Robert beckford the great african scandal

Films on Africa

1. A star (*) next to a film indicates that portions of that film might be shown in class in the course of the semester.

2. All films are in DVD format, unless indicated otherwise. 3. Available: at the Madden and Fresno County Public Libraries, via Netflix, Blackboard or on-line. 4. For the on-line films, you can click on the link and this will lead you directly to the film. 5. Please be advised that a few films have the following notice: Warning: Contains scenes which some

viewers may find disturbing. You decide whether you want to watch them or not. 6. Some films are available on-line via VOD. 7. Let your instructor know if a link is no longer working.

The Africans (9 VHS films – each 60 min or 5 DVDs – each 120 min): Co- production of WETA-TV and BBC-TV. Presented by Ali A. Mazrui. 1986. Available at Madden Media & Fresno Public Libraries Vol. 1 – The Nature of a continent* Summary: Examines Africa as the birthplace of humankind and discusses the impact of geography on African history, including the role of the Nile

in the origin of civilization and the introduction of Islam to Africa through its Arabic borders.

Vol. 2 – A Legacy of lifestyles* Summary: This program explores how African contemporary lifestyles are influenced by indigenous, Islamic and Western factors. It compares simple African societies with those that are more complex and centralized, and examines the importance of family life.

Vol. 3 – New gods Summary: This program examines the factors that influence religion in Africa, paying particular attention to how traditional religions, Islam, and Christianity co-exist and influence each other.

Vol. 4 – Tools of exploitation Summary: The impact of the West on Africa and the impact of Africa on the development of the West are contrasted with an emphasis on the manner in which Africa's human and natural resources have been exploited before, during, and after the colonial period.

Vol. 5 – New conflicts Summary: Explores the tensions inherent in the juxtaposition of 3 African heritages, looking at the ways in which these conflicts have contributed to the rise of the nationalist movement, the warrior tradition of indigenous Africa, the jihad tradition of Islam, and modern guerilla warfare. Vol. 6 – In search of stability Summary: Gives an overview of the several means of governing in Africa. Examines new social orders to illustrate an Africa in search of a viable form of government in the post-independence period.

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Vol. 7 – A Garden of Eden in decay? Summary: Identifies the problems of a continent that produces what it does not consume and consumes what it does not produce. Shows Africa's struggle between economic dependence and decay. Vol. 8 – A Clash of cultures* Summary: Discusses the conflicts and compromises which emerge from the coexistence of many African traditions and modern life. Explores the question of whether Africa can synthesize its own heritage with the legacies of Islam and the West.

Vol. 9 – Global Africa Summary: Discusses African contributions to contemporary culture, including the significance of the African Diaspora, particularly in North America. Also examines the continuing influence of the superpowers on the affairs of Africa.

Africans in America: America's journey through slavery 2 DVDs (180 min. each): Produced for PBS by WGBH Boston. Available at Madden Media & Fresno Public Libraries Disc 1: The Terrible transformation* – Revolution. Disc 2: Brotherly love – Judgment day. Summary: Nearly ten years in the making, this landmark six-hour film series exposes the truth through surprising revelations, dramatic

recreations, rare archival photography and riveting first-person accounts. [It] helps define the reality of slavery's past through the insightful commentary of a wide range of voices including General Colin Powell, authors John Edgar Wideman and Barry Unsworth and leading scholars. Narrated by Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett it offers unparalleled understanding - from slavery's birth in the early 1600s through the violent onset of civil war in 1860. Warning: Contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.

A day in the life of a village in Africa (60 min). By Christopher Roy. * Available at Madden Media & Fresno Public Libraries Summary: Shows a typical day in Sayaga, a farming village in Burkina Faso. Includes scenes of food preparation, house building, children in school, traditional work, a funeral, and music.

A day in the life of Africa: (95 min.) Available at Madden Media Library Summary: On February 28, 2002, 100 photographers documented life in 53 African countries. This film follows some of the photographers as they carried out their assignments, the results to be published in a book in the 'Day in the life" series. Also shown is the process of choosing which pictures to include, as well as other details of book production.

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Africa Addio (Farewell Africa) – 140 min) On-line at http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/africa-addio/ Summary: Italian documentary made in 1966 about the end of the colonial era in Africa. Documents some of the disruptions caused by decolonization, such as poaching in former animal preserves and bloody revolutions, including the Zanzibar revolution which resulted in the massacre of approximately 5,000 Arabs in 1964. Shot over a period of

three years, by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, two Italian filmmakers who had gained fame a few years earlier (with co-director Paolo Cavara) as the directors of Mondo Cane in 1962. Warning: Contains scenes which some students may find disturbing!

The empire in Africa – 2006 (88 min) Available on-line at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqIK0Rufa3Q By Philippe Diaz. Focused on the bloody civil war in Sierra Leone, it is the perfect rejoinder to those who believe that the West has some kind of obligation to provide law and order through a “humanitarian” military intervention of the sort that NY Timesman Nicholas Kristof contributor calls for in Darfur or that Harvard professor Samantha Powers called for in

Rwanda. Using interviews with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel group widely portrayed as the Sierra Leone equivalent of the Janjaweed in Darfur, as well as supporters of military intervention against it, Diaz uncovers a rescue mission much more about rescuing diamond mining profits than lives. Warning: Contains scenes which some students may find disturbing!

An African Journey – 2010 (3 one-hour episodes) On-Line at: http://www.ovguide.com/tv/an_african_journey_with_jonathan_dimbleb y.htm Summary: After four decades of reporting from the continent, Jonathan Dimbleby returns to Africa on a 7,000-mile journey to discover how it is changing. He starts his African journey in the capital of Mali, Bamako, the

fastest-growing African city. 1. Following the course of the Niger River, Dimbleby finds not a continent of beggars but of

industrious people, some of whom go to extraordinary lengths to make a living, free-diving 20 feet to excavate building sand.

2. On the second leg of his illuminating journey across Africa, Jonathan Dimbleby travels 2000 miles through East Africa’s Rift Valley.

3. On the final leg of his 7,000 mile odyssey, Jonathan Dimbleby travels from Congo to Durban in search of the stories revealing contemporary Africa.

At a party celebrating the Year of the Tiger, he learns how China’s billion dollar deals have rebooted African economies, once dependent on Western aid and investment.

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http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/africa-addio/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqIK0Rufa3Q
http://www.ovguide.com/tv/an_african_journey_with_jonathan_dimbleby.htm
http://www.ovguide.com/tv/an_african_journey_with_jonathan_dimbleby.htm
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Have You Heard From Johannesburg – 2010 (7 films, each 52 min long, for a total of 8 hours) Available at Madden Library (disc DT1970 .H394 2010 v.1-7) Summary: A series covering the 45-year struggle against South Africa's apartheid system. Produced and directed by Connie Field, it includes events such as the Sharpeville massacre, the Soweto uprising, the murder of Steve Biko, and covers the role of some people less well-known outside

South Africa than Nelson Mandela, such as African National Congress leader Oliver Tambo. The title comes from the lyrics of the Gil Scott-Heron song “Johannesburg”. Episode One: The Road to Resistance (1948-64) As the U.N. adopts the Declaration of Human Rights, South Africa implements apartheid. A mass movement is born, then crushed, and Nelson Mandela is jailed for life. Episode Two: Hell of a Job (1960-69) ANC Deputy President Oliver Tambo escapes into exile and embarks on what will become a 30- year journey to engage the world in the struggle to bring democracy to South Africa. Episode Three: The New Generation (1969-77) Youth in South Africa and around the world join the growing movement against apartheid and the brutal suppression of a youth uprising in Soweto galvanizes public support for sanctions against South Africa. Episode Four: Fair Play (1958-81) With foreign governments reluctant to take action against apartheid regime, athletes and activists around the world hit white South Africa on the playing field. International boycotts against its sport teams help bring this human right crisis to the forefront of global attention. Episode Five: Selma to Soweto (1977-86) African Americans alter U.S. foreign policy for the first time in history, successfully pressuring the U.S. to impose sanctions and politically isolate South Africa. Episode Six: The Bottom Line (1965-88) International grassroots campaigns against major American firms doing business in South Africa economically isolate the apartheid regime and become the first successful efforts to use economic pressure to help bring down a government. Episode Seven: Free at Last (1979-90) An uprising in South Africa becomes the final blow in the cumulative world effort to topple apartheid. Nelson Mandela becomes a household name as the campaign to free him ignites a worldwide crusade.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpeville_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto_uprising
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_National_Congress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Tambo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Scott-Heron
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Portrait of Africa – 2000 (56 min) Available at Madden Library Summary: Few have ever witnessed the untouched splendor of Africa. But now you can. Portrait of Africa, set to the music of Vangelis (Chariots of Fire), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (of Paul Simon's Graceland) and legendary vocalist Miriam Makeba, is the sight-and-sound odyssey that takes you there. From Tanzania's sweeping Serengeti to towering Mt.

Kilimanjaro, from Kenya's historic island of Lamu to the volcanic shores of Lake Turkana, Portrait of Africa presents a remarkable array of people, places, wildlife and timeless ways with a gorgeous detail and rhapsodic grace.

The Great Africa Scandal – (48 min) On-line at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRIdMpCXCEw Summary: Robert Beckford visits Ghana to investigate the hidden costs of rice, chocolate and gold and why, 50 years after independence this country, so rich in natural resources, is one of the poorest in the world. He asks if the activities of multinationals, the World Bank and IMF have actually made Ghana’s problems worse.

The Human Family Tree – (46 min) On-line: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/human-family-tree/ Summary: On a single day on a single street, with the DNA of just a couple of hundred random people, National Geographic Channel sets out to trace the ancestral footsteps of all humanity. Regardless of race, nationality or religion, all of us can trace our ancient origin back to the cradle of humanity, East Africa. What did our collective journey look like,

and where did it take your specific ancestors?

Has God Forsaken Africa? – 2008 (52 min) Available at: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/has-god-forsaken-africa/ Summary: The story of this documentary unfolds in a working-class neighborhood in Dakar, Senegal. The director, Musa Dieng Kala, returns there to see what happened in a district he grew up in. Twenty years have passed since he and his friends dreamt of rebuilding their land. Today the young people there dream of a sole opportunity to leave and

go far away, elsewhere. Deserting Africa is like claiming that nothing can be accomplished, established nor enjoyed there. They leave behind an African youth feeling lost, frustrated and in despair, yearning to go to the West to escape a seemingly pointless future. The land, see and sky become their refuge. Leaving Africa thus becomes a life-long task - to live elsewhere, anywhere, but not there.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRIdMpCXCEw
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/human-family-tree/
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/has-god-forsaken-africa/
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/soccers-lost-boys/
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/soccers-lost-boys/
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Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey – 2003 (120 min) On-line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dDXIX-y6aY Summary: A fantastic documentary tracing the earliest human migration on this planet, as shown by our genetic roots. The best parts are when the researcher returns with DNA results and we see the diverse ways in which people and tribes react to the news of what science says about their arrival and relations.

Tropic of Capricorn – 2008 (180 min) Available at: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/tropic-of-capricorn/ Summary: Simon Reeve presents a travel documentary as he embarks on a journey along the Tropic of Capricorn, the line of latitude which cuts through Southern Africa, Australia and South America. The journey took him to stunning areas of the world, but he also discovers the changing global environment, poverty, globalization, AIDS, the rise of

the Chinese economy and the suffering of Africa.

Africa… States of Independence by Al-Jazeera English– 2010 (1 film of 45 min + 6 of 25 min each) All episodes available on Bd (“Films for Video Streaming”) Summary: Seventeen African nations gained their independence in 1960 but the dreams of the independence era were short- lived. Africa ... States of Independence tells the story of five of these countries: stories of mass exploitation, of the ecstasy of

independence, and of how - with liberation - a new, covert scramble for resources was born.

Africa, I’m Going to Fleece You (Afrique, je te plumerai) – 1992 (88 min) Available at Madden Music & Media Library Available on Bd (“Films for Video Streaming”) Summary: This documentary examines how Cameroon's French colonizers have been replaced by a dictatorial indigenous regime which still plunders the land and silences the authentic expression of its people. A case study of the devastation of traditional African societies by imposed

colonial cultures. In French with English subtitles.

And So Angels Die (Ainsi meurent les anges) – 2001 (58 min) Available on Bd (“Films for Video Streaming”) Summary: A drama that examines the conflict that often develops between personal needs and those of family and culture. Mory is a poet from the African nation of Senegal, who lives in France with his French wife and their three children. He is contacted by his step-father back in Senegal: the old man demands that he take a second wife, as is

consistent with the polygamist traditions of their culture. In French with English subtitles.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dDXIX-y6aY
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/tropic-of-capricorn/
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Women With Open Eyes (Femmes aux yeux ouvertes) – 1994 (52 min) Available on Bd (“Films for Video Streaming”) Summary: A Togolese documentary film directed by Anne-Laure Folly that covers the lives of contemporary African women in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Benin. The film director simply want to show African women's ability to enter the twenty-first century positively, that is, by articulating a set of problems, questions, and answers that contribute

to world development even though some still live in very traditional societies.

Finally: 1. Be sure to read the instructions as to how to write you film report before starting the assignment. 2. Consult your instructor if you have additional questions. 3. Let your instructor know if one of the links featured in this document is not working anymore! 4. Your instructor welcomes your suggestions for films to be added to this list!

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne-Laure_Folly