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The Gods Must Be Crazy II

Name: The Gods Must Be Crazy II
Director: Jamie Uys
Released: 1989
Duration: 98 min

Representation Score

4.1/10

Fair

1989

Director

Jamie Uys

Runtime

98 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film succeeds by disrupting traditional hierarchies through its protagonist. By positioning Xixo as a competent navigator of a chaotic modern world, the narrative gives a significant role in driving the story to an indigenous character and critiques the perceived superiority of Western civilization. However, the film is narrow in its social scope. It completely ignores LGBTQ+ and disability representation, focusing instead on a clash between communal indigenous life and individualistic modern structures. Ultimately, the work functions as a post-colonial comedy that uses cultural contrast to drive its humor, even if it lacks broader social inclusivity.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Gods Must Be Crazy II have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth identities. The story focuses entirely on the San protagonist and various comedic archetypes.

How does The Gods Must Be Crazy II portray gender?

Fair

Women appear in professional roles, such as a journalist, avoiding some common 1980s submissive clichés. However, the comedy relies on slapstick humor rather than challenging gendered power dynamics.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Gods Must Be Crazy II?

Excellent

The film centers a San protagonist, Xixo, as the logical anchor of the plot. It inverts the colonial gaze by portraying modern, urbanized characters as the source of chaos.

How does The Gods Must Be Crazy II represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative critiques Westernized institutions by framing modern technology and materialism as absurd. It contrasts the cohesive San lifestyle against the disorganized nature of modern society.

Does The Gods Must Be Crazy II include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no characters with visible or invisible disabilities. The film does not feature neurodivergence or physical impairments as central plot elements.

Present on Screen

Centers an indigenous San protagonist as the competent, logical driver of the story.
Inverts the colonial gaze by portraying modern society as the source of absurdity.
Provides ability to act to the San character within a complex, modern landscape.

Limited or Absent

Lacks any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth characters.
Provides no depiction of characters with physical or invisible disabilities.
Gender dynamics remain largely tied to situational slapstick rather than meaningful subversion.

Official Synopsis

Xixo is back again. This time, his children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving poachers' truck, unable to get off, and Xixo sets out to rescue them. Along the way, he encounters a couple of soldiers trying to capture each other and a pilot and passenger of a small plane, who are each having a few problems of their own.

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