Rian Malan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Occupation | Author, journalist, documentarist, musician, songwriter |
| Genre | Memoirs,investigative journalism |
| Notable works | My Traitor's Heart,In the Jungle |
Rian Malan is a South African author, journalist, documentarist and songwriter ofAfrikaner descent. He first rose to prominence as the author of the memoirMy Traitor's Heart (1990), which, like the bulk of his work, deals with South African society in a historical and contemporary perspective and focuses on racial relations. As a journalist, he has written for major newspapers inSouth Africa,Britain and theUnited States.
Malan grew up in a middle-class and pro-apartheid Afrikaner family in a white suburb of Johannesburg. He attended Blairgowrie Primary School inRandburg where one of his contemporaries was the columnist,Jani Allan. He then attended Woodmead School, South Africa's first non-racially based high school. He has described how, as a teenager, he formed a rock band that associated with black artists and wanted to rebel against the apartheid system, at a time when he in fact had virtually no interaction with black people. He attended the thenWitwatersrand University for a year. Toavoid conscription, which was compulsory for all white males, he moved toLos Angeles in 1977 and worked as a journalist.[1][2]
Returning to South Africa in the 1980s, he wroteMy Traitor's Heart,[3] his memoir of growing up inApartheid-era South Africa in which he explores race relations through prominent murder cases.[4] In addition, he reflects on the history of his family, a prominent Afrikaner clan that migrated to the Cape in the 17th century and includedDaniel François Malan, theSouth African Prime Minister who was a principal ideological force behind Apartheid doctrine.[3]The book, which became a best-seller, was translated into 11 languages.[1]
Malan began his journalistic career in 1975, as a reporter forThe Star. During his stay in the US, he served as managing editor forMusic Connection (1978), as news editor forLA Weekly (1979), as staff writer forNew West Magazine (California) (1981), as senior writer forLos Angeles Herald-Examiner (1984) and as senior editor forManhattan Inc. magazine (1984). Since then, he has been a freelance writer for various magazines, mainly in the US (e.g.Esquire,Rolling Stone,The Wall Street Journal), Britain (e.g.The Spectator andThe Sunday Times) and South Africa (e.g.The Star,Time andNoseweek).[1] A number of his essays are collected in the volumeThe Lion Sleeps Tonight and other stories of South Africa (New York: Grove Press, 2012),ISBN 9780802119902.
In 2000, he wrote a widely disseminated piece inRolling Stone about the origin of the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", tracing its history from its first recording bySolomon Linda, a pennilessZulu singer, through its adoption byThe Weavers,The Tokens and many of the folksingers of the 1960s, and its appropriation byThe Walt Disney Company in the movieThe Lion King.[5] Malan reveals that Linda never received any royalties for the song; however, an ensuing court case established that 25 percent of the song's past and future royalties should go to Linda's three daughters.[6]
Malan has generated controversy by repeatedly questioning the seriousness and scope of AIDS in Africa. In articles inRolling Stone,The Spectator andNoseweek, a controversial South African monthly, he proposed that AIDS statistics are greatly exaggerated by researchers and health professionals who are trying to obtain more funding.[7][8][9] His hypothesis was roundly criticised by national and international AIDS organisations, and Malan was accused of endangering lives in Africa. In an interview in the Afrikaans magazine,Insig, Malan said, 'I get a kick out of it when the Treatment Action Campaign attacks me; it's like sport.'[10] In 2007, he said, 'In truth, I never claimed that Aids was not a problem – on the contrary, I described it as a terrible affliction that was claiming countless lives. At the same time however, it was clear that Aids numbers were being exaggerated and good news suppressed. I stand by that story.'[11]
In 1990, Malan appeared as the presenter of an episode of BBC Television'sOmnibus, titledTales of Ordinary Murder: Rian Malan in South Africa.[12]
In 1994, he appeared as the presenter of BBC Television's travel documentary,Great Railway Journeys (series 2, episode 2). The episode was titledCape Town to the Lost City.[13]
In 2004, he appeared in an episode ofChannel 4'sWithout Walls, titledThe Last Afrikaner. A Search with Rian Malan, written by Malan and directed byDon Boyd.[14]
In 2005, his struggle for justice for the heirs of Solomon Linda (see above) was documented inA Lion's Trail, directed byFrançois Verster.[15]
In 2009, Malan, together with Lloyd Ross, produced the documentaryThe Splintering Rainbow forAl Jazeera. The film documents a journey through South Africa, investigating unfolding political dramas and taking the pulse of theRainbow Nation.[16]
| Alien Inboorling | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by Rian Malan | |
| Released | 2005-10-28 |
| Genre | Afrikaans,folk,world,country |
| Length | 58:05 |
| Language | Afrikaans |
| Label | Shifty Music/Sony BMG |
| Producer | Lloyd Ross |
He has released a CD of his own songs, titledAlien Inboorling.[17] The title translates as "Alien native"; the songs were described by one journalist as "parables of contemporary South Africa told in the voices of Afrikaners who have stayed and those who have left. The songs are dusty, weary, a stream of consciousness for the Afrikaans 'tribe'."[4]
The CD was listed as number 23 on Afrikaans newspaperBeeld's list of'Albums van die dekade'.[18]
He also performs withHot Club d'Afrique, agypsy jazz band.[19]
Malan contributed lyrics toStoomradio andOpgestook, the first two albums by Afrikaans roots music/boeremusiek bandRadio Kalahari Orkes and appears on guitar on their second CD,Die Nagloper[20] He also contributed lyrics toSay Africa byVusi Mahlasela.[21]
