African documentary Film?

Is there such things as African Documentary Film (ADF)? I would argue a LOUD YES! ADF teachers us about cultures, languages, governments and the diversity that lies in Africa. When we mention that phrase we ADF we are talking about films made that's subject matter is in Africa. I don't think that title means it's made by Africans, but that it's about Africans in some way, shape or form. Non Africans can produce ADF. This was the case with American professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and his series that aired on PBS Wonders of the African World. Professor Gates lives in America, has traveled to Africa before, but he isn't truly connected to that culture, yet his film made by Americans for viewing in Western society is still an ADF.

I personally don't know if there is a canon or a scholarly profession that debates the legitimacy of ADF. I do know that ADF is a real genre of documentaries. There is research that can be done on this. The topics range from wildlife safaris, to leaders of African nations. There are many documentaries about Nelson Mandela and The African National Congress of South Africa. There are film festivals held is South Africa explicitly geared towards documentary film. So while I don't know for sure if scholarly discourse of ADF, I'm sure there maybe if film festivals are being held throughout Africa. There is also the West African Documentary Film Forum that is on-line. So in the real world and in cyberspace people are talking about Documentary film from Africa.

We all come from diverse backgrounds. We have unique gifts that we can give the world from our different life experiences. I write that to say that yes someone of African descent can produce documentary films about non-African societies. It's not different than white American or European anthropologist studying indigenous groups in Africa and making films about them. These videos sometimes in appear in French, Dutch, or Spanish, but still they are ADF's. Having films translated into a different language doesn't take away from the Africaness of the films topic or that it was filmed in Africa. Sometimes it's necessary to change the language for the audience you are trying to reach.

So for me I think there is a genre known as African Documentary Film, that can teach and inspire others to travel to the continent of Africa in search of a rich history and culture that is often thought of negatively in the Western world.

The God's Must Be Crazy......

I have a good view of the world. I'm not isolated from it nor do I feel like I'm unable to communicate with people in other countries. I am in the age of the internet so blogs like this one provide me the opportunity to interact with people ALL OVER THE WORLD!! I like having my cell phone to have instant connections with people, or my Yahoo IM, and I especially love showcasing my life on myspace and facebook. But what about life without those lovely things we sometimes take for granted? What must life be like for people without those things?

When watching the film The God's Must Be Crazy, I was amazed that groups of people live such isolated lives away from what we consider the comforts of the world. It was amazing to see how us littering caused the biggest disruption in their lives. A simple glass bottle created issues never seen in their simple yet wonderful community. The bottle caused jealously, envy, and anger amongst the Bushmen. Suddenly this new introduction from the civilized world caused them to forget about things they'd been using for centuries in favor of this new shiny, glass bottle.

In life this happens to us in the civilized world. We get new gadgets and accessories and forget about old methods. It used to be messages were delivered by foot. A person would walk miles and miles to tell the message, but now we use e-mail and cell phones. This movie showed me the beauty of African countryside but also the ugly parts of government there. We see rebels killing government officials, and those same rebels taking over a group of school children. This is the negative side of Africa that many in Western society paints as true, accurate and always occurring. This probably happen few and far in between but when it does it's always sad and devastating for some.

I thought the film The God's Must Be Crazy was a funny movie. I laughed and was astonished at the primitive lifestyle of the Bushmen. I feel we in the modern world can learn from simplistic living. This new technology and such makes life so complicated. That complication causes our relationships with one another to suffer. The Bushman were primitive but their relationships were so much better and they formed strong family units.