EDITORIAL
Lights, Camera, Africa
The invisible continent gets screen time in Hollywood even if it can't
get a hearing in Washington.
October 15, 2006
AFRICA IS THE LATEST CAUSE CELEBRE for celebrities, but Angelina Jolie
and Madonna would have to adopt an awful lot of African babies to raise
the whole continent out of poverty. In fact, all the chatter from movie
stars, musicians and models has scarcely made a dent in Africa's
problems or done much to raise awareness of them. But as the movement
spreads through Hollywood, that could change.
In December, Warner Bros. will release "Blood Diamond," a big-budget
thriller set during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war in the late 1990s.
The film has created concern among diamond retailers that fear its
portrayal of the trade in "conflict diamonds" will spark a consumer
backlash. Leonardo DiCaprio, the film's star and one of many to adopt
Africa as a pet cause in recent years, says he took the role after
talking to human rights experts about the devastating effects of the
illicit diamond trade.
The film joins a spate of movies about or set in Africa that have
appeared in the last two years — including one currently in theaters,
"The Last King of Scotland," which examines the psychopathic regime of
former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Others include "The Constant
Gardener," "Hotel Rwanda," "In My Country," "Sometimes in April" and
"Yesterday."
Development experts have long complained that what was once called the
Dark Continent is now the Invisible Continent. U.S. news organizations
maintain few bureaus in Africa, and TV viewers are more likely to see
African rhinos on the Discovery Channel than African people on the
nightly news. Yet they are appearing on movie screens. "The Constant
Gardener" portrayed the kind of terrifying attack on a village by
militias that is still tearing apart the Darfur region of Sudan, while
"Hotel Rwanda" may have made more Americans aware of the Rwandan
genocide than the actual events did 10 years earlier.
One disappointing trend in these movies is the degree to which the genre
remains tied to the "Out of Africa" tradition. These are mainly tales of
Africa seen through the eyes of white Westerners — "Hotel Rwanda" is a
notable exception — who with any luck can fly away from the place in the
final, bittersweet scene. Audiences may be ready for more tales of
Africa told from the perspective of Africans. Still, even a picture of
the continent skewed for maximum entertainment value beats no picture at
all.
Africa remains off the political radar in the U.S. Not many candidates
running for Congress will be asked about their policies on Sudan or
Somalia. There are moral, economic, environmental, strategic and
national security reasons that that should change. Right now, Hollywood
seems to be doing a better job of pointing them out than Washington.
U.S. news organizations maintain few bureaus in Africa, and TV viewers are more likely to see
African rhinos on the Discovery Channel than African people on the
nightly news. Yet they are appearing on movie screens. "The Constant
Gardener" portrayed the kind of terrifying attack on a village by
militias that is still tearing apart the Darfur region of Sudan, while
"Hotel Rwanda" may have made more Americans aware of the Rwandan
genocide than the actual events did 10 years earlier.
One disappointing trend in these movies is the degree to which the genre
remains tied to the "Out of Africa" tradition. These are mainly tales of
Africa seen through the eyes of white Westerners — "Hotel Rwanda" is a
notable exception — who with any luck can fly away from the place in the
final, bittersweet scene. Audiences may be ready for more tales of
Africa told from the perspective of Africans. Still, even a picture of
the continent skewed for maximum entertainment value beats no picture at
all.
Africa remains off the political radar in the U.S. Not many candidates
running for Congress will be asked about their policies on Sudan or
Somalia. There are moral, economic, environmental, strategic and
national security reasons that that should change. Right now, Hollywood
seems to be doing a better job of pointing them out than Washington.
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