THIS IS MY AFRICA

THIS IS MY AFRICA

I DREAMED OF AFRICA

So this week I did something interesting I watched 2 movies based on 2 European women who lived in Kenya. That is OUT OF AFRICA starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford I DREAMED OF AFRICA starring Kim Bassinger and Vincent Perez

OUT OF AFRICA

What these two movies have in common is that for once there is an African country portrayed in some sort of positive light. It shows Kenya as a place of adventure and evokes passion in some way. I understand why there was a great number of tourists visiting Kenya after the release of such movies. They were way more refreshing than some of the other movies released about Africa for sure.

OUT OF AFRICA

OUT OF AFRICA

OUT OF AFRICA

I DREAMED OF AFRICA

I DREAMED OF AFRICA

However for some reason some people think that all there is to Kenya and yet places like where Meryl Streep’s character Karen is now a very upmarket neighbourhood, and the places they’d hunt is full of housing and many other developments.

My point is that there is a fixation sometimes that the only thing good about Africa is wildlife and Safari and the people are generally bad and cannot be trusted. Because when movies are made about people in Africa it’s always about poverty and violence.

OUT OF AFRICA

OUT OF AFRICA

OUT OF AFRICA

When I watched OUT OF AFRICA I finally got to see a piece of Kenyan History I had only read about in school or heard from my parents. It was interesting to see Muthaiga as a gentleman’s club. It was interesting to see that it took hours to get from place to place because the main mode of transport was horses. It was also interesting to see that the Kenyans were minding their own business and sharing the land with foreigners. It was pretty much harmony until World War 1. That is when Great Britain took over Kenya officially. Then all the drama started.

When you are thrown out of your home, and taken to a place that you can barely survive, yes you will definitely not take that lightly.

Anyways, it was a good movie and I did learn a lot about pre-colonial Kenya.

I DREAMED OF AFRICA was more about post-colonial Kenya in the 70’s. There is still some element of Adventure and Safari. I have always wondered what people do in remote areas like Laikipia, but when I saw the movie it clicked.

This movie highlighted a lot of the poaching issues in the area. It’s interesting that in OUT OF AFRICA, there was some level of hunting but it was a sport for the foreigners but when you watch I DREAMED OF AFRICA it has gotten out of hand and mainly the locals are to blame.

What I know about people in Africa is that we are basically in survival mode, especially since our way of life changed from what it was traditionally till now. We got lost in transition. It’s pretty hard to change cultures if it wasn’t originally a part of you. We are judged harshly by the West for a lot of the things they started here themselves.

Not saying all they brought was bad, but a lot of the bad that plagues us is as a result of Colonialism. Our traditional cultures were very stable. Again not all the practices were good but we were very community based.

I would like to see more positive movies about Africa in the future. If I see another civil war movie, I will scream. There is more to Africa than war and famine and corruption. 

I picked the pictures this week that would portray a more positive side of Africa with different sceneries to end my post. This is a celebration of my continent and how we still arise above our challenges to better our lives.