This document provides an analysis of the 2006 film Blood Diamond as an example of how Hollywood representations of African culture can be inaccurate and promote overgeneralization. It discusses how the film's synopses and marketing portray Africa and Africans in simplistic, negative ways. The analysis argues that Blood Diamond, like many other Hollywood films about Africa, reduces the culture to primitive depictions that ignore cultural nuances and complexities. It aims to critically examine how the film represents African ethnography through textual analysis and existing frameworks around ethnographic cinema.
This document discusses the complex term "world cinema" and debates surrounding its definition. It explores how "world cinema" is often defined in opposition to Hollywood and the West, focusing on differences rather than similarities. The document analyzes two films, Wadjda (2012) and The Forgotten Ones (1950), to show how they draw on universal themes and techniques from multiple cinematic cultures to authentically represent their own cultures, rather than only focusing on differences from the West. It argues that "world cinema" is better understood by finding similarities between cultures' cinemas rather than only highlighting differences.
“Little Englander” – Fawlty Towers A Textual Analysis of Nationalistic Ideolo...Jaskirt Boora
This document provides a summary and analysis of the 1970s British sitcom Fawlty Towers. It analyzes how the show represented notions of British national identity and community through the character of Basil Fawlty. Basil runs a small hotel in Torquay as a "mini-construction of Britain" with a narrow view of who belongs. He holds nationalist, classist views and believes firmly in traditions of the British Empire. His rigid ideology of who belongs causes constant conflict and prevents the hotel from being a harmonious community that accepts differences. The analysis suggests Basil's views represent a nostalgia for a lost imperial Britain and conceptions of national identity that exclude many people.
MAFMP - Ellen A. Saputra 22051422 - Practice of Cross-Genre in 'Modern' Holly...Ellen Saputra
This document discusses the practice of cross-genre filmmaking in modern Hollywood. It provides context on the evolution from classicism to modernism to postmodernism. Postmodernism is characterized by hybridity, with films mixing genres. Examples discussed include Alien (1977) as science fiction and horror, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) mixing live-action and animation. Famous postmodern directors like George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, and James Cameron are noted for their hybrid films like Star Wars, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Titanic respectively.
Stuart Hall was a Jamaican-born cultural theorist known as the "godfather of multiculturalism." In this document, Hall discusses two ways of thinking about cultural identity. First, as a shared culture, which was important for negritude movements. However, Hall believes cultural identity is better understood as unstable and contradictory, with similarities and differences. He argues cultural identities are formed from histories but are constantly transforming, shaped by memory, fantasy, and narrative. Hall also examines how Caribbean cultural identities relate to African, European, and American influences in the context of colonialism.
This document provides context about Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas. It discusses his life and career, including being sent to labor camps for being gay in Cuba. It analyzes the film Before Night Falls, directed by Julian Schnabel, which portrayed Arenas' life. The document discusses problematic aspects of the film, such as potentially desexualizing or exoticizing Arenas. It cautions against relying on a single story to define someone and promotes considering plurality and diversity of experiences.
How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periodsBelinda Raji
Contemporary representations of black British people in media have changed from previous eras in three key ways:
1) Earlier films from the 1950s-60s portrayed black immigrants as a "social problem" and threat to British society, seen through a white directorial lens, whereas now black British people are no longer solely represented as such.
2) Representations in the 1970s, like in Horace Ove's "Pressure", shifted to a black perspective showing issues like racism and discrimination, rather than a migrant perspective.
3) More recent films and TV shows like "Adulthood" and "Day 1" focus on disaffected youth across London influenced by black culture, moving
Media and Collective Identity: Useful quotesBelinda Raji
The documents discuss how media representations of ethnic and racial groups are shaped by dominant ideologies to control identities. Stuart Hall argued that media produces naturalized representations that construct identities like race as innate rather than politically motivated. Representations in media have power to shape popular attitudes. Research found ethnic minorities often underrepresented or stereotyped in media. Younger black respondents rejected a British identity due to feeling marginalized in society. Mixed race youth assumed a black identity due to appearance and upbringing. Accurate portrayals of communities are needed to avoid wrong impressions.
The document discusses how horror films can act as a reflection of societal fears and issues. It addresses several topics including how the threats portrayed in horror films have evolved over time to better represent the fears of the era. For example, films after World War 2 featured more werewolf movies likely reflecting the violence of Nazis. The document also examines how horror films have addressed topics like racism, treatment of women, immigration fears and more. Many examples of specific films are provided that illustrate how the films incorporated themes relating to the societal issues of their time period and location.
This document discusses the complex term "world cinema" and debates surrounding its definition. It explores how "world cinema" is often defined in opposition to Hollywood and the West, focusing on differences rather than similarities. The document analyzes two films, Wadjda (2012) and The Forgotten Ones (1950), to show how they draw on universal themes and techniques from multiple cinematic cultures to authentically represent their own cultures, rather than only focusing on differences from the West. It argues that "world cinema" is better understood by finding similarities between cultures' cinemas rather than only highlighting differences.
“Little Englander” – Fawlty Towers A Textual Analysis of Nationalistic Ideolo...Jaskirt Boora
This document provides a summary and analysis of the 1970s British sitcom Fawlty Towers. It analyzes how the show represented notions of British national identity and community through the character of Basil Fawlty. Basil runs a small hotel in Torquay as a "mini-construction of Britain" with a narrow view of who belongs. He holds nationalist, classist views and believes firmly in traditions of the British Empire. His rigid ideology of who belongs causes constant conflict and prevents the hotel from being a harmonious community that accepts differences. The analysis suggests Basil's views represent a nostalgia for a lost imperial Britain and conceptions of national identity that exclude many people.
MAFMP - Ellen A. Saputra 22051422 - Practice of Cross-Genre in 'Modern' Holly...Ellen Saputra
This document discusses the practice of cross-genre filmmaking in modern Hollywood. It provides context on the evolution from classicism to modernism to postmodernism. Postmodernism is characterized by hybridity, with films mixing genres. Examples discussed include Alien (1977) as science fiction and horror, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) mixing live-action and animation. Famous postmodern directors like George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, and James Cameron are noted for their hybrid films like Star Wars, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Titanic respectively.
Stuart Hall was a Jamaican-born cultural theorist known as the "godfather of multiculturalism." In this document, Hall discusses two ways of thinking about cultural identity. First, as a shared culture, which was important for negritude movements. However, Hall believes cultural identity is better understood as unstable and contradictory, with similarities and differences. He argues cultural identities are formed from histories but are constantly transforming, shaped by memory, fantasy, and narrative. Hall also examines how Caribbean cultural identities relate to African, European, and American influences in the context of colonialism.
This document provides context about Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas. It discusses his life and career, including being sent to labor camps for being gay in Cuba. It analyzes the film Before Night Falls, directed by Julian Schnabel, which portrayed Arenas' life. The document discusses problematic aspects of the film, such as potentially desexualizing or exoticizing Arenas. It cautions against relying on a single story to define someone and promotes considering plurality and diversity of experiences.
How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periodsBelinda Raji
Contemporary representations of black British people in media have changed from previous eras in three key ways:
1) Earlier films from the 1950s-60s portrayed black immigrants as a "social problem" and threat to British society, seen through a white directorial lens, whereas now black British people are no longer solely represented as such.
2) Representations in the 1970s, like in Horace Ove's "Pressure", shifted to a black perspective showing issues like racism and discrimination, rather than a migrant perspective.
3) More recent films and TV shows like "Adulthood" and "Day 1" focus on disaffected youth across London influenced by black culture, moving
Media and Collective Identity: Useful quotesBelinda Raji
The documents discuss how media representations of ethnic and racial groups are shaped by dominant ideologies to control identities. Stuart Hall argued that media produces naturalized representations that construct identities like race as innate rather than politically motivated. Representations in media have power to shape popular attitudes. Research found ethnic minorities often underrepresented or stereotyped in media. Younger black respondents rejected a British identity due to feeling marginalized in society. Mixed race youth assumed a black identity due to appearance and upbringing. Accurate portrayals of communities are needed to avoid wrong impressions.
The document discusses how horror films can act as a reflection of societal fears and issues. It addresses several topics including how the threats portrayed in horror films have evolved over time to better represent the fears of the era. For example, films after World War 2 featured more werewolf movies likely reflecting the violence of Nazis. The document also examines how horror films have addressed topics like racism, treatment of women, immigration fears and more. Many examples of specific films are provided that illustrate how the films incorporated themes relating to the societal issues of their time period and location.
The document discusses the representation of different social factors in the British TV show The Inbetweeners. It addresses the representation of age, ethnicity, gender, and social class in the show. Regarding age, the show focuses on 17-18 year olds and portrays some stereotypes of teenagers. For gender, the four main characters are male and females are often portrayed as sex objects. In terms of social class, the characters come from middle-class backgrounds.
The document discusses how horror films reflect and are shaped by societal fears and culture over time. It explores how different countries portray horror differently and how the themes in horror films have changed from reflecting fears of "the other" to more personal fears closer to home. Some key points made include:
- Early horror films featured threats from vampires and monsters but now focus more on real-life threats like serial killers.
- Films from different decades mirrored the societal fears of that time period, like nuclear threat films in the 1950s.
- Tropes like home invasions may reflect a country's fear of immigrants or foreigners.
- Horror films have also been used to discuss issues like racism, trauma,
The document provides context about the Black Panther film and franchise. It discusses that Black Panther was the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest-grossing film franchise. It then covers the comic book origins of the Black Panther character and notes that plans for a Black Panther movie date back 20 years. Finally, it summarizes the plot of the Black Panther film, which shows the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda and its king T'Challa having to fight opponents who oppose him becoming king after his father's death.
This document provides an overview of the key concepts in diaspora literature. It begins by defining diaspora as the displacement of a community into a new geographical and cultural region. It then discusses two main moves in diasporic writing: the spatial move involving de-territorialization and re-territorialization, and the temporal move of looking back to the past and forward to the future. Several diasporic authors and their works are listed. The features of diasporic culture include themes of memory, alienation in the new society, and connection to the homeland. Three overarching themes are identified: nostalgia and imaginary homelands, hybrid identities, and globalization. Examples from authors Margaret Atwood
The document summarizes several media theorists and their perspectives on representation. It discusses Laura Mulvey's concept of the male gaze and how women are portrayed as passive objects in film. John Berger's theory that women appear for male objectification across media is also mentioned. Theories by Alvarado, Bell Hooks, Stuart Hall, and others address how ethnicity, race, gender, and class are commonly represented and interpreted in Western media through stereotypes, exoticism, and blurred associations. Narrative and audience reception theories are also briefly outlined.
A2 Media Studies: Post colonialist Theory (2020)KBucket
The document discusses the different treatment of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton in the British press and whether race plays a factor. It notes that Meghan faced more hostile coverage from newspapers, which some critics believe was racially motivated. Harry and Meghan have sued some newspapers and cited the press treatment as one reason they stepped back from royal duties. The document also discusses the legacy of colonialism and how representations of race in media today can still reflect beliefs from the colonial era when Europeans asserted their superiority over non-white populations.
A level media theory knowledge organiser with examMrSouthworth
This document summarizes key concepts and theories from media studies, covering semiotics, narratology, genre theory, structuralism, postmodernism, representation, identity, feminism, audience reception, and media industries. It outlines important ideas from thinkers such as Roland Barthes, Tzvetan Todorov, Steve Neale, Stuart Hall, David Gauntlett, Judith Butler, Paul Gilroy, Albert Bandura, George Gerbner, Henry Jenkins, and David Hesmondhalgh. The concepts discussed include how meaning is constructed through signs and codes, how narratives and genres function, how identity and representation work, how audiences interpret media, and the political and economic contexts of media production and regulation.
The document discusses an English literature class focusing on Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. It includes an agenda covering discussions of Ellison's prologue and "Battle Royal" chapter, as well as introductions to authors like Ginsberg. Key discussion topics are outlined, such as inferences that can be made about the narrator from the prologue and implications of his speech mistake. A reading of Ginsberg's poem "Howl" is summarized, noting its themes of individualism and critiques of American society. Postmodern aspects of "Howl" are also highlighted.
This document discusses representation and gender theory. It provides background on theorists Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, and Paul Gilroy. Judith Butler is discussed in depth, with explanations of her theories of gender performativity and "gender trouble." Gender, according to Butler, is constructed through performances and repetitions of gender roles, rather than being based on inherent or biological traits. The document also discusses debates around representation of feminism in the media.
This document discusses ethnicity in Africa. It argues that ethnicity has long been viewed negatively in Africa as "tribalism" or a remnant of the past, but that this view is misguided. Ethnicity remains an important part of African identity and should be viewed positively. Seeing ethnicity as positive could help address conflicts, support development, and guide resource mobilization. Rather than blaming ethnicity for issues like violence or economic competition, the artificial borders imposed during colonization and dysfunctional post-colonial states are more valid sources of problems in Africa. The document advocates reexamining ethnicity in a positive light and drawing on ethnic history and community as a basis for development.
The document discusses portrayals of racial and ethnic groups in television and film media. It focuses on common stereotypes faced by Black women, Black men, Latinas, and Whites throughout history. For Black women, the stereotypes of Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire are described. For Black men, the stereotype of Sambo originated during slavery and continued through minstrel shows and early television portrayals. Common stereotypes of Latinas as the virginal Señorita or spicy spitfire are also outlined. The impacts of these persistent stereotypes on self-image and societal views are examined.
The document provides questions to analyze differences between representations of Rio de Janeiro in the film City of God and tourism board advertisements. It also includes questions about documentaries on Brazil's drug wars and conditions in favelas (slums) that address police control over drug gangs, why gangs remain powerful, government plans to solve problems, views of gang leaders, and challenges with military intervention.
Post Indiginist Aesthetics by Dr. Isaiah Ilouche_ilo
This presentation highlights Post-Indiginist Aesthetics as entailing the following:
A departure from an old approach to play writing in which African dramatists expressed their culture by composing in their native language or presenting their indigenous traditions in a foreign language in the spirit of cultural nationalism; and
A new approach to play writing in which African dramatists compose in current diction to express African experience or event in a multicultural context, to project a universal lesson.
The thinking is that a playwright should be a voice for his time, speaking with the imagery and materials from his time rather than depend on appurtenances from the past to speak to the present.
Gangsta rap is critiqued using several theoretical lenses. Psychoanalytically, it expresses repressed desires through its forbidden nature. Visually, it perpetuates racist stereotypes of African Americans as violent, viewing women as sexual objects, and flaunting a crass materialism. However, some rappers promote positive messages. Overall, the analysis argues gangsta rap sustains racist ideologies, though exceptions exist.
The document discusses the 2002 Brazilian film City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles. The film depicts the violence and social issues in the Cidade de Deus favela of Rio de Janeiro between the 1960s-1980s, where gangs battle for control as children dream of escaping poverty and violence. The "City of God" refers to the slum, reflecting the residents' belief that it is under God's protection and abandonment by the government and society at large. Over 20% of Brazilians lived in absolute poverty during the time period depicted in the film.
This is the film link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGQaAddwjxg
This is a critical analysis of the film Birth of a Nation; the analysis must answer the following questions:
What was the film about?
What do you think was the director’s main goal in making this film?
How does it help us to understand the history of racism in the U.S. at that time and today?
What problems do you see with the film especially the ways in which the film portrays African-Americans and the Ku Klux Klan?
Crucial: your critique must be analytical, critical, and not only descriptive.
Grading of the Critique:
The review will be graded according to the quality of content, composition, and critical analysis. I will examine whether you have addressed the assignment, answering the four questions posed above.
The finished review must be in typewritten form, (5 pages) double spaced, the typed size must be 12 pt. Times New Roman font is required. Bold lettering is not acceptable. A cover page is required. It must include the title, your name, the date, and the name of the course. You do not need to use other sources for your critique but you may use them. If you use other sources aside from the film, you must include a bibliography. All sources must be cited according to the Turabian Style Manual. Outside sources not allowed.
This document discusses representation in media, focusing on how gender, race, age and other attributes are represented. It notes that media representations are artificial constructions that influence perceptions of reality. Gender representation is discussed in depth, along with examples of racial stereotypes. The challenges of representing diverse races, ethnicities, ages and abilities are also examined through case studies and analyses of media texts.
This document provides an overview of various media theories that can be applied to analyzing representations in media. It discusses theorists such as Laura Mulvey, John Berger, Bell Hooks, Stuart Hall, Tricia Rose, Paul Gilroy, Michael Eric Dyson, Kobena Mercer, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, and concepts like narrative theory, audience reception theory, and moral panic. Revision tips are provided, emphasizing applying these theories to coursework and case studies through references to different media like films, music videos, and magazines. Key ideas from different theorists are summarized, such as Hall's notions of "slave figure," "the native," and "the clown/entertainer" characterizations of
The document discusses several archetypal representations of femininity throughout history and across cultures. It begins by describing some of the earliest representations in the form of Paleolithic Venus figurines from 28,000-25,000 BCE. It then discusses classical Greek and Roman goddesses associated with love, beauty, and sexuality like Aphrodite and Venus. Examples of feminist interpretations of figures like Medusa are provided. The document also examines historical female figures represented in art and myths, common feminine archetypes and stereotypes, as well as examples of countertypes from modern media and culture.
This document discusses how midnight and cult films of the past found success through their exploration of political, social, and countercultural themes that resonated with audiences. It argues that films like "Blaxploitation" addressed issues facing black communities and represented them in a self-aware way not seen elsewhere. Propaganda films like "Reefer Madness" that were intended to scare audiences eventually became targets of mockery for younger, more progressive viewers. Postmodern films like "Cannibal Holocaust" found cult status by critiquing colonialism and sensationalized media through unconventional styles and challenging perspectives. By putting films in their proper historical context, works like "Freaks" that seemed tame today were truly
Muzing New Hoods, Making New Identities Film, Hip-Hop Culture.docxroushhsiu
Muzing New Hoods, Making New Identities: Film, Hip-Hop Culture, and Jazz Music
Author(s): Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr.
Source: Callaloo, Vol. 25, No. 1, Jazz Poetics: A Special Issue (Winter, 2002), pp. 309-320
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3300430 .
Accessed: 20/10/2011 00:08
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MUZING NEW HOODS, MAKING NEW IDENTITIES
Film, Hip-Hop Culture, and Jazz Music
by Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr.
We make our lives in identifications with the texts around us
everyday.
Anahid Kassabian, Hearing Film Music
The medium of film has communicated, shaped, reproduced and challenged
various notions of black subjectivity in 20th century America since D.W. Griffith's
Birth of a Nation appeared in 1915. Writing in 1949, Ralph Ellison argued that Birth of
a Nation "forged the twin screen image of the Negro as bestial rapist and grinning, eye-
rolling clown-stereotypes that are still with us today" (Ellison 275). Such depictions
in cinema had already existed in print media; and they have persisted in all mass-
mediated contexts in varying degrees throughout the century. Film, however, has
provided a most salient medium for the visual representation of African American
subjects. If, as Manthia Diawara has argued, the camera is, "the most important
invention of modern time," then it becomes an even more powerful tool when its
technology is combined with the powers of music. Indeed, when filmmakers combine
cinematic images and musical gestures they unite two of our most compelling modes
of perception: the visual and the aural.
Below I consider two films produced during the Age of Hip Hop: Spike Lee's Do
the Right Thing (1989) and Theodore Witcher's Love Jones (1997).1 On an immediate
level, I am interested how music shapes the way we perceive these cinematic
narratives individually; how music informs the way audiences experience their
characters, locations, and plots. But I am also making a larger argument for how the
musical scores of these films are sites for the negotiation of personal identity and self-
fashioning on the one hand, and the making and negotiation of group identity, on the
othe ...
The document discusses the representation of different social factors in the British TV show The Inbetweeners. It addresses the representation of age, ethnicity, gender, and social class in the show. Regarding age, the show focuses on 17-18 year olds and portrays some stereotypes of teenagers. For gender, the four main characters are male and females are often portrayed as sex objects. In terms of social class, the characters come from middle-class backgrounds.
The document discusses how horror films reflect and are shaped by societal fears and culture over time. It explores how different countries portray horror differently and how the themes in horror films have changed from reflecting fears of "the other" to more personal fears closer to home. Some key points made include:
- Early horror films featured threats from vampires and monsters but now focus more on real-life threats like serial killers.
- Films from different decades mirrored the societal fears of that time period, like nuclear threat films in the 1950s.
- Tropes like home invasions may reflect a country's fear of immigrants or foreigners.
- Horror films have also been used to discuss issues like racism, trauma,
The document provides context about the Black Panther film and franchise. It discusses that Black Panther was the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest-grossing film franchise. It then covers the comic book origins of the Black Panther character and notes that plans for a Black Panther movie date back 20 years. Finally, it summarizes the plot of the Black Panther film, which shows the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda and its king T'Challa having to fight opponents who oppose him becoming king after his father's death.
This document provides an overview of the key concepts in diaspora literature. It begins by defining diaspora as the displacement of a community into a new geographical and cultural region. It then discusses two main moves in diasporic writing: the spatial move involving de-territorialization and re-territorialization, and the temporal move of looking back to the past and forward to the future. Several diasporic authors and their works are listed. The features of diasporic culture include themes of memory, alienation in the new society, and connection to the homeland. Three overarching themes are identified: nostalgia and imaginary homelands, hybrid identities, and globalization. Examples from authors Margaret Atwood
The document summarizes several media theorists and their perspectives on representation. It discusses Laura Mulvey's concept of the male gaze and how women are portrayed as passive objects in film. John Berger's theory that women appear for male objectification across media is also mentioned. Theories by Alvarado, Bell Hooks, Stuart Hall, and others address how ethnicity, race, gender, and class are commonly represented and interpreted in Western media through stereotypes, exoticism, and blurred associations. Narrative and audience reception theories are also briefly outlined.
A2 Media Studies: Post colonialist Theory (2020)KBucket
The document discusses the different treatment of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton in the British press and whether race plays a factor. It notes that Meghan faced more hostile coverage from newspapers, which some critics believe was racially motivated. Harry and Meghan have sued some newspapers and cited the press treatment as one reason they stepped back from royal duties. The document also discusses the legacy of colonialism and how representations of race in media today can still reflect beliefs from the colonial era when Europeans asserted their superiority over non-white populations.
A level media theory knowledge organiser with examMrSouthworth
This document summarizes key concepts and theories from media studies, covering semiotics, narratology, genre theory, structuralism, postmodernism, representation, identity, feminism, audience reception, and media industries. It outlines important ideas from thinkers such as Roland Barthes, Tzvetan Todorov, Steve Neale, Stuart Hall, David Gauntlett, Judith Butler, Paul Gilroy, Albert Bandura, George Gerbner, Henry Jenkins, and David Hesmondhalgh. The concepts discussed include how meaning is constructed through signs and codes, how narratives and genres function, how identity and representation work, how audiences interpret media, and the political and economic contexts of media production and regulation.
The document discusses an English literature class focusing on Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. It includes an agenda covering discussions of Ellison's prologue and "Battle Royal" chapter, as well as introductions to authors like Ginsberg. Key discussion topics are outlined, such as inferences that can be made about the narrator from the prologue and implications of his speech mistake. A reading of Ginsberg's poem "Howl" is summarized, noting its themes of individualism and critiques of American society. Postmodern aspects of "Howl" are also highlighted.
This document discusses representation and gender theory. It provides background on theorists Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, and Paul Gilroy. Judith Butler is discussed in depth, with explanations of her theories of gender performativity and "gender trouble." Gender, according to Butler, is constructed through performances and repetitions of gender roles, rather than being based on inherent or biological traits. The document also discusses debates around representation of feminism in the media.
This document discusses ethnicity in Africa. It argues that ethnicity has long been viewed negatively in Africa as "tribalism" or a remnant of the past, but that this view is misguided. Ethnicity remains an important part of African identity and should be viewed positively. Seeing ethnicity as positive could help address conflicts, support development, and guide resource mobilization. Rather than blaming ethnicity for issues like violence or economic competition, the artificial borders imposed during colonization and dysfunctional post-colonial states are more valid sources of problems in Africa. The document advocates reexamining ethnicity in a positive light and drawing on ethnic history and community as a basis for development.
The document discusses portrayals of racial and ethnic groups in television and film media. It focuses on common stereotypes faced by Black women, Black men, Latinas, and Whites throughout history. For Black women, the stereotypes of Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire are described. For Black men, the stereotype of Sambo originated during slavery and continued through minstrel shows and early television portrayals. Common stereotypes of Latinas as the virginal Señorita or spicy spitfire are also outlined. The impacts of these persistent stereotypes on self-image and societal views are examined.
The document provides questions to analyze differences between representations of Rio de Janeiro in the film City of God and tourism board advertisements. It also includes questions about documentaries on Brazil's drug wars and conditions in favelas (slums) that address police control over drug gangs, why gangs remain powerful, government plans to solve problems, views of gang leaders, and challenges with military intervention.
Post Indiginist Aesthetics by Dr. Isaiah Ilouche_ilo
This presentation highlights Post-Indiginist Aesthetics as entailing the following:
A departure from an old approach to play writing in which African dramatists expressed their culture by composing in their native language or presenting their indigenous traditions in a foreign language in the spirit of cultural nationalism; and
A new approach to play writing in which African dramatists compose in current diction to express African experience or event in a multicultural context, to project a universal lesson.
The thinking is that a playwright should be a voice for his time, speaking with the imagery and materials from his time rather than depend on appurtenances from the past to speak to the present.
Gangsta rap is critiqued using several theoretical lenses. Psychoanalytically, it expresses repressed desires through its forbidden nature. Visually, it perpetuates racist stereotypes of African Americans as violent, viewing women as sexual objects, and flaunting a crass materialism. However, some rappers promote positive messages. Overall, the analysis argues gangsta rap sustains racist ideologies, though exceptions exist.
The document discusses the 2002 Brazilian film City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles. The film depicts the violence and social issues in the Cidade de Deus favela of Rio de Janeiro between the 1960s-1980s, where gangs battle for control as children dream of escaping poverty and violence. The "City of God" refers to the slum, reflecting the residents' belief that it is under God's protection and abandonment by the government and society at large. Over 20% of Brazilians lived in absolute poverty during the time period depicted in the film.
This is the film link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGQaAddwjxg
This is a critical analysis of the film Birth of a Nation; the analysis must answer the following questions:
What was the film about?
What do you think was the director’s main goal in making this film?
How does it help us to understand the history of racism in the U.S. at that time and today?
What problems do you see with the film especially the ways in which the film portrays African-Americans and the Ku Klux Klan?
Crucial: your critique must be analytical, critical, and not only descriptive.
Grading of the Critique:
The review will be graded according to the quality of content, composition, and critical analysis. I will examine whether you have addressed the assignment, answering the four questions posed above.
The finished review must be in typewritten form, (5 pages) double spaced, the typed size must be 12 pt. Times New Roman font is required. Bold lettering is not acceptable. A cover page is required. It must include the title, your name, the date, and the name of the course. You do not need to use other sources for your critique but you may use them. If you use other sources aside from the film, you must include a bibliography. All sources must be cited according to the Turabian Style Manual. Outside sources not allowed.
This document discusses representation in media, focusing on how gender, race, age and other attributes are represented. It notes that media representations are artificial constructions that influence perceptions of reality. Gender representation is discussed in depth, along with examples of racial stereotypes. The challenges of representing diverse races, ethnicities, ages and abilities are also examined through case studies and analyses of media texts.
This document provides an overview of various media theories that can be applied to analyzing representations in media. It discusses theorists such as Laura Mulvey, John Berger, Bell Hooks, Stuart Hall, Tricia Rose, Paul Gilroy, Michael Eric Dyson, Kobena Mercer, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, and concepts like narrative theory, audience reception theory, and moral panic. Revision tips are provided, emphasizing applying these theories to coursework and case studies through references to different media like films, music videos, and magazines. Key ideas from different theorists are summarized, such as Hall's notions of "slave figure," "the native," and "the clown/entertainer" characterizations of
The document discusses several archetypal representations of femininity throughout history and across cultures. It begins by describing some of the earliest representations in the form of Paleolithic Venus figurines from 28,000-25,000 BCE. It then discusses classical Greek and Roman goddesses associated with love, beauty, and sexuality like Aphrodite and Venus. Examples of feminist interpretations of figures like Medusa are provided. The document also examines historical female figures represented in art and myths, common feminine archetypes and stereotypes, as well as examples of countertypes from modern media and culture.
This document discusses how midnight and cult films of the past found success through their exploration of political, social, and countercultural themes that resonated with audiences. It argues that films like "Blaxploitation" addressed issues facing black communities and represented them in a self-aware way not seen elsewhere. Propaganda films like "Reefer Madness" that were intended to scare audiences eventually became targets of mockery for younger, more progressive viewers. Postmodern films like "Cannibal Holocaust" found cult status by critiquing colonialism and sensationalized media through unconventional styles and challenging perspectives. By putting films in their proper historical context, works like "Freaks" that seemed tame today were truly
Muzing New Hoods, Making New Identities Film, Hip-Hop Culture.docxroushhsiu
Muzing New Hoods, Making New Identities: Film, Hip-Hop Culture, and Jazz Music
Author(s): Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr.
Source: Callaloo, Vol. 25, No. 1, Jazz Poetics: A Special Issue (Winter, 2002), pp. 309-320
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3300430 .
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MUZING NEW HOODS, MAKING NEW IDENTITIES
Film, Hip-Hop Culture, and Jazz Music
by Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr.
We make our lives in identifications with the texts around us
everyday.
Anahid Kassabian, Hearing Film Music
The medium of film has communicated, shaped, reproduced and challenged
various notions of black subjectivity in 20th century America since D.W. Griffith's
Birth of a Nation appeared in 1915. Writing in 1949, Ralph Ellison argued that Birth of
a Nation "forged the twin screen image of the Negro as bestial rapist and grinning, eye-
rolling clown-stereotypes that are still with us today" (Ellison 275). Such depictions
in cinema had already existed in print media; and they have persisted in all mass-
mediated contexts in varying degrees throughout the century. Film, however, has
provided a most salient medium for the visual representation of African American
subjects. If, as Manthia Diawara has argued, the camera is, "the most important
invention of modern time," then it becomes an even more powerful tool when its
technology is combined with the powers of music. Indeed, when filmmakers combine
cinematic images and musical gestures they unite two of our most compelling modes
of perception: the visual and the aural.
Below I consider two films produced during the Age of Hip Hop: Spike Lee's Do
the Right Thing (1989) and Theodore Witcher's Love Jones (1997).1 On an immediate
level, I am interested how music shapes the way we perceive these cinematic
narratives individually; how music informs the way audiences experience their
characters, locations, and plots. But I am also making a larger argument for how the
musical scores of these films are sites for the negotiation of personal identity and self-
fashioning on the one hand, and the making and negotiation of group identity, on the
othe ...
The historical documentary film Through A Lens, Darkly, about the impact of Black photography, is both an archive and an event. This document analyzes how it works and why, as history, political expression, and media art.
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A genre is a system used to classify and organize different types of creative works like films, music, books, and television shows into distinguishable groups. Genre affects popular culture trends over time and different countries often have their own genres of music or film. Genres help audiences find the types of creative works they enjoy and allow creators and media companies to target specific demographics. Subgenres sometimes emerge to allow for more nuanced classifications within a genre and prevent a sense of homogenization. As global communication increases, more pop culture subgenres are created each year.
Similar to Ethnographic Film Popular Media and Hollywood Spectacle (9)
The 4th Racial Justice Summit will take place on November 9, 2012 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at Heartland Community College's Astroth Community Education Center. The summit will feature keynote speaker Tim Wise, an author and anti-racism activist who has spoken at over 600 colleges on issues of racial justice from a privileged perspective. The summit will provide an interactive workshop on racial justice issues past, present, and future. Registration is $40 per person or $25 for students, and includes breakfast and lunch.
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Ethnographic Film Popular Media and Hollywood Spectacle
1. JULIE NAVICKAS
ENG 456: World Literature
Ethnographic Film, Popular
Media and Hollywood
Spectacle: An Analysis of Blood
Diamond as a Representation of
Post-colonial African Media
2. 1
Introduction
An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war
overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a
rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman’s son, conscripted as a
child solider into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across
the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside.
This is the synopsis found on the DVD packaging of the film Blood Diamond (2006).
Flashed alongside are rave third-party reviews and Academy Award nominations. The film
boasts an “A-list” cast and their credentials, including Leonard DiCaprio and his nomination for
best performance by an actor in a leading role and Djimon Hounsou, who was tabbed for a
nomination in the category of best performance by an actor in a supporting role. With the high
praise of “spectacular, exciting and stunningly well made,” by David Denby of The New Yorker
and “an underrated thriller” by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times, pop culture icons
certainly recommend the general public experience the film for the price of admission.
Online, the Internet Movie Database (IMBD), a popular resource for moviegoers,
summarizes Blood Diamond as “Archer, a man tortured by his roots, has made himself a key
player in the business of conflict diamonds. Political unrest is rampant in Sierra Leone as African
natives fight tooth for tooth.” While the audiences for these synopses may be persuaded to invest
their time and/or money in the film, they may be numb to the gross injustice Blood Diamond
imposed upon the representation of the African culture. Before the viewer even unwraps the
DVD from its plastic prison, the representation of the African culture is forced upon the
consumers’ minds. Depictions about the film’s content immediately portray the African
population as primitive, literally fighting a bloody battle “tooth for tooth.” The espoused
ideology pigeons the African culture, comparing and reducing its population to animals who rip
each other apart with their very teeth. The African land itself is subsequently identified as
3. 2
“alternately beautiful,” firmly imposing the assumption that the Western consumer could not
possibly look at Africa as a land of standalone beauty, unless immediately compared to the
alternative civilized Western nations. A “ravaged countryside” is the simplistic description the
African land is given, nothing more, nothing less.
To be fair and accurate, Blood Diamond is not the first Hollywood creation to degrade the
African culture, or to describe the entire continent as a singular civilization at war. In fact, this
surface depiction has become commonplace. From Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy (1996) to
Richard Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines (2004), to Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda (2004), the
Hollywood representation of Africa, even during the past two decades, is consistently inaccurate
and asserting of an ever-present division between Western subjectivity and primitive “otherness”
(Rony, 1996).
Hollywood cinema is not the only place today where representations of Africa are
reduced to primitive depictions. Popular culture has the ability to strategically craft images and
provide its consumers with a preconceived notion of the semantically inferior “Third World.”
From the primitive images of popular magazines like National Geographic, to news broadcasts
that strategically utilize the most sensational, jarring, and brutal images taken out of context, to
popular musical artists today, a rushing current directs viewers toward a general belief: Africa is
uncivilized and needs Western civilization to rescue it.
And even in seemingly noble efforts, the message prevails. For example, in 2014 the
popular pop/punk alternative rock band Yellowcard chose to feature a long standing African
crisis related to the Lord’s Resistance Army in their music video “One Bedroom.” While their
goal was likely to educate fans about the crisis and garner critical support, the selected images of
Africa are consistent with negative, violent depictions, resulting in miseducation. While this
4. 3
particular example alone cannot capture the entirety of popular culture representation, it stands to
imply that this preconceived notion that Africa is indeed a nation at eternal war, primitive to the
very core, and unworthy of value is absolutely accurate. It is the purpose of this paper to unpack
and critique the blinders placed on Western society through the lens of Hollywood film.
Within the context of the dominant Western civilization African ideology, this paper
provides a working foundation for the representation of ethnographic cinema in Hollywood
spectacle, focusing primarily on the 2006 film Blood Diamond. Specifically, this paper argues
that Blood Diamond not only remains consistent with the previous depictions of Hollywood
cinema’s representations of the African culture and how it is ethnographically documented, but
addresses specifically how films in this genre indulge in overgeneralizations and gloss over
cultural specificities. Drawing primarily from Fatimah Tobing Rony’s (1996) framework on
ethnographic cinema and its ties to indigenous cultures, this paper analyzes Blood Diamond and
offers an in-depth look into the way African culture is represented in Hollywood cinema through
the use of textual analysis, a process employed for interpreting messages manifested across
cultural contexts.
Theoretical Framework
Defining Ethnographic Cinema
Before turning to a review of existing literature, theoretical frameworks, and research
conducted in this area of study, it is imperative to first identify and define the nature of
ethnographic film and its relationship to Hollywood spectacle. Accordingly to Macdougall
(1969), a renowned ethnographic filmmaker and writer on visual anthropology and
documentary cinema, ethnographic film is defined as:
…any film which seeks to reveal one society to another. It may be concerned with the
physical life of a people or with the nature of their social experience. Since these are also
5. 4
the subjects of anthropology, we tend to associate ethnographic filmmaking with
anthropologists, but the two are not invariably linked.
Similarly, ethnographic film is often closely aligned with documentary film both in its history
and form. Scholars have attempted to differentiate the two by categorizing films as either
“ethnographic documentary” or “anthropologically intended cinema.” The popular categorization
of ethnographic film, from the perspective of Western cultures, is any film about any non-
Western culture, and often seen as “exotic” as critically noted by Ruby (1996). Ruby goes on to
argue for an even stricter definition of ethnographic film than Macdougall, pegging it as
“Limited to productions by individuals with anthropological training, preferably at a professional
level combined with a media production background.”
Rony (1996) furthers this description by not only solidifying the genre’s direct ties to the
field of anthropology, but its role in popular Hollywood cinema. Accordingly to Rony,
ethnography is a development stemmed directly from anthropology. While ethnography is
primarily a written craft, it extends to the silver screen in today’s popular culture. Rony states:
In the popular imagination an “ethnographic film” is akin to a National Geographic
special which purports to portray whole cultures within the space of an hour or two. The
viewer is presented with an array of subsistence activities, kinship, religion, myth,
ceremonial ritual, music and dance, and – in what may be taken as the genre’s defining
trope – some form of animal sacrifice. Like a classic ethnography which encapsulates a
culture in one volume, an ethnographic film becomes a metonym for an entire culture.
What is particularly revealing about Rony’s assessment and description of an ethnographic film
is its direct relation and implementation of Hollywood spectacle. Rony asserts that through this
particular medium (cinema), the entire concept of ethnography is tied up into a neat little bow of
one to two hours in length and directly solidifies the representation of a particular culture in the
minds’ of its consumers. The time constraints in and of themselves directly impact the message
depicted in the film; moreover, only particular concepts of a culture are revealed, most likely
6. 5
pertaining to the commonplace misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the holistic culture.
Therefore, the danger in ethnographic cinema becomes its overindulgence in sweeping
generalizations and inability (and refusal) to illuminate the innumerable intricacies and nuances
present within and throughout cultures. In today’s 20-seconds or less society, catchy, easily
remembered metonyms secure one’s perception of a brand of mayonnaise, but more dangerously,
one’s summation of cultures and civilizations. Such is that, a native of India is suddenly
perceived as a “slumdog” as derived from depictions in Slumdog Millionaire. Must we forget,
there are approximately one billion individuals living in India speaking more than 120
languages?
Leaving the inherent content of overgeneralizations in the film Blood Diamond aside, it is
also important to note who the film often portrays. Accordingly to visual anthropologist Jay
Ruby (2002), the demographic often focused on defines the subject matter. He explains further
by stating:
The vast majority of films described as ethnographic are concerned with exotic, non-
Western people. The subject matter is often concerning dark-skinned individuals
regularly referred to as ‘savages’ or ‘primitives.’
Rony (1996) continues the description of ethnographic films by asserting that these types of
Hollywood films are consistently racially defined. Individuals showcased in film are represented
as exotic in nature and predominantly of an earlier evolutionally phase in the progress of
mankind’s development. In fact, through this delineation, film subjects are often depicted as
individuals without their own personal history, not possessing the ability to read, write, behave in
a “civilized” manner, and of course, they would not have knowledge or access to modern
technology. In other words, Rony describes these film subjects as inherently “ethnographiable.”
7. 6
While Rony makes the argument that these film classifications are by and large racially
defined, the consumers of the media may in fact not be consciously aware of this employed
tactic. In fact, it is fair to argue that the Western audience believes that these films objectively
capture authentic non-Western cultures. Therein appears to be a willful indifference by the
audience, and/or a cultural conditioning. More simplistically, the audience is “willfully ignorant”
to how these films are very much racially defined. Wakeham (2008) adds an interesting thought
to the by and large “willfully ignorant” argument, offering the concept of “unseen cinema.”
According to Wakeham, this idea implicitly entices audiences with the possibility of seeing the
unseen. The desire of human nature to want to see what has never been seen before renders the
object of study accessible to the ethnographic gaze. While Wakeham applies this concept to her
work on taxidermy, the main assertion applies very much to ethnographic cinema. Consumers of
media often seek the visual representation of the foreign culture, therefore fundamentally
believing in the material they see. If the culture is documented in cinema, it inherently must be a
representation of truth.
Furthermore, it is also important to note the appropriate title associated with ethnographic
film. Rony (1996) makes it clear that her choice in title is purposeful and direct. She chooses the
word “cinema” rather than “film or footage” for a variety of reasons:
I couple “ethnographic” with the word “cinema” rather than with “footage” or “films”
because I wish to stress the institutional matrix in which the images are embedded.
Cinema is not only a technology; it is a social practice with conventions that profoundly
shape its forms. Cinema has been a primary means through which race and gender are
visualized as natural categories; cinema has been the site of intersection between
anthropology, popular culture, and the constructions of nation and empire.
Cinema tends to bring the past into the present, while the field of anthropology often implies that
indigenous peoples are remnants of an earlier age. Therefore, it is safe to make the claim that
Hollywood itself, through the use of today’s popular culture and cinema, may in fact be the cause
8. 7
of this direct and unwavering injustice associated with indigenous cultures and their
representation in today’s media. While this particular assumption by itself is worthy of additional
study, it does inform the inherent argument detailed throughout this paper. In fact, Rony (1996)
makes the claim that scholars have largely overlooked the way in which standard ethnographic
film is linked to popular media entertainments and Hollywood spectacle. Thus, this specifically
will be evaluated and addressed through the analysis of the film Blood Diamond (2006).
The History of Cinematic Ethnography
Before delving into the analysis of this film, it is important to first understand the history
of this genre and recognize the noted film ethnographers in the field. The first cinematic
ethnography is credited to Robert Flahery for his film Nanook of the North in 1922. Similarly,
Felix-Louis Regnault is recognized as an influential contributor to the genre for his work that
was published in 1895. It was only after Nanook of the North was released that Regnault was
credited for his contribution of the “crossed cultural study of movement” in the genre. Other
significant credited ethnographers include Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead in the 1930’s
and the work of John Marshall, which spans from the 1950’s to the early 2000’s. However, no
other individual has been acknowledged as more influential to the genre than Jean Rouch, a
French anthropologist who inaugurated the genre of ethnographic film and was dubbed ‘the
father of Nigerian cinema’ (Loizos, 1993).
Without the acclaimed work of Jean Rouch, the field would essentially be non-existent.
Rouch’s work mimics to an extent what anthropologist Jay Ruby claims in that the primary goal
of ethnographic film has become communicating ethnographic knowledge. There is almost an
entire industry built around the critique of Rouch’s films. Many of the ethnographic films
produced in the colonial era by Jean Rouch were rejected by African filmmakers because in their
9. 8
view they distorted African realities. Therefore, it is with Rouch’s films in which the relations
between Africa and the West emerge that is of interest here with regard to ethical considerations
and questions of representation (Cooper, 2006).
Rouch’s work was primarily influenced by literature, painting and photography and his
own perception of reality and how it shaped the methods he used, such as a mobile camera, wide
angle filming and innovative sound recording techniques. The dominant image of Rouch that
emerged was that of an anthropologist who created narrative films that progressively freed
themselves of structure of the event they represented. Deeply influenced by the people he filmed,
Rouch incorporated their way of thinking into his films, but also into his own way of being.
Scholars agree that Rouch’s greatest contribution to the field of ethnographic cinema was the
intense process of exchange between himself, his actors, and his audience. Through
“anthropology in the first person,” Rouch drew both from his subject and the spectator into his
subjective responses to the people and situations of his films, revealing beliefs, realities and ways
of thinking that would otherwise not be obvious to the typical eye (Collins, 2006). While many
have contributed to what the genre is known for today, Rauch appears to be the primary driver
behind the existing ideologies of ethnographic cinema, especially when looking at the depiction
of the African culture.
Analysis of Blood Diamond
After defining ethnographic cinema, identifying where the genre emerged from, and
understanding the implications of how this genre of film impacts Western civilization, the
problematic representations of the African culture can be easily identified and exemplified in the
2006 film Blood Diamond. As such, Blood Diamond delivers a Westernized representation of
Africa through the use of three key themes: the inherent depictions of African cultures and the
10. 9
civilization as a whole, how Western civilization and the white culture are portrayed, and of
course, how the African race and cultures are effectively degraded time after time.
Depictions of the African Culture & Civilization
The film opens with a playful scene between Solomon Vandy and his son Dia, who are
sweetly bickering over the importance of school and education. As viewers, we see Solomon
desiring his son to become a doctor and do more with his life than mend fishing nets. Beautiful
images of the African sunrise over the water visually appear and a calming sense of peace
comforts the viewer through the use of soothing music. However, only moments later we hear
the thundering rap music of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) soldiers approaching and
what was initially calm and soothing becomes a heart pounding, blood pumping, intense
depiction of Solomon and Dia tearing barefoot back to their village to save their family from the
coming invasion. Within the first minutes of the film, blood spatters the scene with violent
murders of the villagers by the RUF soldiers, culminating in a sickening act where we watch the
very hands of children being hacked off with a blunt machete. Solomon himself waits in line for
the impending mutilation, but is spared from this fate because the leader of the RUF identifies
him as a man built for work and someone who can contribute to the conflict diamond industry.
His physical build, therefore, is what saves him from the loss of his hands. From the very first
scene, something so simplistic is inherently engrained in the minds of the viewers as we
collectively make the assumption that Solomon’s life is worth no more than forced slave labor.
As if the opening sequence isn’t enough to jar a viewer and instantly impose a bloody,
violent image of the African land, we are treated to a variety of additional visual and auditory
representations of what Africa is. Even secondary characters, such as M’Ed the bartender, are
awarded the opportunity to implicitly state that colonialism is imbedded in the African way of
11. 10
life and is something all must suffer through. In his opening conversation with Danny Archer, he
states “We were here long before you came and we will be here long after you go.” Even the
simplicity of this statement is enough to establish the understanding that Africans simply tolerate
the imposition of hosting the Western civilization and have no choice but to let it play out. In the
same scene, as Danny Archer is speaking to Maddie Bowen for the first time, he makes the
statement “People here kill each other like it’s a way of life.” From the onset, the viewer is
taught to understand that the violence in Africa is commonplace and should not be questioned
because it is an inherent part of this culture.
As stated previously, Hollywood is known for over generalizations and tends to gloss
over cultural specificities. Maddie Bowen demonstrates this concept to its fullest potential by
making blanket statements that are intended to apply to the mass population of Africa. While
Danny Archer is attempting to recruit Maddie in helping to locate Solomon’s family, she argues
that “The whole country is at war…why should [she] help just one person?” The simplicity of
this statement is what arguably makes the notion of overgeneralizations quite clear. She also
follows up by inhumanly making a comment about how she is tired of writing the victim story
about “Little black babies with swollen bellies and flies in their eyes. It’s like a God-damn
infomercial.” As a viewer, we identify with Maddie as a “good” character and understand that
she is attempting to uncover the truth behind the conflict diamond industry. Nevertheless, the
statement overgeneralizes the African population through a character with whom Western
civilization is intended to identify with. Thus, the viewer may also reduce black babies to solely
swollen bellies with flies in their eyes; reinforcing a visual image displayed disproportionately to
Western civilization.
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We also see the degradation of the African land through the very voice of our main
character Danny Archer, as he screams at Solomon that “This diamond is [his] ticket off of this
‘God-forsaken’ continent.” Initially as viewers, we are enraged with Danny’s actions toward
Solomon, but eventually bend to sympathize with this white character. We learn that Danny is an
ex-mercenary turned smuggler in the diamond industry. He was born in Zimbabwe and we come
to understand that his life has been directly tied to the violent wars that to this day still ravage the
countryside. At the age of nine, he watched his mother be raped and murdered and his father
decapitated and hung up on a hook in a bar. His character continuously evokes sympathy from
the viewers as we witness Colonel Coetzee tell Danny “This red earth, it’s in our skin. The
Shona say the color comes from all the blood that’s been spilled fighting over the land. This is
home. You’ll never leave Africa.” As the predominantly white character in the film, the Western
audience naturally sympathizes with his desire to leave Africa. In fact, Captain Poison reinforces
this white desire when he asserts that Africa is hell. When he demands that Solomon locate the
diamond on his behalf, he states “You think I am a devil…but only because I have lived in hell. I
want to get out. You’ll help me.”
The desire to leave Africa from the white characters is key. Even the notion that God
himself wanted to be removed from this country is stated. As Danny Archer is relaying his past
trauma to Maddie, he asks her “Will God ever forgive us for what we’ve done to each other?”
When she doesn’t answer, he continues with “Never mind…God left this place a long time ago.”
The fact that the white characters are even having this conversation in the first place is
problematic and inherently demonizes the African civilization, reducing their culture to nothing
more than a wasteland that God is no longer concerned with. This notion is even reinforced
through the words of Solomon. As Solomon is confiding in Danny, he states “I understand why
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white people want our diamonds, but why would my own people do this to each other?” He then
tells Danny his belief that “There is something wrong with us…something inside our black
skin.” The simplicity of this statement is of course absurd, but the inherent negativity it carries
for entire civilizations of Africans is even more appalling.
Representations of Western Civilization & Culture
While the film evidently spends an inordinate amount of time demonstrating that Africa
is a nation unworthy of Westernized attention, it spends even more time depicting Westernized
civilization and white culture and the influence they have on this land. Within the first twenty
minutes of the film, we meet Maddie Bowen, an American journalist who has been in Africa for
three months. We learn that Maddie is there to get the story on the illegal conflict diamond trade
and seeks out Archer to help her do just that. When we meet Maddie, we initially attach
ourselves to her character and understand her to be genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of
Africa’s population. As she meets Danny, she references the fact that Bill Clinton’s sexual
escapades are headline news and are being broadcast to the African population. Meanwhile, we
know that over two million Africans are homeless refugees because of the war. She enables the
audience to sympathize with her passion when she states that “Over one million people…this is
the second largest refugee camp in Africa right now…it might make an appearance on CNN in
between sports and weather.” Even though Maddie is calling to our attention the significance of
the crisis, the fact that she has to point this out at all is problematic to say the least.
As referenced above, Maddie introduces the concept of conflict diamonds to the audience
and acts to uncover the truth behind the illegal trade. Throughout the film we learn that Rudolph
Van de Kaap, a diamond buyer and manufacturer in London, has denied any involvement in the
illegal trade of blood diamonds. He prominently aligns himself with Western civilization and
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pretends to be a proponent of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) to regulate the
commercial sale of diamonds. While we know that Van de Kaap is corrupt, it does call attention
to the reason the trade exists in the first place. As Danny and Maddie discuss the illegal
activities, Danny validates the reason the conflict diamond crisis exists in the first place by
stereotypically drawing attention to the fact that “American girls want their big fancy, storybook
wedding…and a big shiny rock.” Thus, Van de Kaap purchases the illegal blood diamonds from
smugglers like Danny and buries them in an underground vault to control the supply and increase
the demand, and by default, keep the price high for Americans.
On another note, throughout the film, we see traces of how Westernized characters
ultimately play the hero and act to perpetually come to the rescue of lesser characters. We see
this often between Danny Archer and Solomon Vandy. After Solomon finds himself in prison, it
is ultimately Danny Archer who awards him his freedom. However, freedom for Solomon comes
at a price. When Cape Town is under siege from the RUF, Danny asserts that Solomon “Needs
his help whether he wants it or not.” When Solomon doesn’t respond immediately, Danny
follows up with “Without me, you’re just another black man in Africa.” These words pierce the
core of the argument demonstrated within colonialism in Africa. While Danny Archer often
makes the statement “TIA…this is Africa,” it only further identifies that this land is unworthy of
fighting their own battles because they will only end in blood shed. It is the civilized, Western
demographic that ultimately must save Africa from itself.
As a fundamental trait of ethnographic cinema, particularly when looking at Africa, it is
inherently the white male that often saves the day. This can be easily identified twice in Blood
Diamond, both involving Danny saving Solomon. The most obvious example comes from one of
the final scenes where an airstrike is taking out the RUF soldiers, one of whom is Solomon’s son,
15. 14
Dia. While Solomon is fighting for his life with the captain of the RUF, as viewers we see a
scared Dia covering his ears and cowering like a small child in the middle of the battle. Always
the hero, Danny comes rushing in to save the day and ultimately saves the child’s life by carrying
him out of harm’s way. As the story then progresses, we sympathize with Danny after he is shot
in the chest while recovering the pink diamond Solomon hid at the beginning of film. He bravely
secures the diamond and simultaneously leads Solomon and Dia to the top of a cliff where he has
arranged for his pilot to take them all to safety. As Danny climbs the cliff, he realizes he will
never make it and sends Solomon off with both the diamond and his son with instructions to get
out alive. He heroically sacrifices himself for the Vandy family to live. While this scene instills
love and compassion for the Danny character, his final words irrevocably instigate the most
problematic lines of the entire film. As Danny lays dying, he phones Maddie to ask that she
assist Solomon in London and the deal with Van de Kaap and ends the call by stating that “It’s a
real story now.” These simple words carry an intense weight. The very thought that because our
white male hero is dying in some way now enables her story to be worthy for others to read.
These words simultaneously reinforce the stereotypically while male hero and imply that the
very core of the crisis was unworthy of attention until a white male dies. Now that he has nobly
died, the story can be considered “real,” negating the fact that thousands, maybe millions, of
Africans have already lost their lives to the war concerning conflict diamonds.
The notion that a white male had to die for the story to validate itself arguably backs up
the question Solomon asks of Maddie when they’re traveling in the van together. Maddie
explains to Solomon that her role as a journalist is to write about the crisis Africa is facing.
Solomon thanks her for her help and then asks “When people in your country read this story, will
they come and help?” She sadly responds with “Probably not.” Her response ultimately implies
16. 15
that no matter how much attention is called to the blood diamond trade, Westernized civilization
has no desire to act, intervene, or assist in anyway. If the current war over blood diamonds is not
enough for Western civilization to act upon, perhaps another scarce commodity will. This is
eluded to by the villager Solomon speaks to while they’re tracking the RUF. He states “Let’s
hope they don’t discover that we have oil here. Then we’d really have problems.” While this
statement is meant as comic relief in the film, it also provides a valid point. The West will only
intervene if they have something to gain from it.
Degrading the African Race
While the film spends most of its time demonstrating that Africa is depicted as a land
always at war, forsaken by God himself, and ultimately in a bloody battle to simply survive, it
also takes the time to capitalize on Western civilization involvement and prove once more that
Western culture is superior and always saves the day. In fact, Blood Diamond takes it one step
further and degrades the African race on multiple accounts.
While Danny is attempting to explain the complex situation to Solomon about his
involvement with the hidden pink diamond, he utilizes the word “conundrum.” When Solomon
does not initially respond, Danny assumes that Solomon does not understand the word and
proceeds to explain to him exactly what it means. This simple exchange of dialogue degrades the
African race by automatically assuming that the education of Solomon is below the grade level
where the definition of this word is taught. Furthermore, we often hear Solomon Vandy refer to
Danny Archer as “boss” or “boss man,” implying that Danny holds the power in the relationship,
when in reality, they both need each other equally. While the relationship dynamic is equal,
Danny demands Solomon to feel inferior. During a heated argument between the two, Solomon
tells Danny “You are not my master!” Danny then simply states “That’s exactly what I am.”
17. 16
Perhaps without the intention behind these words, the film ultimately implies that the power
dynamic between white and black is never equal. While both are born in Africa, have lived there
their entire lives, simply because of the color of their skin, the power dynamic is there and
Solomon is as a result, “lesser than.”
Conclusion
In sum, Hollywood cinema has remained true to form with the film Blood Diamond.
While remaining consistent with previous depictions of Hollywood cinema’s representations of
the African culture and how it is ethnographically documented, Blood Diamond indulges greatly
in overgeneralizations and glosses over cultural specificities. From the first scene to the very last,
viewers witness an untrue representation of the African land and are brutally pulled into a world
where the depictions of primitive people are fighting “tooth for tooth” in a world dominated by
an illegal trade. The white male acts the hero and enables the underdog to win the fight as he
heroically dies on the battlefield. If films were judged solely by their good intentions, this one
would be best in show. Instead, gilded in money and dripping with sanctimony, culturally
confused and consistently contradictory, the film is a textbook example of how easily
commercialism can trump more complete, thoughtful depictions of cultures outside Western
civilizations, particularly in Hollywood. In this way, Blood Diamond is “a real story now.” And
ironically, it motivates no action outside the proliferation of misguided perceptions and
Hollywood’s consumer votes.
Within this context, we are simultaneously creating and reinforcing popular cultural
beliefs in our actions and “willful ignorance” as a society. While education can help us critique
these depictions in film, and consumerism in general, there seems to be no real value to most in
bringing forth a perception that is outside popular culture. There is little money in it, and there is
18. 17
little desire to break inertia to get the ball rolling on becoming more well-rounded, informed
global citizens. Thus, individuals will continue to accept what is thrust in front of them, and
reinforce this miseducation among their family, peers, and all acquaintances. We are all carriers.
19. 18
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