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>.
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