I have an attraction - repulsion thing going with films set in Africa made by Western studios and directors. They almost always tell the stories of white western tourists, settlers, mercenaries, adventurers, and treat the continent and its people as a picturesque backdrop to their own personal drama.
A few years ago, I borrowed a set of rules from brilliant cartoonist,
Alison Bechdel In one of her
Dykes To Watch Out For strips, she has a character say:
"I don't go to a movie unless:
1) It has at least two women in it, who
2) Talk to each other, about
3) Something other than the man in the movie."
I tweaked that for my Africa-films filter. Any film set in, and ostensibly about, Africa has to:
1) Have at least 2 African characters in it. That's CHARACTERS - not servants, waiters, extras.
2) The two African CHARACTERS have to talk to each other, about
3) Something other than the white protagonist(s) in the film
So I've avoided going to
The Constant Gardener because none of my friends who've seen it could vouch that it met my 3 rules. Yet, I hunger just for images of Kenya, wherever and however I can get them. So today, I finally succumbed, and made plans to see it - only to get stuck in Bay Bridge traffic and miss the showing. The God of Films is chortling over the irony.
2 Comments:
Academy Award Winning British actor, Ben Kinsley did a marvelous job portraying Gandhi—
and if the stars align right perhaps Uma Thurman will be paid
a handsome seven to ten million to do a striking impersonation of Shailja, in the Hollywood adaptation of Migritude
Count me in for seeing Constant Gardener with you on the loop back—I must warn you though:
1. I like American popcorn
2. I like British actors/tresses
3. I like seeing commercial epics with Kenyan-born poets
i really enjoyed this movie. it DOESN'T meet your criteria (the african xtrs only have conversations about the white protagonists) but that's because the movie is explicitly about white guilt over africa. it's not as sophisticated and self-aware as i hope future indy movies about white guilt over africa will become, but it does a pretty good job for now. and at least it doesn't pretend to be about africa.
by the way, ben kingsley is half indian.
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