Well, I've reached the end of the critical writing period. Today is Friday, and that means I am expected to hand in a hyperlink of this blog to my teacher. At the beginning of this writing period I made a goal of posting something about this movie at least once a day. As you can see from my grand total of four posts (after this one), I may have come up a little short. I think though that this reflects a deeper interests in the topics I discussed, and I wanted to pursue them further in longer, more detailed posts.
I find it difficult to close such a subject. Everything I have written about has been found in a movie. Most times when I watch a movie, its plot, characters, and messages are lost to me in the span of a month. However, everything I have written about is also grounded in truth. It's because of this close connection between a fictitious romantic thriller and what actually occurs in Africa that this movie will remain with me well beyond my short attention span. I will remember it for its important, and accurate, depiction of the slums and its relation to the power authority of Africa. I will remember it for its scenes of international aid, whether it was a corporate effort or a governmental one. Above all else, I will remember how this movie was able to portray an Africa that might be going through all of these problems - but as symbolized by its strong characters (whether they were African or not)- it is completely capable of solving them and reaching the ranks of developed countries.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
African Aid: In the Movie and in Real Life
Like a lot of people in actual power positions in Africa, Justin believed in the power of organizations to bring about social, economic, and medical aid to the impoverished people in Africa. But as he soon discovered, it is completely within the power of the individual, in fact sometimes better this way, to bring about this change.
Justin's wife Tessa is convinced that some of the agencies here, supposedly on behalf on the common good, are really here for profit and good publicity. She investigates further, and she finds that the pharmaceutical companies are testing their drugs on uninformed Africans, who have no choice to accept the testing if they want their lifesaving drugs. In one instance in the movie, Justin finds himself at the medical clinic within an African food camp in Sudan. There he learns that the drugs are expired and donated purely because of the tax break it provides. These practices are not so out of line with reality. In fact, Pfizer's unethical testing of Trovan on the children of Nigeria mirrors the story Meirelles tries to create. Pfizer produced Trovan under the assumption that it was safe and effective because the same amount of children died who were treated with Trovan as the children who were treated with the leading medicine, ceftriaxone.This is questionable too because there are reports indicating that not enough of the ceftriaxone was given to the children (Angell). The fact that this type of human testing on African children is normal is very hypocritical of the drug companies as the drugs that are being tested in Africa are being targeted in America. The FDA has very strict regulations about human testing, and the drug companies are able to circumvent all these procedures by testing their products in third world countries.
This is not the only type of "aid" present in the movie. There is a scene where Justin enlists the help a UN pilot to take him to a food camp in Southern Sudan. On the way there, the pilot stops to drop flour for several villages.
The United States alone spends almost $7.2 billion in aid like this yearly (UN). Compare this to the United State's defense budget of $965 billion (US Defense Budget). Yes, the money is enough to provide the Africans with things like flour, but not nearly enough for any meaningful improvements like infrastructure. When the plane arrives in the food camp, it is turned over to white people who distribute the aid. Dr. Brandt is seemingly in charge of the operation and apparently also in charge of the conversions. The pilot comments on his tendency to group eternal salvation with UN supplies on the way there. I think this is an interesting point as it illustrates once the aid is purchased and transported, powerful individuals are welcome to morph the aid as they see fit. Eventually, the camp is overrun by raiders who take children as sex slaves and also the supplies that were just delivered. Again, the lack of actual support is quite visible. This food isn't helping. In fact, it's actually making the people that receive it a target. As Dr. Brandt aptly states: "It's how the world fucks Africa, Mr Black . . . It's how they expiate their guilt."
SOURCES USED:
"Aid to Africa." UN.org. United Nations, Oct. 2010. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/reports/2010_Aidbrief.pdf>.
Angell, Marcia. "The Body Hunters." The New York Review of Books. 06 Oct. 2005. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/oct/06/the-body-hunters/>.
"US Federal Budget Analyst." US Defense Budget: US Federal Budget FY12 Spending Breakdown. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_budget_2012_3.html>.
Justin's wife Tessa is convinced that some of the agencies here, supposedly on behalf on the common good, are really here for profit and good publicity. She investigates further, and she finds that the pharmaceutical companies are testing their drugs on uninformed Africans, who have no choice to accept the testing if they want their lifesaving drugs. In one instance in the movie, Justin finds himself at the medical clinic within an African food camp in Sudan. There he learns that the drugs are expired and donated purely because of the tax break it provides. These practices are not so out of line with reality. In fact, Pfizer's unethical testing of Trovan on the children of Nigeria mirrors the story Meirelles tries to create. Pfizer produced Trovan under the assumption that it was safe and effective because the same amount of children died who were treated with Trovan as the children who were treated with the leading medicine, ceftriaxone.This is questionable too because there are reports indicating that not enough of the ceftriaxone was given to the children (Angell). The fact that this type of human testing on African children is normal is very hypocritical of the drug companies as the drugs that are being tested in Africa are being targeted in America. The FDA has very strict regulations about human testing, and the drug companies are able to circumvent all these procedures by testing their products in third world countries.
This is not the only type of "aid" present in the movie. There is a scene where Justin enlists the help a UN pilot to take him to a food camp in Southern Sudan. On the way there, the pilot stops to drop flour for several villages.
The United States alone spends almost $7.2 billion in aid like this yearly (UN). Compare this to the United State's defense budget of $965 billion (US Defense Budget). Yes, the money is enough to provide the Africans with things like flour, but not nearly enough for any meaningful improvements like infrastructure. When the plane arrives in the food camp, it is turned over to white people who distribute the aid. Dr. Brandt is seemingly in charge of the operation and apparently also in charge of the conversions. The pilot comments on his tendency to group eternal salvation with UN supplies on the way there. I think this is an interesting point as it illustrates once the aid is purchased and transported, powerful individuals are welcome to morph the aid as they see fit. Eventually, the camp is overrun by raiders who take children as sex slaves and also the supplies that were just delivered. Again, the lack of actual support is quite visible. This food isn't helping. In fact, it's actually making the people that receive it a target. As Dr. Brandt aptly states: "It's how the world fucks Africa, Mr Black . . . It's how they expiate their guilt."
SOURCES USED:
"Aid to Africa." UN.org. United Nations, Oct. 2010. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/reports/2010_Aidbrief.pdf>.
Angell, Marcia. "The Body Hunters." The New York Review of Books. 06 Oct. 2005. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/oct/06/the-body-hunters/>.
"US Federal Budget Analyst." US Defense Budget: US Federal Budget FY12 Spending Breakdown. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_budget_2012_3.html>.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Getting Slummy: Kibera and Modernization
A loud horn erupts, a train races by, Africans are bustling with activity. The watcher has just entered Kibera, one of the outlying slums that is just outside of Nairobi.
Kibera is home to over one million Africans, no sewer system, rampant unemployment (50%), and electricity that reaches only 20% of the population ("Kibera"). The movie follows a heavily-impregnated white woman as she watches a play poking fun at the AIDS virus, wads through the trash lined streets, and as she councils a man whom she thinks has HIV. She is the foreign queen of this slum. The children revere her, the adults respect her, and she seems to take a vested interest in each and every one of them. Meirelles takes us to a location that is so destitute that just the color of your skin is enough to garner the admiration of the population. The color white in this community is associated with success. The man who rides his bike along the tracks and into Nairobi sees the success present when he serves champagne to mainly white foreign dignitaries and businessman who are able to use their influence on Kenyan officials. There is no doubt, white is the color of power to the population of Kibera. This is why they present Tessa with a crude bottle cap decoration, why they wait in line for drug companies whose CEOs are all white and wealthy, and this is why Sandy reacts with such surprise when Tessa wishes to have her baby at the hospital where Kiberan women have theirs.
So why does Meirelles make such efforts to create the parallels between the haves (the whites that the movie follows and the blacks in power) and the have-nots (the extras that we see in Kibera who suffer from AIDS and extreme poverty)? It's because it is a realistic vision of the current social conditions of Africa and Kenya. The country has several elements that have modernized, things like fancy hotel/restaurants where people of power meet to boast their "achievements" for the people of Africa, but at the same time, Kenya's Kibera has no running water and is home to extreme poverty. Perhaps the only reason why some elements of Kenya are modernized is to play host to foreigners and whites. They aren't supposed to go into the slums, so the slums remain filthy. They are, however, expected to play on Kenya's golf courses, so the courses are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and are home to probably the greenest grass in all of Kenya.
These contradictory images of Africa are supposed to infuse the audience with dismay over the extreme income disparity. Meirelles is trying to make a statement. Whites should not be the reason for modernization of only some aspects of Africa. Instead of making the golf courses greener and the champagne of a more refined batch, the government and private industries should be investing in the future of Africa as a whole. Clean water, electricity, and well-proven preventative treatment for HIV and AIDS is what slums like Kibera need most. But if attitudes like Justin's are the predominant view, that only large agencies and corporations can help the impoverished masses, then no change will occur. It is the individuals, who were blessed with the means to help, that will spur on the social change for places like the slums. If these people are to be helped, there can not be an exterior agenda present. And unfortunately, as this movie shows, foreign agencies and private corporations often times have such agendas.
SOURCES USED:
"Kibera." Facts and Information about -. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.kibera.org.uk/Facts.html>.
Kibera is home to over one million Africans, no sewer system, rampant unemployment (50%), and electricity that reaches only 20% of the population ("Kibera"). The movie follows a heavily-impregnated white woman as she watches a play poking fun at the AIDS virus, wads through the trash lined streets, and as she councils a man whom she thinks has HIV. She is the foreign queen of this slum. The children revere her, the adults respect her, and she seems to take a vested interest in each and every one of them. Meirelles takes us to a location that is so destitute that just the color of your skin is enough to garner the admiration of the population. The color white in this community is associated with success. The man who rides his bike along the tracks and into Nairobi sees the success present when he serves champagne to mainly white foreign dignitaries and businessman who are able to use their influence on Kenyan officials. There is no doubt, white is the color of power to the population of Kibera. This is why they present Tessa with a crude bottle cap decoration, why they wait in line for drug companies whose CEOs are all white and wealthy, and this is why Sandy reacts with such surprise when Tessa wishes to have her baby at the hospital where Kiberan women have theirs.
So why does Meirelles make such efforts to create the parallels between the haves (the whites that the movie follows and the blacks in power) and the have-nots (the extras that we see in Kibera who suffer from AIDS and extreme poverty)? It's because it is a realistic vision of the current social conditions of Africa and Kenya. The country has several elements that have modernized, things like fancy hotel/restaurants where people of power meet to boast their "achievements" for the people of Africa, but at the same time, Kenya's Kibera has no running water and is home to extreme poverty. Perhaps the only reason why some elements of Kenya are modernized is to play host to foreigners and whites. They aren't supposed to go into the slums, so the slums remain filthy. They are, however, expected to play on Kenya's golf courses, so the courses are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and are home to probably the greenest grass in all of Kenya.
These contradictory images of Africa are supposed to infuse the audience with dismay over the extreme income disparity. Meirelles is trying to make a statement. Whites should not be the reason for modernization of only some aspects of Africa. Instead of making the golf courses greener and the champagne of a more refined batch, the government and private industries should be investing in the future of Africa as a whole. Clean water, electricity, and well-proven preventative treatment for HIV and AIDS is what slums like Kibera need most. But if attitudes like Justin's are the predominant view, that only large agencies and corporations can help the impoverished masses, then no change will occur. It is the individuals, who were blessed with the means to help, that will spur on the social change for places like the slums. If these people are to be helped, there can not be an exterior agenda present. And unfortunately, as this movie shows, foreign agencies and private corporations often times have such agendas.
SOURCES USED:
"Kibera." Facts and Information about -. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.kibera.org.uk/Facts.html>.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Project Basis
My very first blog post. Gulp*. Well here goes nothing...
Hello all,
Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Mike Oltersdorf, and you have stumbled across my academically-driven blog. I know that blogs have a tendency to be associated with attention-seeking 30-somethings who thought that having a Facebook was too "mainstream," and believe me, this is the type of association I would like to avoid. In fact, I'll come clean right now. The only reason why my blog, "The Locales of Africa," was created is because it fulfills a certain criteria. I am required open up a review of the movie, "The Constant Gardener," to an audience in order to share my observation in a critical manner. For those who have not seen the movie, I encourage you watch it. To quickly sum it up and not do the movie any justice at all, it is a movie that follows an English diplomat stationed in Kenya who follows the trail of his wife's mysterious death, and by doing so, he uncovers a conspiracy that exists between the pharmaceutical companies, the British government, and the Kenyan government. Aside from the compelling love story and the political intrigue of the conspiracy, the movie tries to capture the essence of Africa.
Now wait a minute Mike... How can a movie possibly, without coming off patronizing or flat out wrong, try to encompass Africa? There are certain things that may seem to contradict this view. For example, the main characters are all white - with the exception of the companion doctor who is black (but also Belgian) - and hardly represent the entire African experience. However, when one considers that the director Fernando Meirelles needs to make concessions to a primarily western audience in order to tell a more fundamental story of corporate ethics and how they play out in third world countries. So maybe his characters don't necessarily reflect a majority of Africans, but in today's age its hard to say any one group of people defines a geographic area. The cast of characters may all be white, but that is not to say they aren't African and don't care about its struggles.
So if the plot line is primarily influenced by western culture and driven by faces that represent this culture, how can this movie paint any picture of Africa? This question can be answered when one considers the various locations the film takes us to. Rather than catering to the west's expectation of Kenya's wild grasslands filled with the cast of Disney's "The Lion King," Meirelles takes us to many real locations of modern Africa. The sprawling metropolis of Nairobi is pictured to be a city of bustling activity, the slums outside of it are designated for the downtrodden (and the location of the pharmaceutical companies), and the tribal villages where the threat of bandit raids are very real.
There are many more locations in the movie I will analyze in addition to the ones I just listed, but it will have to be saved for another post. I encourage comments if you stumble across this blog and find yourself interested. I will try to post something informative everyday.
-Mike
There are many more locations in the movie I will analyze in addition to the ones I just listed, but it will have to be saved for another post. I encourage comments if you stumble across this blog and find yourself interested. I will try to post something informative everyday.
-Mike
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