Blogcritics: Comments on Nowhere in Africa - Oscar Winner

Comment by randy

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 22:07:15 EDT

Interesting dialog. I never thought of Owour as an Uncle Remus-type of character. I felt he added a richness to the film that somehow balanced the negativity and resistance of Jettel. I appreciated that her attitude never swayed him, and that he seemed content in his own being. The Kenyans in the film may have been depicted with some stereotyping, but can this always be avoided? Consider we are watching the film from Regina's POV, and as such, there was much wonderment and curiosity. (I'm an ibrarian - I am used to being stereotyped in the media non-stop.) The FilmFreak reviewer is correct in saying the film stays locked on the family, and seldom strays outside of that circle, thus preventing an analysis of the Europeans in Africa, and how they treated the Kenyans, etc. I should also note the scene where Jettel comes across the dying old woman - she cannot understand why the family is leaving her there, yet the family explains that this is their way, and that the lady understands and accepts it. Talk about a culture clash.

Comment by Phillip Winn

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 18:05:15 EDT

To be fair to you, Doc, though you didn't offer up your own defense, you did allow for some positive statements about the movie after presenting the negative view. And I similarly reserve judgement on the film since I haven't seen it. Nevertheless, I hardly think that a depiction of background characters in a movie constitutes a "culture-wide generalization" unless a point of the film itself is that Kenyans are always happy festive people. After all, watching the background characters in many films set in America is undoubtedly why so many people around the world have such an interesting view of what America must be like, but isn't.

Comment by Doctor Slack

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 17:51:48 EDT

In fact, I prefer to avoid culture-wide generalizations (especially about whether the people involved are "happy" or not), since they're rarely useful in doing anything other than obscuring the diversity of the culture in question.

Comment by Phillip Winn

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 17:23:23 EDT

Be careful, Cephus. You can't hide your colonial elitism by saying that the Kenyans you know are brilliant. We're not fooled. You said that "[t]hey are a happy festive people" and that is obviously an image of the quaint and grateful native that is invariable the stuff of either clueless colonial elites or of tourist industries. So which are you? And yes, I'm kidding. My original point was to point out to Doctor Slack that people are different, and making a general statement about the happiness of a culture not our own doesn't have to be elitism, even if it turns out that the generalization isn't completely accurate.

Comment by cephus

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 17:14:18 EDT

I have quite a few friends who are Kenyan. They are a happy festive people but more importantly they are brilliant. Every single Kenyan I know is either in the medical, legal or software profession. They waste no time excelling once they come to the US.

Comment by Doctor Slack

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 16:07:42 EDT

"Gee, maybe most Kenyans are by and large quaint and happy people who are thrilled to work for bwana. Isn't that a possibility?" Well, I doubt it; popular support for the Mau Maus (about ten years after the events of this film) didn't exactly come from nowhere. Images of the quaint and grateful native are almost invariably the stuff of either clueless colonial elites (who are then surprised to discover the natives actually don't like being treated as subhumans), or of tourist industries created to bilk money from the descendants of those colonial elites. Of course, that isn't to say that there are things that would concern a Westerner about portrayal of Africans that some actual Africans wouldn't be worried about. And there are times when the furore over films can be a bit much (criticisms of Driving Miss Daisy and Cry Freedom fall into this category for me), and other times when it's deserved. I'm not sure if this is one of those "other times."

Comment by Phillip Winn

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 15:30:46 EDT

Gee, maybe most Kenyans are by and large quaint and happy people who are thrilled to work for bwana. Isn't that a possibility? Normally, I would reject such a claim out of hand. How could it be, I would wonder, that not everybody around the world shares our cynical attitude toward all of life? But given that the film, as you mention, was made in Kenya using Kenyans and starred Kenyan in leading roles, perhaps it actually might reflect part of what Kenya is really about. It's just a thought. Aside from a brief experience my wife had with a Kenyan pen pal when she was younger, I've had essentially no exposure to Kenyans. :)

Comment by Doctor Slack

Wed, 4 Jun 2003 13:08:54 EDT

I was with you right up until: 'The film depicts the Kenyans as quaint, happy people, always thrilled to work for "bwana",' The Village Voice review hits on the same point: "...it's troubling that the film's Kenyans, especially cook Owour (Sidede Onyulo, who contends admirably with his goofy lines), seem exoticized, as though still drawn from the memories of a child. " The Onion review makes the point more explicitly: "The film's only resonant relationship is the simple, touching connection between the little girl and the saintly cook, but even that is marred by Nowhere In Africa's disturbingly paternal attitude toward the native Kenyans, which has more than a little in common with the colonialists." The gents at FilmFreakCentral are blunter yet: "Never mind that the story broaches serious issues of European arrogance and the fallout on Africans, or the possibility of cultural exchange between Regina and her friends: the film is locked on the core family and never strays outside long enough to make any finds. Thus the character of Owuor is such an adjunct and pushover that he flirts with becoming an Uncle Remus caricature, and the bulk of Regina's interactions with tribespeople take place safely off-camera. This lack of curiosity is inexcusable, both for its political implications and for the film's claim to artistic seriousness." Of course, from another point of view (say, that of the Kenyan tourist trade), all of this would just be sour grapes. At least Nowhere in Africa was filmed in Kenya using 100% real live Kenyans, and at least it had the odd major Kenyan character instead of just using the natives as backdrop. But for me, it's a pretty disturbing comment on the relationship of the Western film industry with Africa that these simple things single this film out as an exception to the norm.