Analysis Of The Film Rwanda-Do Scars Ever Fade?

1268 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effect of colonialism

As the news reported that Islamic State committed genocide against Christians and other minorities had suffered serious defeats from recent battles against the allied forces, the images of piles of dead bodies shown to the world in Rwanda about a couple decades ago emerge once again and triggers an interesting puzzle: why did the Rwandan Genocide happen in one of the smallest nations in the African Continent? The documentary film, Rwanda-Do Scars Ever Fade?, upon which this film analysis is based provides an answer to the puzzle.

The film sends several clear messages to viewers. First, the Belgian colonialism significantly impacted on the fate of the nation. As the film indicates that when Rwanda became a protectorate of Belgium in 1919, …show more content…

As of 2004, only 20 sentences were executed. Another 42 accused are either awaiting or are currently on trial. Gérard Prunier also points out ineffectiveness of the international judicial system:
The ICTR had been created in November 1994 and installed in Arusha in February the following year. In April it had produced its own list of four hundred genocide suspects, supposed to be more neutral than the various lists produced in Rwanda itself. A year later it was still floundering about, complaining about “lack of means,” not having even produced any indictment, much less …show more content…

Such brutality does matter regardless of where it happens because it is inhuman. Above all, it is against human nature and an obstacle to the advancement of the human civilization. Being a member of the global village, how could I ignore such brutality happened in the far-flung continent? The most important thing that I learned from the film is that the prosperity of the human civilization depends on compassion and cooperation. With both, the gaps among peoples can be bridged and many human sufferings can be stopped. Peoples across the board can live in a better world with love that is the most important and basic element for the progress of the human

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of An Ordinary Man And Hotel Rwanda

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ethnic division within the Rwandan culture played an integral role during the genocide. In 1918, Belgium is given the authority to govern the territory of Rwanda-Urundi under the Treaty of Versailles. Under Belgian rule, the traditional Hutu-Tutsi relationship was morphed into a class system favouring the Tutsis over the Hutus. The Belgians eventually created a system of ethnic identity cards differentiating Hutus from Tutsis. This would become a central driver of the Rwandan genocide. In the movie there are many instances where Rwandan citizens are asked to show their identity cards. In most cases, those who were not Hutu would be punished. Another example of the geopolitical struggle between these two ethnicities was illustrated through the media. Media is used as a platform to convey a message that influences the thoughts and actions of individuals around the world. Since Hutus are the majority in Rwanda, they were able to exert their influence over the Tutsis through mechanisms such as the media. Throughout the country, local Hutu power radio stations were aired calling for the extermination of Tutsis. The station would often find ways to dehumanize the Tutsis. In most cases they would refer to Tutsis as ‘cockroaches’. In order to create an accurate portrayal of the genocide, the film used the exact recordings from the Hutu power radio.

    Read More

  • King Leopold's Ghost Summary

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book mainly chronicles the efforts of King Leopold II of Belgium which is to make the Congo into a colonial empire. During the period that the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River.

    Read More

  • Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza and Hotel Rwanda Directed by Terri George

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    While the book “Left to Tell” by Immaculée Ilibagiza and the movie “Hotel Rwanda” by Terry George shows its share of similarities, both portray the Rwandan Massacre of 1994 in diversified ways. First, while both characters share similarities portraying the perspective of the genocide, they also show some major differences in the point of view as the main character in the movie was a hotel manager while the other main character from the book was a young, Tutsi woman. Also, while they face similar conflicts and hardships, both have their own personal field of adversities to face.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Scott Straus The Order Of Genocide

    2481 Words  | 5 Pages

    Though the event occurred almost twenty-one years ago, the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has prompted much discussion about what truly caused the deaths of an estimated 800,000 civilians. Scott Straus, a political scientist and author of The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda, makes the claim that it is very difficult to precisely identify what began the genocide in Rwanda for a number of reasons, and also comments that many of the beliefs in regards to the causes and evolution of genocide in Rwanda are incomplete. In his book, Straus focuses on three main aspects: to look closely at the local dynamics of the genocide, to produce an assessment of explanations, and finally to develop a theory that would explain the genocide in Rwanda.

    Read More

  • Modern Genocide in Africa

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since Burundi’s independence in 1962, there have been two instances of genocide: the 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated government, and the 1993 mass killings of the Tutsis by the Hutu populace. Both of these events in Burundi received different levels of attention by the international community and the western media due to a lack of foreign governmental interest, political distraction, and an unwillingness to acknowledge the severity of these atrocities in Burundi. Interestingly, events of genocide occurring at times without these distractions received more foreign attention than those ignored due to these factors. Because of this, much of the western world is unaware of the Burundian genocide and events similar to it.

    Read More

  • Slobodan Milosevic and Genocide in the Former Yugoslavia

    2158 Words  | 5 Pages

    Greenfield, Daniel M. "Crime of Complicity in Genocide: How the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia Got It Wrong, and Why It Matters." The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 98.3 (2008): 921-24. HeinOnline. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.

    Read More

  • How Did Dallaire Contribute To Humanitarianism?

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, the Prime Minister was assassinated and all fifteen of the soldiers who were sent to protect her were captured. The Ghanaian men were released, but the ten Belgians were tortured and murdered. After receiving the news of the men’s deaths, the remaining Belgian soldiers fled Rwanda and returned to Europe- abandoning the country they had forsaken once before. The Belgians should have been held accountable for the problems they had previously created for Rwanda, instead, they gave up on the nation in order to save themselves. It is believed that all human lives should be considered equal, yet the Belgians valued their own lives more than the lives of the Rwandans. Ten years after the Rwandan Genocide, a survivor said that “Talking about [the genocide], even if the talking in itself is a big step, is not enough; there must be also actions, concrete actions… If we want to prevent genocide, if we want to use learned lessons, we must face this reality and agree that failing the survivors now, ten years later, is another way of denying that this has happened and that many have a responsibility in what happened.” This quote strengthens the “stop talking, start doing” attitude that is present in the

    Read More

  • Rwandan Genocide

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    To find the cause of the Rwandan genocide, many people had tried to follow the path of history from the colonialism of Rwanda to the Rwandan genocide. Belgium wanted to expand just like other powerful nations like Great Britain, Spain, and France due to the lack of space and resources provided to each nation in Europe. After the great discovery of Vasco de Gamma, many European ventured towards Africa to colonize territories. After the Berlin Conference of 1884, Belgium had colonized the territory of Rwanda. After colonization, they left the Tutsis in charge as opposed to Hutus because of the fact that the Belgians thought Tutsis had a Caucasian ancestry. After the Rwandan independence, power was given to the Hutus. After the power was given to the Hutus, the Hutus took revenge on the Tutsis which resulted in some killings. In the movie, Hotel Rwanda, President Habyarimana was killed. The killing was blamed on the Tutsis which caused the enraged Hutus to start the Rwandan Genocide. Although the initial cause of the genocide could be Belgian Imperialism, in the movie it was actually the killing...

    Read More

  • Legacies of Historical Globalization

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Rwanda Genocide 20 Years On: 'We Live with Those Who Killed Our Families. We Are Told They're Sorry, but Are They?'" The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Congo Free State

    1971 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... attention allowed economic exploitation in the Congo and its people devastated by human rights abuses, and even today the lack of international attention has caused many conflicts in and around the Congo. The economic exploitation of the Congo during colonial times robbed the country of wealth which could have been used to develop the land, and the lack of wealth has contributed to Congo’s poor standing in the world today. Lastly, the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State contributed to economic and political troubles during the colonial period and has continued into the present day, as human rights abuses are still prevalent in that region of Africa. Due to the lack of international attention, economic exploitation, and human rights abuses, the Congo Free State was harmful to the Congo region of Africa and its legacy continues to harm that region of Africa.

    Read More

  • The Comparing And Contrasting Of Hotel Rwanda And 1947 Earth

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the film Hotel Rwanda and 1947 Earth you see many similar features such as tensions between 2 or more parties, friends betraying one another, rioting and military coups. Though rooted in different times and nations the two share very common attributes. And with respect to the viewer each story is told through the eyes of neutral parties such as Paul and his Hutu heritage and his wife’s Tutsi heritage, and Lenny-baby and her neutral Parsi family.

    Read More

  • King Leopold's Ghost Essay

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film depicts the conditions that were inflicted on the native population during colonial rule as well as the exploitation of the Congo after independence had been won. After learning of Lord Stanley’s expedition through the Congo, and his offer to work for any interested nation King Leopold saw an opening for Belgium in the Congo. Having an interest in acquiring wealth and increasing Belgium’s prestige it seemed imperative to Leopold that his country must colonize. His rule over the Congo would be ruthless but Leopold would convince the world that his interest in the area would also be beneficial to

    Read More

  • Rape as a War Tactic in the Rwandan Genocide

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The sweetly sickening odor of decomposing bodies hung over many parts of Rwanda in July 1994: . . . at Nyarubuye in eastern Rwanda, where the cadaver of a little girl, otherwise intact, had been flattened by passing vehicles to the thinness of cardboard in front of the church steps,” (Deforges 6). The normalcy of horrible images like this one had cast a depressing gloom over Rwanda during the genocide, a time when an extreme divide caused mass killings of Tutsi by the Hutu. Many tactics such as physical assault or hate propaganda are well known and often used during times of war. Sexual assault and rape, however, during times of war is an unspoken secret – it is well known that rape occurs within combat zones and occupied territories, but people tend to ignore, or even worse, not speak of the act. There have been recorded cases of rape and sexual assault in almost every war in human history. Genocidal rape was used as a gendered war tactic in the Rwandan genocide in order to accomplish the Hutu goal of elimination of the Tutsi people in whole, or part.

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Capital Punishment

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Americans have argued over the death penalty since the early days of our country. In the United States, only 38 states have capital punishment statutes. As of year ended in 1999, in Texas, the state had executed 496 prisoners since 1930. Laws in the United States have changed drastically in regards to capital punishment. An example of this would be the years from 1968 to 1977 due to the nearly 10 year moratorium.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Rwandan Genocide

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of The Film Rwanda-Do Scars Ever Fade?

Open Document