Jones,+Russ+Film+Annotation+II+(Darwin's+Nightmare)

Russell Jones Sustainability Problems February 4, 2010 Film Annotation II


 * The film //Darwin’s Nightmare// directed by Hubbert Sauper, and released in 2004 highlights the ecological problems resulting from the over-fishing of Lake Victoria in Tanzania, Africa as well as the poverty that dominates the area. The film focuses on ecological, economic, cultural and organizational issues.
 * The most persuasive parts of the film were the scenes with the young children fighting each other for food, and the images of the harsh conditions in with the locals lived and worked. The parts of the film that were not compelling were the scenes involving the monologues of the local factory owner and the dragged on scenes involving the pilots.
 * The film encourages people to seek out more information about how the Nile Perch fish population in Lake Victoria can be controlled and the Lake’s ecosystem can be restored. I want to dig deeper into the issues with the incompetence of the Tanzanian government to regulate business in the area and protect its people. I’m curious to find out more on how the people of Tanzania can be educated about the importance of an effective government for the protection of the nations natural resources and people from the control of foreign corporations.
 * The film best addresses those who are involved with combating poverty and disease and not so much those who concentrate on fixing sustainability issues. The film will be able to have a small effect on people’s perceptions on fishing and how over-fishing is a growing problem. The general population would not be effected heavily this movie due to its length and drawn out scenes. The film does not suggest many points of intervention except for actions taken by the United Nations. The film focuses more on portraying the problem in a strong and somewhat shocking way.
 * The film’s educational value could have been enhanced by including more details about the Lake’s eco-system as well as the structure and actions of the Tanzanian Government. More information on foreign organizations helping Tanzania would have been effective for the film in order to portray ways to get involved. The film provided perspectives from many sides of the issue, boiling down to surviving in a capitalist system by depleting resources of third world nations versus opposition to exporting having such a harsh effect on the Tanzanians. The film enrolls viewers and does not preach as it displays touching images of the lives of the people affected by the regions issues.