We Are ALL Dirt

Lets just say that we all had quite a start of a day on Wednesday morning. At 11 a.m. the Cinema and Social Change class hunkered down to watch a riveting film called Hotel Rwanda. People say that "mornings are killer" but how many finished off their coffee with a good dose of genocide?

Various topics that have spotted my brain while watching the film and reading the articles pertaining to the genocide killings of 1994 have been numerous. First, how does our country see Africa and the hardships of the world? Another is, how effective was media in the film Hotel Rwanda? Last, what was the purpose of displaying this horrific event through a narrative film rather than a documentary?

How does the U.S.A see Africa and other life disasters. I see horrors of other countries all the time on the news and hear it on the radio. What are we doing to help? One quote from the film is "If people see this footage, they'll say 'Oh my God, that's horrible,' and they'll go on eating their dinners." There is not a truer statement said.

I know my life, filled with school, work, and relationships, makes me completely self-centered and oblivious to the outside world. My only excuse is that a straight A student with 18 credits, I don't have enough time to pay attention. I am pretty sure I am a perfect representation of the majority of Americans. We live to 'go, go, go' so much so, that we can't even open our eyes and extend open hands to those that need us most. I've thought countless times that I should join the Peace Corp. after I graduate so I can quit being an oblivious middle class white girl and see how others see the world.

The reason for the title of my blog was inspired by a line delivered by Nick Nolte; "You ought to spit in my face. You are nothing. You are dirt. We think you're dirt. Paul... The West, all the superpowers... they think you're dirt." Anthony Daniels said "Rwanda is a country- small, economically unimportant, of no significance to the rest of the world." This quote explains Leshu Torchin's statement that "although the international community is aware of this genocide, they will abandon the Rwandans because they are African, and Africans hold little value in the global political economy." If the western nations are known to only care of money and other economic politics, we are more dirt than any African ever could be.

One of the main topics hit on within all the articles was the fact that Hollywood loves to show the bad side of Africa. Anthere Nzabatsinda says "It hurts to see Africa represented in cinema only in negative shades." Manohla Dargis saidd "My problem, rather, is all those films filled with suffering, struggling black Africans who, for the most part, seem to be on camera to make me feel bad." I did like how Manohla then states "the white characters are peripheral, just as they were during the genocide; in each, the victims and the victimizers are black, but so, too, are the heroes." This makes me wonder. Rwanda, though showed tragedy, also displayed the strength of Africans. What other movies show Africa's 'good side?' The first film I thought of was Invictis. Though there is a string of white people, I still it gives a positive and inspirational look on Africa. I always love Morgan Freeman

One of the main topic of our class is the topic of whether media can change society. The class IS called "Cinema and Social Change." I just want to take a moment to reflect on how powerful various types of media was within this film. I saw it apparent EVERYWHERE! First of all, the majority of the attacks on the Tutsi were brought on by the urgings of Hutu power radio. The technology of the telephone was used when Paul asked all his guests to call their friends for held. There was even a camera crew reporting the genocide as it happened. This footage was sent out in order to raise awareness and to seek help. Help came, but not for everyone.

I think out of all the media within the film, Rwanda, radio was the strongest. I saw that every group of Hutsi's had one on them and listened to it religiously to discover the ongoings of their people. It was the quickest way for them to get out information fast. When the UN brought trucks to take away Tutsi's with visa's it took just a few minutes for one snitch to tell someone high up what was going on and for a huge group to attack. That is pretty powerful. The picture below was found on google. It was labeled "Tutsi Cockroaches." I picked this, not only because this was a phrase heard many times within our film on Wednesday, but also because one of the boys is listening to the radio. Can anyone translate what they are saying?

Here's a section of my response that I will title "Doc Vs. Narrative." Why did Terry George chose to represent the happenings of genocide in Rwanda in a narrative film? Couldn't he tell more 'truth' by going to the actual country, interviewing those involved, and eventually painting the picture as a documentary film? That is true. Here are my opinions on the matter.

Though our generation is becoming more and more apt to watching doc. there is still a wide range of us that prefer films of a more 'story-like' structure. The documentary world is growing, but still, the way to reach a wider audience is to create through a media that reaches wider audiences. This is where narrative comes in. Narrative is still 'the fad.' I feel this decision was a way to get a huge story to a huge viewing group.

Now, narrative is often described as 'fiction' or made up. Narrative can be based off of real life, but can never be called 'fiction' due to the fact that lines are written, sets are built, and roles are acted. Even with all this, how realistic can narrative films get? Terry George created a very 'real' portrayal of t genocide he in Rwanda. Can his work still be considered truth even though it's portal is through Hollywood? Anthere Nzabatsinda said "Don Cheadle makes us believe that he really belongs to that space, to that population, to those events. His talent, as well as Terry George's craft, make the diction almost fade in front of the reality."

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• What was the reaction to Hotel Rwanda?
• Was the narrative 'true?'
• Why a not make a documentary?
• Did this film reach a wider audience then a doc. film would have?
• Why is the depiction of Africa usually negative?
• Does Africa agree with the representation within Hotel Rwanda?
• Did it take away from the film having american actors represent Rwandans?
• What is more effective for an audience, a documentary or a narrative film?
• (From Anthere Nzabatsinda article) Why wasn't the economical difference more distinct instead of making the conflict purely ethnic?
• (From Anthere Nzabatsinda article) What parts of the film show 1) Heroism of the individuals who won over brutality 2) The indistinctive effect of the 1994 slaughters upon Rwanda 3) The fact that survival was largely a matter of chance 4) The indifference of the (western) world.
• Were the above themes what Terry George was trying to get across?
• How many films exist that actually show Africa in a positive light?

Don Cheadle with the real Paul Rusesabagina

New Terminology Research

Estheticization- This word looked familiar, but I couldn't quite remember what it meant. The blog said I spelt it wrong and the little dictionary on the Mac did not tell me what it meant. So I googled it. When I googled Estheticization google asked me "Did you mean: Aesthetcization?" I saw a few definitions of the word with an 'e' and clicked. Apparently the two are the same.

So here is the definition according to Thefreedictionary.com

'To depict in an idealized or artistic manner."

Oh ya! Aesthetically pleasing! Riiiiight. I guess the 'e' threw me.