FloresJaredNightmare

Jared Flores Annotation 10: //Darwin’s Nightmare//  1.  Title, director, and release year? // Darwin’s Nightmare //, directed by Hubert Sauper, released in 2004  2.  What is the central argument or narrative of the film? The central narrative of the film is the story of Tanzania, and how even though they produce fish which is eaten by two million people per day, many people in Tanzania are starving. The film features interviews with multiple people living in this country, including Elisa, a prostitute who sells herself to fishermen for 10 dollars a night, and Raphael, a night guard who does his job for 1 dollar a night. The film shows the irony in the fact that so much food is produced every day in this country, but because the company is so concerned with making money, the food is not used to feed the hungry. Instead, the people of Tanzania are given the discarded remains of the fish, which are unfit to sell and have little to no meat on them. The film mainly argues about how big business is ruining the country.  3.  What sustainability problems does the film draw out? The main sustainability problem that the film draws out is organizational sustainability. The film makes it clear that because of the big organizations running the fish companies, the people of Tanzania live in poverty and starvation. With so much food being produced, it is hard to imagine that the locals cannot be fed. There are many living in poverty, however, because the local jobs of fisherman, security, and factory worker are not paid much. For example, Raphael, a night guard for National Fisheries Institute, is paid only 1 dollar a night, and is only given a bow to guard the institution as opposed to a gun. Also, the job is clearly dangerous, as the guard before him was killed, so to only be paid 1 dollar a night is truly ridiculous. However, the NFI is able to get away with this because their activities are not regulated by any higher power. The country is given guns in exchange for fish in order to fight a local war, so their methods are considered necessary for survival. Another sustainability problem that this film draws out is behavior sustainability. Prostitution is a lucrative business in Tanzania, as many stressed out fishermen and pilots seek sexual release after a long day of work. Prostitutes, as well as the men they have sex with, do not use protection, which contributes to the spread of AIDs in the country. The spread of this virus is so bad that many children lose their parents. Because they lose their caregivers, these children are forced to live in poverty and to take care of themselves. Though these children have dreams to someday have a meaningful profession, most will end up as fishermen like their fathers before them, thus contributing to the vicious cycle of death and poverty.  4.  What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why? One part of the film I found persuasive and compelling was the part where the Tanzanian children were getting food. There wasn’t much to be had, but the children were very hungry. So, they felt the need to compete for what little food there was, and fought each other over it. Food has never been an issue in my life, as I enjoy a comfortable living, so it is always saddening to those who do not have much food to eat. Seeing those children hurt each other over food is a real eye-opener to the kinds of struggles that are going on in our world. Another part of the film I found compelling was the part where Raphael explained that the people of Tanzania hoped for war. He said this because “soldiers make good money”. It is truly shocking that the people of a country would want to have war just so that there was a way to make enough money to feed their families. It really goes to show just how desperate the people of Tanzania are.  5.  What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? The only part of the film that I was not compelled by was the vignette about the prostitute named Eliza. While her lifestyle was saddening, and her death was tragic, I don’t feel that the struggle she faced had enough relevance to the overall point of the film to warrant inclusion. The film did explain that prostitutes in Tanzania make good money, and the fact that Elisa was murdered by a client did illustrate how dangerous the profession was, but I was personally not convinced by the argument. The film was more about the poverty and plight of the people, I thought, but the prostitutes seemed to make good money compared to most people, and not using protection during sex was their choice so that they could make more money.  6.  What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.? I would like to find more information about struggling countries. I want to see if most impoverished countries are in the same type of situation as Tanzania, with people resorting to such professions as prostitution in order to keep themselves fed. I think it is very interesting to see the sort of state some countries in the world are in. I imagine that the activities of poor countries follow some sort of formula, and that is the kind of thing that I would like to discover. After all, arming oneself with knowledge is the first step to finding a solution.  7.  What audience does this film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems? I think this film best addresses people who are concerned about the poor. This film is an accurate and striking depiction of what life is like for those who are less fortunate. The fact that the film states that Tanzania has food, but people can’t afford it, will inspire viewers to donate money to the cause. Outside of that, I believe that anyone can see this film and walk away feeling touched. Seeing the plight of others is a powerful thing, after all. The film really shows that because of big businesses, even having food in a country means nothing if people cannot afford to buy it.  8.  What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film? This film does not offer much in terms of solutions to the problems. The most people could do is either help raise support for the people of Tanzania, or to donate money to the cause. Also, the film suggests protesting the shipment of firearms into Tanzania. Although the people of Tanzania are hoping for a war so that they can make more money, there are always more consequences to war than there are benefits. The first step to solving the poverty problem is to take away the weapons, and hopefully the desire for war with it.  9.  What could have been added to the film to enhance its environmental educational value? I think that this film could have gone into more detail about the effects that the Nile perch was having on the wildlife. There was some information about how it screwed up the food chain, but I would have liked to learn more about what sort of wildlife was in Lake Victoria to begin with. Why is the food chain in Lake Victoria so imbalanced that one large species of fish could eat everything there? Also, if the Nile perch did consume a great deal of the species in the lake, how is it still managing to flourish? 500 tons of Nile perch are produced in Tanzania each day, but is this approaching a decline? I would have liked for these questions to be answered.