Negative Depiction Of Africa’S Development In The Movie The Gods Must Be Crazy
Throughout history Africa’s development has been depicted by western media press by portraying negativity and overwhelmingly focusing on crisis and disaster: conflicts, wars, famine, disease, poverty and environmental degradations. In the film “The Gods Must Be Crazy” this reoccurring stigma was presented as an attempt to show African civilizations as people required white stewardship because they didn’t have the wherewithal to contain themselves. "He was there below me, and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat, walking on his hindlegs”.
In Westen socitities the researchers failed to see Africans as human, which was a side effect of the slave trade and colonialism. And with these false narrative developers published hey tried to make the slave trade seem merciful as if they were apprehending the people for the well-being of themselves. With this repetitive narrative of a inferior civilization it is imperative to immerse one’s self in internal sources such as Sunjata that displays a first-hand experience rather than the outside looking in. Technology plays a imperative role in modern life and in perspective of mankind evolution reflect the evolution in the technology. When you make history about Africa plain and simple you can say anything about them.
Throughout “TGMBC” the Kalahari tribe in the movie is represented as backwards, unchanging, and distant from any common history shared with the Western societies. The group that the movie’s focal point is on the “Kalahari” also alternatively called the “bushmen” which was a tribal group that has adapted to their environment and learned survival in the harsh terrain of the sub-Saharan South Africa. Modification is the main component for survival in any environment. The Kalahari are undemanding type of people, they are a nomadic tribe which means they don’t possess a permanent abode. They dwell in small, close quarters communities consisting of family. In contrast they show the western society which refused to conform to their environment but instead they have altered their environment to adapt to them. In the movie we also see how alterations in the environment can influence societies and their culture. It is said that “African characters should be colorful, exotic and larger than life- but empty inside, with no dialogue, conflict or resolutions in their stories”. As a part of this collective there is no sense of proprietorship among them because they don’t possess many material possessions, they create a practice of communism. But this system became detrimental to the community when “the gods” dropped a coke bottle out the air. which led to the coke bottle posing as a problem to them. The Bushmen recognized the coke bottle as a new technology or a new tool and a blessing from the Gods. This new technology became a hot commodity among the people because of its abilities to be used as a labor saving device (TGMBC).
With this new technology it caused an uproar in the village people started to become possessive, then the bottle seen as the root of the problem. Throughout the film there seems to be a recurring narrative of technology and the inadequacies of the advanced technology used by Western society. As opposed to the movie, Sunjata, which is an internal source that depicts the complexities of a post-colonial African society. The story is about politics, smuggling strangers into a royal lineage to diversify the dalilu. “Dalilu is magic, used to achieve a goal. ” Dalilu was seen as power that has the ability to structure imperial politics and sociopolitical debate. Throughout the story, dalilu is monitored by strict rules of conduct. Dalilu isn't something that can be used at will, to use Dalilu it has to be used for purpose or the for the improvement of life, if used for a latter reasoning results in a user’s downfall. This idea is first introduced when “Dankaran Tuman makes an assassination attempt on Sunjata by sending nine sorceresses to kill him” and they must devise a corrupt plan to be approved by the gods to use their magic. The aspects of magic and politics paints a picture of the division between good and evil and support the importance of fate and destiny. Dalilu is described as something that one simply possesses just by being destined for heroism. Throughout the journey of the story, Sundiata consistently sacrifices a multitude of animals for the gods and in return, he should receive increased dalilu. This pre-colonial African history of technology is much more complex than western medias have portrayed. When it comes to the roles of men and women there's a difference in the dynamic of the way that the women and men interact with one another in pre-colonial Africa of Sunjata versus Post-colonial that is shown in “TGMBC”.
In the Malian society as depicted in the book Sundiata, women are shown as unattached and unequal to men. During this time patriarchy was prevalent in their society, during this period women were allowed very few rights and power. While women had limited abilities Sassouma Berete, the first wife of Maghan Kon wondered “What would become of her, if her son were disinherited (Sundiata, 13)”, with the assumption of that without Maghan (a powerful male figure) by her side, her royal privilege would be revoked. Throughout the book women are only defined by their relationship to men who hold higher positions of authority and exemplified control over the women with who they are in relations with. In Sunjata, the politics evident are based on family relations and powerful lineages. Throughout their politics, powerful women are used to benefit men by acting as intermediaries in between men and their conquest for more dalilu. Women are valued when they are able to provide a son or marry into a distinguished family because their presence allows for a prominent lineage to continue. For example, Do Kamissa's powerful dalilu is sought after, and eventually taken, in order to ensure that Maghan Konfara fathers a powerful son with Sogolon.
Nonetheless, in “TGMBC” men and women live together in a post-colonial coexisting in harmony. Both the men and women had their designated roles within the Kalahari tribes, the men hunt and gather, and the women tend to the village and children. In the Kalahari community, the people with political power gain their important positions through their age, and one would also expect through knowledge. Typically, this political system is done in Xi’s society, because the Bushmen don't contain a long-life expectancy. This depiction nullifies the societal complexities of pre-colonial Africa.
In conclusion, throughout history Africa’s development has been depicted by western media press by portraying negativity and overwhelmingly focusing on crisis and disaster: conflicts, wars, famine, disease, poverty and environmental degradations. In Westen societies the researchers failed to see Africans as human, which was a side effect of the slave trade and colonialism. It is our responsibilities as students, educators to speak out and educate others on the inconsistencies of the misrepresentations of African history to keep Africa’s history alive and thriving and to further show that Africa’s deep past isn’t empty.
