USING FILM AND VIDEO TO TEACH ABOUT THE AFRICAN
ENVIRONMENT CURRICULAR GUIDE
Table of Contents
A. Background Readings
B. Film and Video Guide
Africa: A Voyage of
Discovery
Africa
Features/Tanzania Features
The Africans: A Triple
Heritage
An African Recovery
AIDS in Africa
Angano . . . Angano:
Nouvelles de Madagascar (Angano...Angano: Tales from Madagascar)
Baabu Banza: Nothing
Goes to Waste
Bamako Initiative In
Action, The
Borom Street
Botswana - Planning
the Future
Can the Elephant Be
Saved?
Crossroads
The Cutting Edge of
Progress
Desert and the Deep
Blue Sea, The
The Drilling Fields
The Earth that Feeds
Us
Edge of the Abyss
Everyone’s Child
Exodus
The Faces of AIDS
Forsaken Cries: The
Story of Rwanda
Fragile Riches
Global Links: Curse of
the Tropics
Global Links: Women in
the Third World
Guardian of Africa:
The Tsetse Fly
Guelwaar
Guerra Da Agua (A
Water War)
Hands Up for the
Environment and the Market
Harvest: 3000 Years
Healers of Ghana
Hungry for Profit
Living with Drought
Losing the Land
Man‑Made Famine
Nigeria: A Squandering
of Riches
Once There Was a
Forest
Parks or People
Physical Geography of
the Continents: Africa
Plague Upon the Land
Politics Do Not a
Banquet Make
The Poverty Complex
Previnoba and
Partipative Approach to Rural Forestry
Praying for Rain
Quand les etoiles
rencontrent la Mer
Rabi
Race to Save the
Planet Series
Rain Song (from The
Lost World of the Kalahari Series)
Rivers of Sand
Roots of Hunger
Sango Malo
Season of Hope
Sex, Lemurs and Holes
in the Sky, 1993
Sidet (Forced Exile)
South Africa: The
Wasted Land
Spoils of War
Ta Dona
These Hands
Tree Planting in
Mozambique
Under the Baobab Tree
Waiting
Yaaba Soore
Zan Boko
Zimbabwe: Talking
Stones
Zimbabwe: Tourism Along
the Zambezi River
C. Distributor Information
D. Supplimental
Information
Africa On-Line
Internet Resources for Africa
and African Studies Environment-Related
Websites
A. BACKGROUND READINGS
1. Mbye B. Cham, Introduction, in Imruh Bakari
and M.B. Cham ed. African Experiences of Cinema (London: British Film
Institute, 1996)
2 Dickson
Eyoh, Teaching Culture and Politics with African Cinema, in J. Parpart & M.
Bastian eds. Great Ideas for Teaching
About Africa (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1999)
3. Joel
Samoff, Tarzan, Terrs, and Liberation: A Challenge to Teachers Using Films on
Africa, in Teaching Poltical Science 8 (1) 1980 pp 41 -60
4. D.J.
Campbell & J.M. Olson, Environment and Development in Kenya: Flying the
Kite in Kajiado District, in Centennial Review, 35 (2) 1991 pp 295-314.
5. David J.
Campbell, Land as Ours, Land as Mine: Economic, Political & Ecological
Marginalization in Kajiado District, in T. Spear & R. Waller eds Being
Maasai (London: James Curry, 1993.
6. M.P.
Simbotwe, African Realities and Western Expectations, in D. Lewis & N.
Carter eds. Voices from Africa: Local Perspectives on
Conservation (Washington DC: World Wildlife Fund, 1993.
7. Ackim N.
Mwenya, Redefining Conservation in African Terms: The Need for African-Western
Dialogue, in D. Lewis & N. Carter eds. Voices from Africa: Local
Perspectives on Conservation (Washington DC: World Wildlife Fund, 1993.
8. M. G.
Anderson and C.M. Kreamer, Wilderness, in their Wild Spirits Strong
Medicine: African Art and the Wilderness, (New York; The Center for African
Art)
9. Christine Loflin, Introduction, in her African
Horizons: The Landscapes of African Fiction (Westport: Greenwood Press,
1998)
10. B.
Thomas-Slayter & D. Rocheleau, Gender, Resoruces, and Local Institutions:
New Identities for Kenyan Rural Women, in their edited Gender, Environment,
and Development in Kenya: A Grassroots Perspective (Boulder: Lynne Rienner,
1995
B. FILM AND VIDEO GUIDE
Please note: all price and distributor information is
subject to change. Please contact
distributor for most up-to-date prices and other distribution information.
AFRICA: A VOYAGE OF
DISCOVERY, MASTERING A CONTINENT
(PROGRAM 2), 1984
57 minutes in English
Director: John Percival,
Christopher Ralling, Andrew Harries and Mick Csaky
Distributor: Video Library
Company
Price: $79.00 (purchase
8-part series)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: Mastering
a Continent is the second part of an eight-part series on Africa written
and narrated by the distinguished historian of Africa, Basil Davidson. This program focuses on the complex
relationships between human societies and natural environments. Through three detailed case studies Davidson
illustrates the adaptive and creative genius of three geographically and
socio-politically contrasted societies.
Critique: This well
produced program clearly demonstrates the complexity and sophistication in
which a wide variety of African cultures/societies have not only adapted to
but, in a sophisticated manner, have taken advantage of the natural
environments in which the exist to develop complex cultural, economic, social
and political beliefs, practices, and institutions. The film illustrates these relationships through case studies of
three disparate societies: the Pokot, cattle farmers in arid north west Kenya;
the Noc, cultivators in the rainforests of southern Nigeria; and the Dogon,
“urban” farmers in the savannahs of Mali.
While the film does an
excellent job in demonstrating how “traditional” African societies were highly
sophisticated in mastering their environments, Davidson does not provide
exemplars which would examine the relationship between human societies and
their environments in contemporary Africa.
For example, there is no mention of the social or environmental impact
of colonial land and labor policies or complexities of these relationships in
urban settings where an increasing number of Africans live.
Recommended audience: Humanities, Social Sciences, undergraduate, graduate
AFRICA FEATURES/TANZANIA
FEATURES, 1993
56 minutes in English
Producer: World Wide Fund for Nature International
Distributor: Development Through Self‑Reliance
(DSR)
Price: $39.95 (purchase)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: A series of
short videos showing eight different WWF environmental projects in
Africa. Short titles include: The Bazaruto Archipelago: Saving a
Coastal Eden, 7 min.
Sweet
Success: Beekeeping in Malawi, 7 min.
The
Kayas: Kenya's Sacred Groves, 8 min.
Zambia's
Kafue Flats, 8 min.
Malawi:
Land of the Lake, 6 min.
Madagascar:
Wild Drugstore, 5 min.
Udzungwa
Mountains, 7 min.
Mafia
Island, 7 min.
Critique: Africa
Features/Tanzania Features is a compilation of eight short pieces that
describe World Wildlife Fund (WWF) projects in Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya,
Zambia, Madagascar, and Tanzania. The
vignettes are well produced and address the important issue of involving local
populations in conservation efforts in sustainable development. The film highlights how the WWF goal of working
with local people and being sensitive to their needs can operate effectively in
different countries and ecosystems.
One criticism of the film is
that is presents without question the assumption that people will act in an
economically rational manner, provided with the opportunity to profit from
ecologically sustainable practices.
Some of the vignettes uncritically raise the specter of over‑population
as a source of environmental degradation while other sections blame slash and
burn agricultural practices, although this is not a universally accepted
conclusion within the scientific community.
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, undergraduate,
graduate
THE AFRICANS: A TRIPLE
HERITAGE, GARDEN OF EDEN IN DECAY
(PART 7), 1986
60 minutes in English
Written by: Ali Mazuri
Distributor: Annenberg/CPB
Project
Price: $169.00 (purchase
10-part series)
Discussion guide: yes
Synopsis: This segment of the series The Africans focuses on
the impact of economic policies initiated by successive colonial and
post-colonial governments on the African environment. Mazuri also assesses the social and economic effects on
development.
Critique: Garden of Eden in Decay provides a generally
balanced African perspective on development policies and their impact on the
environment. It provides a strong case
for the linkage between the global economy and its demand for cheap resources
and distorted development in many parts of Africa. However, Mazuri doesn’t place all the blame for development
mismanagement and environmental decay on colonials or neo-colonial economic
relations. He criticizes post-colonial
African leadership for its mismanagement, corruption, and anti-democratic
tendencies.
The film does rely on broad
generalizations. For example, in the
beginning of this segment of the series, Mazuri makes an overly strong argument
for environmental determinism. He
asserts unequivocally that people in northern climates were more
technologically advanced because they had to be in order to survive.
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, Humanities, undergraduate, graduate
AN AFRICAN RECOVERY, 1988
29 minutes in English
Director: Sandra Nichols
Producer: United Nations
Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films
Price: $190.00 (purchase)
Distributor: Church World
Service Film and Video Library
Price: $0 (available for
loan)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: The people of Sahelian Africa are recovering from a
catastrophic drought which took place during the mid‑1980s. This documentary focuses on the Niger, where
communities are charting new paths to find ways to minimize the risk of a
repeat tragedy.
Critique: An African
Recovery chronicles the Sahelian drought of the mid‑1980s and the
efforts made by rural planners and community members to develop agriculture in
Niger. The film features the personal perspectives of those impacted by
the drought and highlights local initiatives to solve the problems the drought
brings.
The film, however, neglects
to explain the social forces that contribute to famine and hunger. Therefore, a teacher might consider
discussing the structure of pastoral societies with students before showing the
video. Background materials on the
causes of environmental degradation might also be provided to students. The film appears to be a bit dated.
Recommended audience: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, undergraduate,
graduate
AIDS IN AFRICA
52 minutes
Producer: Roger Pyke with the
National Film Board of Canada
Distributor: Filmakers
Library
Price: $445.00 (purchase),
$75.00 (rental)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: This film documents the impact of the AIDS virus in
several African countries, including Uganda, Zaire, the Ivory Coast, Burundi,
Rwanda, and South Africa. The
documentary uses interviews with men and women infected with the virus to
illustrate the ramifications of the disease and the complexities of combating
its spread.
Critique: The AMP was unable to review this film for critique.
Recommended audience: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, undergraduate,
graduate
ANGANO . . . ANGANO:
NOUVELLES DE MADAGASCAR
(Angano...Angano: Tales from
Madagascar), 1989
64 minutes in Malagasy with English subtitles
Director:
Cesar Paes
Distributor:
California Newsreel
Price: $195.00
(purchase), $95.00 (rental)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: Angano
. . . Angano: Nouvelles de Madagascar is an ethnographic film that explores
the Malagasy oral tradition of the passing down of wisdom through myths and
folktales. It features storytellers retelling some of these stories. It also
shows Malagasy life and Madacascar’s landscape.
Critique: Angano...Angano:
Nouvelles de Madagascar pioneers a new approach to ethnographic filmmaking,
at once scrupulously non‑interpretative yet deeply evocative. The central
character in Angano...Angano... is the oral tradition itself which passes down
the wisdom of the ancestors, the "ear's inheritance," through myths
and folktales. Venerable storytellers recount for the camera and their
listeners the founding myths of Malagasy culture. The filmmakers do not dramatize
these tales; rather they document story‑telling itself by placing it in
its social and geographical context. The tales flow into and out of stunning
shots of the daily Malagasy life which gave them life and which they in turn
explain.
(From California Newsreel distributor information)
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, Humanities, undergraduate, graduate
BAABU BANZA: NOTHING GOES TO WASTE, 1992
16 minutes in English
Director:
Mariama Hima
Distributor: Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Price: $99.00 (purchase) $75.00 (rental)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: Baabu
Banza clearly demonstrates how citizens in urban townships in Niamey, Niger
creatively make use of materials discarded by industries and more affluent
consumers. The Hausa phrase baaba banza
(nothing is wasted) organizes the film.
Critique:
This is a well produced film that demonstrates convincingly the realities of
the parallel economy in urban Africa.
Township artisans and consumers take advantage of products created from re‑used
and recycled materials. The film's
portrayals are sympathetic and non‑paternalistic. The film is perhaps too short, and therefore
cannot address issues of the political economy, which creates disparities of
wealth and access to the mainstream/ formal economy.
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, undergraduate
THE BAMAKO INITIATIVE IN ACTION, 1992
35 minutes
Producer:
UNICEF
Distributor: Television for the Environment (TVE)
Price: $70.00
(purchase)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: This film visits three African countries and
looks at how the provision of health care has been transformed by involving
local people and their resources, highlighting the way small‑scale
solutions can pay large dividends.
Critique:
The AMP was unable to view this film for critique.
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, undergraduate, graduate
BOROM SARRET,
1963
19 minutes in French with English subtitles
Director: Ousmane Sembene
Distributor: New Yorker Films
Price: (information unavailable)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis:
Sembene portrays a day in the life of a borom sarret (horsecart driver) trying
to earn a living in urban Dakar, Senegal in this narrative short film.
Critique: A
poignant depiction of the lives of the urban poor throughout the Third World.
The film is obviously slanted in order to make its point. The point, therefore,
is well made. The driver of the cart cannot bring himself to charge his
neighbors, and conversely he is cheated by the wealthy customer. The driver's
only crime is poverty, and the system is geared to punish him for it. Sembene,
in this early film, addresses the problems that are common to most of his work:
the futile dependence on religion by the illiterate, the insensitivity of the
elite to the problems of their poorer countrymen, and the loss or deprival of
even the most basic means of employment and dignity.
The photography and technical aspects of the film are
somewhat dated, but they only add to the overall impact of the compact
indictment of the exploitation of the poor in urban areas.
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, Humanities, undergraduate, graduate
BOTSWANA ‑ PLANNING THE FUTURE, 1996
20 minutes
Director: Damien Rea
Distributor: Television for the Environment
Price: $70.00
(purchase)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: Damian Rea's award winning documentary
explores the struggle for survival played out every day by both the people and
the wildlife which share Botswana's drylands.
Despite the difficulties, the Botswana government is implementing a national
conservation strategy, considered a model for other African countries seeking
to apply sustainable development. This
film looks at how well the authorities are succeeding in applying conservation
principles.
Critique:
The AMP was unable to view this film for critique.
Recommended audience: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, undergraduate,
graduate
CAN THE ELEPHANT BE SAVED?, 1990
60 minutes in English
Director: Noel Buckner and Rob Whittlesey
Distributor: Video Library Company
Price: $9.95 (purchase)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: Can
the Elephant Be Saved? offers a look at the controversy over elephant
conservation. It shows how the
elephant population has declined because of poaching, as well as how the ban on
ivory has affected people who have depended on it as a means on income.
Critique: Can the Elephant Be Saved? examines
the reasons for declining elephant populations in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana
and explores possibilities for wildlife conservation. The film provides an informed and even‑handed look at land
use options, including the internal and external factors that influence changes
in land use.
Through interviews with wildlife service workers, the
film gives insight into the institutional and political dimensions of wildlife
conservation. The importance of tourism
in the Kenyan and Zimbabwean economies is clearly presented along side the
social and economic implications of other possible land uses. The film also provides a good presentation
of elephant biology.
One of the film's weaknesses is that it focuses on the
perspectives of conservation agencies without giving voice to the small holding
land managers who have the most to lose from conservation efforts. The film also fails to account for recent
developments in the Campfire program in Zimbabwe and the Kenyan Wildlife
Services.
Recommended audience: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, undergraduate,
graduate
CROSSROADS,
1996
55 minutes in KiSwahili with English subtitles
Director: Hillie Molenaar and Joop van Wijk
Distributors: First Run/Icarus films.
Price: $390 (purchase), $75 (rental)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: Crossroads deals with the impact of
the creation of a Rwandan refugee camp in Tanzania. It details the conflicts and dynamics that emerged as a result of
the genocide in Rwanda.
Critique: Without narration, Crossroads
features a number of vignettes by the people impacted by the Rwandan genocide.
The film is set in Ngara, in Tanzania, just across the border from Rwanda. The film does an exceptional job of
presenting the perspectives of the refugees and their hosts in an unobtrusive
manner, and it effectively points to the moral dilemmas that have arisen as a
result of the influx of refugees. For
example, the film examines the issue of profiting economically from the
refugees and the question of whether to treat the refugees as criminals or to
deal with them compassionately.
The film's flaws are few. The issue of genocide hovers over Crossroads, but the film
fails to provide background information on the Rwandan genocide and resulting
refugee problem, nor does it fully explore questions surrounding how the guilt
among the refugees will be determined.
The film is out of date, although this certainly does not invalidate its
worth. The camps have been emptied and
the refugees driven back into Rwanda since the film was made. These weakness can easily be addressed by
the instructor's discussion of the film.
Recommended audience: Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences,
graduate, undergraduate
THE CUTTING EDGE OF PROGRESS, 1992
24 minutes in English
Director: Eleanor Morris
Distributor: The Media Guild
Price: $295.00 (purchase)
Discussion guide: yes
Synopsis: The
Cutting Edge of Progress, produced by the BBC and Open University, is
clearly intended for classroom use. The
film uses both archival propaganda film from the 1950s and footage from the
1990s to demonstrate the negative social and environmental impact of the
construction of the Kriba Dam on the Zambezi River.
Critique:
The film would be an effective tool in the classroom. It uses archival footage to explain how the colonial regime in
Rhodesia justified the displacement of indigenous peoples. Current footage illustrates the negative,
long‑term social, economic and environmental repercussions of the
decision to construct the Kriba dam, such as the decline in the standard of
living, soil erosion, limited economic options, out migration from the area,
and the disempowerment of the Tonga peoples.
The film does have a few problems. First, it fails to discuss the politics
surrounding the building of the dam on the Zambezi River. Scientists and
environmentalists who studied sites for the dam strongly recommended that the
dam be built on the lower Kafue River, but this suggestion was vetoed by the
Rhodesian government because the government feared that they would lose control
of the dam if it were built in Northern Rhodesia. Furthermore, the story
focuses on the Zambia side of Lake Kariba where less than one third of the
displaced Tonga live. In Zimbabwe,
however, the displacement, and hence the long term effects, caused by the dam's
construction were considerably greater.
Recommended audience: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, undergraduate
THE DESERT AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, 1989
52 minutes
Producer: Mike Linley
Distributor: ITEL Worldwide Distribution
Price: (information unavailable)
Discussion guide: no
Synopsis: The
Desert and the Deep Blue Sea looks at the pressure being placed on Banc
d'Arguin National Park to allow commercial fishing on its grounds. This step
could prove disastrous to both the wildlife and the local fishermen.
Critique: The
Desert and the Deep Blue Sea is a beautifully photographed wildlife film
focusing on the varieties of birds that nest within Mauritania’s national park
Banc D’Arquin. This park is part barren
desert and part plush sea coast, the two environments only separated by a large
bar of sand. Other living things such
as beetles, locusts, and gazelle are also featured. Peripheral to the film’s focus are the people who live in the
park. The Imragen, a Berber ethnic
group, have lived in this harsh environment virtually living off the sea. They used to herd cattle and only fish for
part of the year, but a drought of over 16 years has forced them to live off
the sea all year round. Since there is
no other vegetation for food, the Imragen trade their catch for all other
necessities, including drinking water.
The film discusses potential challenges and changes to
the park. For instance, motorized boats
and modern fishing equipment may be introduced for the fishing community and
fishing licenses are being sold in increasing numbers to foreign, mostly from
Europe, ships. The implications of
these developments could have good and bad consequences.
The Desert and the Deep Blue Sea is primarily a nature film that touches on how humans
co-exist in the environment of Banc
D’Arquin. The film raises some
interesting issues of modernity and change, and the dilemma of Mauritania, a
poor country, and its economic constraints.
Though Mauritanians and their fishing techniques are shown, the
overbearing voice over does not give them a voice in defining their own
situation.
Recommended audience: Natural Science, Social Science, graduate,
undergraduate
THE DRILLING FIELDS, 1994
59 minutes in English
Director: Glenn Ellis
Distributor: Tele