"Wrongly Accused"

Add a Scene from the Novel
A Dry White Season

The novel tells of a scenario in which some money got missing from one of the classrooms. Two Africana teachers immediately accuse Gordan the cleaner without sufficient evidence or an investigation. It took Ben investigating thoroughly, to find out that the culprits were actually two of the school boys who were also Africana’s. This episode from the novel should have been included in the film because it supports and gives validation to the injustices that occurred in South Africa during the Apartheid Movement. Blacks were not seen as equals, and were often accused of misdeeds without fair representation in the judicial system; instead they were often viewed as different and trouble makers; and therefore, blamed without sufficient evidence. Any troubles were associated with the blacks. Africana’s believed blacks were separate and un-civilized beings in society. In the film, Ben’s wife supports this by saying to her husband that the blacks are different and nothing but trouble, and he needed to choose between the Africana’s a civilized people, and the blacks.

"What If Lumumba?"

“What If Lumumba?”
Lumumba would have been good president, a president for the people. Remember it was Lumumba who tried to unite the people of the Congo. Yes, he used the Belgian influence by selling beer, but his intent was sincere. He only wanted to put himself in a position for his voice to be heard, and it was. However, Lumumba had too many against him, people who were only interested in their personal rise to power.
I do think that Lumumba would have succeeded in keeping the people together. He spoke continuously of how the people of the Congo should be the ones benefitting from the copper, diamonds, and other resources of the Congo. I think Lumumba would have tapped into the powers of other nations, even if those nations included Russia.
Lumumba would have created a democratic government because he believed in the people. This was evident in the film when he said that the president could not denounce him as Prime Minister because it was the people who elected him. This suggests that he was highly in favor of the people’s voice. It’s unfortunate that there was an organized coup against Lumumba that eventually led to his death. It is my feeling that he would have worked with all nations if it benefited the Congo’s people.

French, India, and China

Indochina

Despite the critics Ebert and Kempley, Indochina is a riveting film which depicts the destruction of culture while simultaneously giving us a love story like no other. Southeast Asia is the geographical location and was referred to as French Indo-China. French Indo-China means the area was impacted by India, China, and France. However, in the movie we see mostly the influence of the French rule.
Once again, an area is occupied by outsiders (The French) and a society and culture is drastically influenced. The Indochinese becomes an oppressed people controlled by French rule. This is showcased in two ways in the movie. First, Elaine the wealthy plantation owner operates her plantation without fear of an uprising from the Indochinese. Elaine is confident in her role as were all outsiders, because she had the backing of the French rule. Secondly, the movie displays the oppression vividly with its portrayal of the Indochinese being traded and sold on the docks. The Indochinese under the French rule were basically slaves who could assist in the growth of the French influence in the area.
Lastly, Indochina like in other movies we have viewed had characters experiencing both cultures due to carefully scripted circumstances. The character Camille, Elaine’s adopted daughter, grew up being educated in French schools. She is mostly unaware of how oppressed her people are until she becomes one of the oppressed herself. She falls into this situation while searching for love of a naval officer (Jean-Baptiste) who was reassigned and distanced from her. Because of their love for one another, Jean a well established French naval officer, also joins the uprising against the oppression of the Indochinese. His decision led him to live as the Indochinese. Jean eventually committed suicide. I believe he felt a personal responsibility for what the area had become and what had become of the people. Indochina does not offer the perfect ending, but does offer a prelude to the Vietnam War.

Xiu Xiu and Children of Other Places

Xiu-Xiu

Xiu Xiu The Sent Down Girl reminded me of some cultural practices studied in my last MALS course. We took an in depth look at the sex trade in Thailand where young females left or were taken from happy homes and sent across borders for the purpose of providing sexual favors to tourists. Often these females were as young as 12 years of age, but like Xiu Xiu in the film, these young females to felt that they were doing something that would better benefit their families. As with the young females in Thailand, Xiu Xiu was only misled, exploited, and had extreme difficulties getting back to her home place.
Also, we looked at the Tamil Tigers which exploited young children by turning them into child soldiers. The children were basically brainwashed into thinking this was best for the political government and its rule. This was somewhat the intention also during the Cultural Revolution in the film. Xiu Xiu like other young children sent down were wearing military jackets, this is symbolic of their acceptance for the cause. As with the exploited young females in Thailand sex trade and the child soldiers, Xiu Xiu and the other children sent down is an illustration of a political system victimizing its own people for the sake of government idealism.
In my opinion the film only highlights an extraordinary social event in Chinese history, The Cultural Revolution Program, in which many lives were changed ultimately impacting the culture. The film is a little too much of a love story focusing only on Xiu Xiu and Lao Jin.

Earth's and Symbolism

Earth

Although I wished that the entire film was in English, I totally understood why the Hindi language and English were both spoken in the movie. This was symbolic of status and transformation as with the Pasari’s, who were very distinguishable from the Hindu and Muslims. The film had symbolism throughout. My personal favorite was when Lenny tore off the dolls extremities after witnessing the live act on a human being during the conflict in the streets. Her reaction was symbolic of how the conflict affected everyone from all social classes. The symbolism continued when the doll was being sewed back together. This suggested that Lenny could not let the conflict force her to act as the people committing the awful acts of violence. Lastly, Lenny herself was a symbol of civility for those who could obtain her level of status, but still she to could escape the atrocities she was witnessing.
The film did an excellent job of illustrating what was the demise of many nations, separation in quest of independence. Three groups, the Sikhs, Hindu, and Muslims who were once one, created a civil war between themselves that saw over one million people killed. Additionally, seven million Muslims along with five million Hindus and Sikhs were uprooted from their homes, all for India and Pakistan. As Lenny stated, “A British Empire lasted for 250 years, and for what?”
Again, in this film we witness another nation and its culture influenced by outsiders. Lenny’s dad even jokes about how the British brought syphilis to their country. India like other nations was westernized as evident by upper-classes driving cars, the one character playing with the telephone, Lenny’s dolls having a western appearance, and lastly, Lenny’s family speaking the English language almost exclusively.

L'America (Immigration)

L’America
L’America paints a vivid picture of immigrants and their societies and what leads them to immigration. Many immigrants are of depressed societies with governments that only benefit the elitist of the group like the character Gino who was considered to be upper-class. The less fortunate and deprived (The Albanians), were forced to dream of better situations available in other nations. Dreaming was easy for the Albanians who had the influence of Italian culture by television which depicted a better life for all.
Some wanted so much to forget their roots that they consciously refused to speak their native language. Ironically, the Albanians wanted so much to be like the very people who were directly responsible for their demise. In the film, this realization comes to Gino when he is forced to live as an Albanian. Gino had the opportunity to see up close that Italy had depressed the Albanian people. Italy’s wealth was built mainly in part due to the exploitation of the Albanians who pumped what little they had into further improving Italy’s economy and culture while continuing to ignore their own economy and heritage.
Jenny Burns in her post referenced the fact that Americans are upset with illegal immigration of Mexicans into this country, however, unlike the Albanian immigrants, Mexican immigrants quite often send resources back to their country which improves the economy and living
conditions. Many Americans believe this practice puts a strain on US resources and ultimately hurts its economy and deminishes the living conditions of the less foturnate.