(AP STYLE) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

(AP STYLE) - Essay Example Many have included it as a popular destination and metaphor for the social issues. This paper delves into how the ‘cradle of life’ has been depicted in different films. One of the many popular movies is Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond. Zwick commented: â€Å"[w]hen I first read about Sierra Leone, I was shocked. I’d read books about the colonial scramble for Africa, about the exploitation of its ivory, rubber and gold, but to learn the history of diamonds was to learn the history of Africa all over again† (2006, p.1). The story shows meaningful concepts on the continent’s background, human rights violations, and rich natural resources. Included in its themes is the violence that has been happening in the territories of Africa. For instance, the main character (Danny Archer) states â€Å"[o]ut here, people kill each other as a way of life. It’s always been like that†. The story line shows that many Africans may have already accepted the cruel nature of humanity. Their history has been perforated with subjugations from different oppressors. The aforementioned line of Archer may represent several ruthless mortalities, such as the genocide in Rwanda, slaughter of Muslims in Godhra, and the tribal cleansing in Bosnia. Furthermore, some acts from the picture exhibited hands being hacked off to stop people from practicing their right to vote. The scenes have shown gory details on how Africans get hurt and mercilessly killed. Comparably, White Material is a drama that centers on a French woman who chose to stay in Africa. The director Claire Denis utilized artistic imagery in revealing the nation as ravaged by war. The protagonist, Maria, is an owner of a coffee plantation amidst a civil war. In the story the continent was regarded as a very unpleasant place. This is particularly intuited when Maria’s son gazed at a vat full of blood-red coffee beans. Consequently, he looked at his mother. This scene implies th e young man’s hatred toward his mother for choosing to stay in such an iniquitous environment. Probably, Denis wanted to show that the land can be both hated and loved. The violence in Africa has also been presented in other pictures, such as Cry Freetown, Tsotsi, and Battle of Algiers. The first is a 1999 documentary film by Sorious Samura. It was quite informative regarding the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone. Similarly, Tsotsi is a 2005 picture set in the locale of Soweto, South Africa. It became well known especially when it won an Oscar award for best foreign film. It is about one of the crime infested towns. Battle of Algiers is a 1965 movie that depicts the fight for independence in Algeria during the 1950s. It was banned in France for 5 years after its release. These films showcase guerilla revolutions, mass-killing by authorities, and coups. Peoples in different nations have perceived Africa as a very troublesome place. Numerous of them have come to this conclusion because of the bloody and pugnacious scenes in big screens and in the news. However, as compared to the present and actual situations, vicious local conflict is not that much of an everyday occurrence. Though there are indeed some territories that have gone through civil wars, most of the borders were established without ferocious social unrest. The most usual kind of struggle is amongst government militias and rebels. In contrast to the general conception, wars between state armies are quite rare. The vast continent is composed of 54 states. With