The Parlotones - Should We Fight Back

What this video is

The song originates from The Parlotones' 2009 album Stardust Galaxies and was explicitly inspired by Nelson Mandela's autobiography 'Long Walk to Freedom,' positioning it within South Africa's post-apartheid popular music tradition of civic reflection. The video was filmed in 2011, a period of vigorous national debate about racial reconciliation, economic inequality, and the legacy of the ANC's democratic…

Why it matters

Represents a key artifact of South African indie-alternative rock's most internationally visible period (2009–2012), when acts like The Parlotones attempted to bridge post-apartheid identity music with globally palatable Coldplay/Killers-inflected indie rock. The video's production history —…

The director

Born in Wallasey, England, Ryan Kruger trained at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama before relocating to South Africa in 2008 at age 22, where he enrolled at Cape Town's AFDA Film School. He became one of South Africa's leading music video directors,…