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Tears of the Sun: Movie or Propaganda
By Bakari Akil II
It must be mentioned immediately that ethnic cleansing
and inhumane African-on-African violence occurs. This is an
indisputable fact that cannot be swept under the rug. It is also
true that there are differences that may be considered
irreconcilable within or between certain countries in Africa
that lead to gross injustices and despicable behavior.
However, the preceding statements do not provide a pass
for the movie
Tears of the Sun, directed by
Antoine Fuqua and starring Bruce Willis. Regardless of the
reasons that the makers of this film cite for making this movie
and the attempt to add humanity to the victims of violence, the
repercussions of this film must be analyzed and exposed.
In a style similar to the motion picture
Black
Hawk Down, which explores a US battle in Somalia, the
viewer is immersed into the middle of a battle zone without
elaboration or clarification. No mention is made of the British
creation of the country named Nigeria, which forced populations
of people who did not share the same culture, religion, values
or view of life to live together as one country. There was no
mention of the colonialism, neo-colonialism (past and present)
that is the root cause for much of the tension between
populations within Nigeria. In addition, no clarification is
provided that allows the viewer to see that African people are
not just brutal sadistic killers who behave this way because it
is their nature.
What the viewer is allowed to witness is the classic
portrayal of Africans or Blacks that has been in existence since
the movie industry began. Some of the timeless themes that are
abundant in the movie are the plot of a young European woman
(who is American by marriage) playing savior to the
“indigenous” population and their love and zeal for her is
without limits. Next, the movie is based on US soldiers saving
this woman from the oncoming wrath of the Nigerian rebels who
are out to murder, plunder and rape. (To be fair the plot does
involve a subtle change to the mission near the end.)
Further themes include African men and women who are
completely helpless, always afraid, jumpy and devoid of any
personality except for in crucial moments. The meanest and
scariest looking Black men they could find are employed as the
evil group that chases the conquering saviors played by Bruce
Willis and his fellow Special Forces group. In fact, the top
“bad guy” looks beyond sinister, he appeared to be crazy!
The movie is cleverly crafted and the situations are
seemingly so complex that it is hard to recognize the fact that
the Special Forces group entry into Nigeria is illegal or that
sending US jets into their airspace is not only a violation of
that country’s sovereignty but an act of war. In addition, all
of the actions of the Special Forces group, the young woman, the
missionaries and anyone else foreign are portrayed as righteous
and above reproach. Therefore, the majority of audiences will
undoubtedly look at the film and the actions of its participants
as good deeds being done. In fact, Bruce Willis’ character
provides an excuse for their actions when he states, “God left
Africa along time ago!” (So I guess it is up to them to right
the wrongs!)
The context in which the film was created and described
above is why the movie is so troubling.
We are living in a day and age (in the United States)
where if the ruler of a country or policies of a country is
deemed dictatorial, that leader can be assassinated or their
country invaded (Iraq is a good example).
Little or no proof has to be provided to justify such
actions and there has been little evidence to demonstrate that
these types of actions can be prevented.
Africa is no exception to this policy.
Although unstated, it is probably fair to say that
Africa is not looked to as a place that the great world powers
can clearly invade without being viewed upon by the rest of the
world as a barbaric power that is picking on a relatively
defenseless continent. Further, the legacy of colonialism and
accusations of neo-colonialism probably prevents overt
hostilities by the world’s ruling elite to the African
continent. However, these trends are changing and world powers
are increasingly salivating over Africa’s rich economic
resources including oil, diamonds, and gold.
Current actions by an African nation to redress the
ills that has plagued Africa since the first European slave
trader stepped foot onto continent has been met by derision and
hostility.
Some examples:
-
On March 7, 2003, the US imposed sanctions against
Zimbabwe and no American is allowed to conduct any business
activities with this country. The US stated that Zimbabwe is
a threat to the entire South African region and must not be
allowed to continue its present course. This is in addition
to the UK’s policy toward Zimbabwe.
The list of transgressions and tactics used to
interfere and weaken the growing strength of the African
continent are endless and are becoming more overt. The
disrespect and lack of humanity shown towards Africa already
exists; however, a pretext for massive interference is not.
That’s why these films have frightening implications. When a
film such as
Tears of the Sun
reaches the movie
theater and is given such publicity, issues have to be raised.
It must be recognized that these movies perform many
functions (regardless of stated intent). The first thing that it
does is makes Africans appear to be people without a conscious
who have no morals, require guidance and need to be rescued.
Next, it desensitizes audiences to the idea of killing Africans,
because this is what happens in abundance throughout these
movies. Africans are killed in surprising numbers on the big
screen with all of the most modern of technologies. Third, the
fear that has been built up by stereotypes of the African as a
fearsome foe to be dealt with man to man is hammered down by
showing the “evil men” (Nigerian soldiers) being easily
handled by normal looking men (US Special Forces). This type of
movie creates a mindset that is hard to deny.
In a day and age where the mainstream news media is
heavily biased, unresponsive and not representative of its
public or where the movie industry has a history of supporting
US actions during war, such as the internment of Japanese
Americans in World War II, movies such as these should not be
looked upon as a cool war flicks that highlight the bravery of
American soldiers. It should be analyzed critically and the
viewer should ask himself or herself where are the moviemakers
leading them.
When it comes down to it, I have to ask myself is
Tears
of the Sun a movie or propaganda? I know my answer but
I’ll let you decide yours!
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Bakari
Akil is an Editor-In-Chief for Global Black News. He holds a
MASS degree with an emphasis in Public Administration and has a
Bachelor Degree in Law and Society. He is currently teaching
Public Speaking and working on his PhD in Communications.
GlobalBlackNews@hotmail.com.
Bakari Akil is an editor for
GlobalBlackNews.com.
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update 6 August 2008 |
