actual story.  It might just be a personal thing, but I prefer a little more front-loading.  Some people call that "pulpy" but c'est la vie.

The second half remained gripping and strongly told.  I just felt like I had to slog through the first half to get to it.  I cannot count the number of stories I've read which open with a couple buddies sharing a joint in a car.  That complaint aside, this familiar sequence rises above the rest because of its vivid cultural detail.  It certainly felt immersive - I just would have preferred it hurry along a little more.

A couple gripes about the language:

1. Certain words were too close together ("coat" and "coat," for instance).
2. The car window exploding into shards of "rainbow" was too bright and cheerful an image for the rather cruel and horrific action sequence at the end.

All in all though, a strong contribution and a good look at the cycle of violence.  This, for anyone who cares to know, is a story which transcends its simple theme and illuminates it through gripping action - rather than heavy-handed lecturing (compare to "Set Down This").  I'd love to see more pieces like this from Mr. Tidhar.

EXCELLENT narration.

EXCELLENT intro and outro.  Well done, Al.

[Fenrix]

I'll repeat the sentiment that the glossary wasn't necessary for the enjoyment of the story. Lots of fiction includes crafted slang, so real slang doesn't set us back. It didn't hurt that I knew a couple through use by a friend.

The narration was fantastic, and having someone able to pronounce all of it was great. Kudos to the whole production team.

It's worth noting that Alasdair consistently makes great relevant intros and outros, even if that doesn't alway make it to the comments.

It's a good story, and although it doesn't fit in the horror box too well, it fits better in there than either of the two other podcasts in the family. I appreciate that a good story like this can find a home where it is treated with proper care.