How Does the Film Manage to Privilege the Value of “Whiteness” Despite its Attempts to Promote the “Bushmen” Society as Almost Utopian in its Innocence and Purity?
The film “The Gods Must Be Crazy” highlights the difference between the “Bushmen” society, a “stress-free” isolated San “tribe” who live in the Kalahari dessert, with other characters, such as Kate Thompson and Andrew Steyn, who underline the “whiteness” of society with their “civilized” way of life during the 1980’s. During this time, it is important to note the legal separation between African and Whites was being defined; therefore, African Americans were still seen as the inferior race. The Bushman tribe leader, Xi, is constantly seen as inferior and ridiculed throughout the movie since his way of life is different and is treated almost as a child who has never seen past the “barriers” of his land. The way the narrator, Paddy O'Byrne, describes Africa as unlivable to “civilized” man, how Xi is constantly ridiculed because of his innocence, and how the “white and privileged” characters are superiorly portrayed emphasize the contrast of between the “civilized” and “primitive” in the film.
O'Byrne describes the “Bushman” primitive ways by describing their home as what “looks like a paradise,” and quickly proceeds to changing his diction to resonate with …show more content…
Because it is “unlivable” to her, she must be “civilized.” Additionally, Kate was the only persona to command orders to the Sergeant when being held hostage showing her supremacy as all the “Bushman” were treated as objects. Even as a foreigner, her power over others underlines how the story main focus is to remind the audience of White supremacy found
The film “The Gods Must Be Crazy” highlights the difference between the “Bushmen” society, a “stress-free” isolated San “tribe” who live in the Kalahari dessert, with other characters, such as Kate Thompson and Andrew Steyn, who underline the “whiteness” of society with their “civilized” way of life during the 1980’s. During this time, it is important to note the legal separation between African and Whites was being defined; therefore, African Americans were still seen as the inferior race. The Bushman tribe leader, Xi, is constantly seen as inferior and ridiculed throughout the movie since his way of life is different and is treated almost as a child who has never seen past the “barriers” of his land. The way the narrator, Paddy O'Byrne, describes Africa as unlivable to “civilized” man, how Xi is constantly ridiculed because of his innocence, and how the “white and privileged” characters are superiorly portrayed emphasize the contrast of between the “civilized” and “primitive” in the film.
O'Byrne describes the “Bushman” primitive ways by describing their home as what “looks like a paradise,” and quickly proceeds to changing his diction to resonate with …show more content…
Because it is “unlivable” to her, she must be “civilized.” Additionally, Kate was the only persona to command orders to the Sergeant when being held hostage showing her supremacy as all the “Bushman” were treated as objects. Even as a foreigner, her power over others underlines how the story main focus is to remind the audience of White supremacy found