Long+Film+Annotation+6

Arunesh Ghosh, Annotation #6 01/06/12 Darwin’s Nightmare

1. Title, director and release year?

The title of the film is //Darwin’s Nightmare// and was released in 2004 and was directed by Hubert Sauper.

2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?

Darwin’s Nightmare follows the consequences of the introduction of the Nile Perch to Lake Victoria in Tanzania and the devastating effects on the surrounding communities. There are many themes peppered throughout the piece ranging from the terrible effects of capitalism on the lower rungs of the production totem pole, to the hidden agendas of European nations, fueling perpetual war in countries throughout Africa. It also shows the extent to which current business practices have brought communities around the globe to their knees, fighting for scraps to survive while lack of education and religious beliefs prevent proper contraception use resulting in rampant spread of HIV and AIDS. The people trapped in this cycle are completely blind to possible solutions as their perpetual struggle for survival often times prevents individuals from looking at the bigger picture.

3. How is the argument or narrative made and sustained? How much scientific information is provided, for example? Does the film have emotional appeal?

The film follows a very unorthodox style very atypical for documentaries. More or less devoid of any narration, the piece drops you right into the heart of things beginning in what appears to be a shack on stilts, doubling as a control tower. The constant coming and going of planes becomes a recurring theme in the messy and depressing collage the film weaves surrounding the fish trade in Lake Victoria. The film documents different individuals affected by the fish trade from the fisherman who risk their lives everyday hauling in the days catch, to prostitutes, driven by desperation to support their families and kids. The film in itself is more of an analysis of the social consequences of the fish trade and not much of a scientific problem. The only somewhat scientific element in question is the extent of the ecological damage brought about by the introduction of the Nile Perch to Lake Victoria. Unlike many other documentaries, this film has tremendous emotional appeal with graphic footage of the poverty in communities surrounding Lake Victoria. Particularly moving is the footage of street children fighting each other over handfuls of rice.

4. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?

The film takes a heavy harsh look on aggressive corporate practices of the European fish industry and the ravaging effects on the local populations in Africa. As is, the growth of the artificially introduced Nile Perch around the Lake Victoria region has completely supplanted traditional means of living. This means that traditional, more sustainable occupations such as farming have been completely replaced by jobs required by the fishing industry. Instead of farming as a means of living, individuals instead slave away performing menial tasks for less than a few dollars a day. The fish industry has such a stranglehold on communities that individuals are often willing to perform any task just to be able to get by. The situation has reached the point where people are willing to dive into the frigid lake water to drive fish into nets. Even more surprising is the sheer amount of consumption and demand brought about by the fish industry. A shocking quantity of fish is harvested from the Lake everyday and shipped away to European countries while Tanzania’s own citizens perish from famine. Perhaps most disturbing of all is the hidden cargo that the planes bring in, mainly arms and ammunition, sustaining the conflicts throughout Africa. Even more disturbing is the extent to which poverty has stricken these communities, where individuals hunger for war and look at it as a better, viable alternative than the current economic situation most of them are trapped in. The film as a whole calls into question global foreign policy trends with the paradoxical practices of inciting war in regions while simultaneously “aiding” these war stricken countries.

5. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?

Much of the film is very convincing. The footage of the impoverished throughout the village is horrific to say the least. The desperation throughout the community is unlike anything I have seen before with kids fighting one another in the streets, fighting over scraps of food, and numbing their minds with drugs to free themselves from the pain of everyday living. Especially convincing are the wages that individuals make at each level of the fish operations illuminating the degree of poverty most of these people live in for viewers who might have difficulty grasping the breadth of the situation in these countries.

6. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why?

The film is clearly filmed in a way so as to illicit a strong emotional response from viewers. As such, it is likely that the documentary as a whole only shows one side of the fish industry. What would have made for a more balanced film would be if what life for other communities in the Country was also included in the piece. This would offer us a glimpse into whether or not the horrific lives of people in the fish industry is any better than those in other parts of the country. Perhaps the fishing industry, despite all the horrific negative consequences does offer some sort of opportunity to earn a living for people as opposed to simply starving from famine in other part of the country.

7. What audiences does the film best address? Why

This film does have some degree of universal emotional appeal. The footage is very high impact with scenes of street children fighting for survival and young women, slowly succumbing to the effects of HIV/AIDS, whoring themselves out just to get by. Nobody wants to see these things and the piece would cause most people to at least question what we are doing to one another and the morality of humanity as a whole.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">If the film featured any footage or information on any sort of resistance to the industry either local or international efforts then perhaps the piece as a whole would not be as bleak and hopeless. As a whole, the documentary did a terrific job of highlighting the negative consequences of globalization but leaves the viewer with a hopeless, bleak outlook on the situation. Even some sort of minor inspiration or hope I believe would have dramatically improved the environmental education value of the piece as at its core, with any sort of environmental education, it is essential to have faith and hope that we can change for the better.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. What kind of action points of intervention are suggested by the film. If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can’t imagine being effective.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The film does not suggest any corrective action directly which unfortunately lends to its morose and rather melancholy tone. One thing is for certain however, if things continue as is, nothing will change as there is no incentive to. The people who are in dire need to free themselves from this vicious cycle, are simply too overwhelmed by hunger, violence, and disease to take an active stand for change. Corrective action must be taken however. For starters, proper sex education and some form of widespread contraceptive distribution must be implemented despite religious taboos and stigma. Disease is simply wiping out the population in the area and destroying the traditional family structure. Secondly, resource reallocation throughout the Country must occur. It is absolutely absurd how millions are dying of starvation in Tanzania while tons upon tons of fish are exported daily from its own lakes, politicians must take an active stance to break free from the vice like grip of the corporations and inspire citizens to focus once more on local industries.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">10. What additional information has this film compelled you to seek out?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was rather fascinated by the introduction of the Nile Perch to Lake Victoria especially how it progressed to its present, calamitous state. As one would expect, the degradation of the lake began with the advent of commercialized agriculture and subsequent increase in fertilizer and pesticide concentrations. The straw that broke the camel’s back however was the introduction of the Nile Perch to the lake, completely wiping native populations from the ecosystem. I also took a further look into other sources describing the growth of the Nile Perch industry. Apparently, only Uganda is the only country surrounding the lake to impose and reasonably enforce controls for exploitation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 22pt;">Links []

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