- Mark falls into a gang of small boys who wander the streets of Alexandra looking for food. Some days, they collected empty beer bottles and lost bus tickets, which brings in enough money so that they can go to the movies.
- The movies enabled Mark to see beyond the police into another aspect of white culture. He was terrified by police in South Africa, and the murders, beatings, and shootings in the movies underscored the terror he felt about whites and their world.
- The first time he went to the movies, he was three or four.
- The darkness scared him, the man who kept order at the theatres scared him, and his first glimpse of the movie – a truck heading towards him – scared him so badly, he jumped out of his seat and started screaming.
- The usher came by and hit him on the head with the flashlight, ordering him to be silent.