Again, I remained stunned from this film, now seeing it for a fourth time. There were no actors, there was no Hollywood stage, just a risk-taker with a digital camera in hand exploring the guts of famine-stricken Tanzania. For the students that came, perhaps the film was 1 hour and 47 minutes that changed your life. I recall addressing my students back in August and telling my students that this is not just a class, and we're not here to make high numbers on report cards. This is a life-changing experience if you allow it to be. This film proved that to me this afternoon once again. Usually when I show a film, when the credits began to roll, everyone gets up and leaves. With Darwin's Nightmare, although I myself was seeing it for a 4th time, I sat through the credits stunned as if it were my first time viewing the film. Then I got up, turned on the lights, and I saw teenagers stunned, speechless, and immovable. Ladies and gentlemen, hundreds of years of history crashed into the present with Darwin's Nightmare.So the film itself. What is it saying? The question has been asked as to what exactly is Darwin's Nightmare. Or, to put it another way, if Darwin were alive today and if he were to have a nightmare, would it look like this film? Would the fish that triggered this gold rush, the Nile perch ("sangara" in Swahili, or "mkombosi," which translates, ironically, as "the savior"), be part of his nightmare? Would the fact that this fish now devours its own young, having eaten virtually all the other fish in the lake--would this trouble Darwin enough to have nightmares? Would the local people figure into his nightmare, those who, say, will cut down a 100-year-old mango tree, which could feed 100 children, in order to make the fires which will boil a few cups of tea? Are, the consumers of the Western world (of which the Nile perch is an eerie metaphor) whose bottomless appetites set everything we see in the film in motion, are we the nightmare? One of the great strengths of this film, it could be argued, is that it leaves this and many other questions unanswered. Or leaves them for us to answer, as best we can.
So for those of you who saw the film, what are your thoughts and reactions? Your thoughts...
39 comments:
this is the most disturbing films i have ever seen. i have seen countless horror movies, but none are going to haunt me as much as darwin's nightmare. i usually don't walk out of a horror movie feeling like i am going to throw up. i thought that i was going to vomit after watching this film. i didn't even want to talk at the end of the film. the worst thing about this, the reason why it affected me so much more than any horror film or realistic drama was that this was real. it is so much scarier seeing the real people rather than seeing actors play people. it's just so much different seeing it than hearing about it. i knew the problems in africa from ur class and just by hearing about them and from some literature, but i was never so disturbed and moved until i saw this. thank you prill for showing ur students this, because it perhaps had more of an affect on me than any other film has before.
it was bad enough seeing the poverty in africa, but what was worse was that the west not only does little to help, but more so does a lot to contribute. u just see the children orphaned due to AIDS, and you get informed that the prostitute is now dead, and you just found out a day ago that there is possibly a cure but that it won't be sold because the treatment makes to much profit, and ur sicked. the film just showed so much about what happens to humankind when they start thinking more about money than their fellow man.
wow.
EVERYONE. EVERYONE! EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS FILM.
once again I feel like I've never known anything until I took this class, and now watched this movie.
That was incredible. I didn't want to have to leave. I wanted to sit in Mr Prill's room for a few more hours talking about it.
I've always enjoyed talking about and discussing africa, but that....that changes everything.
I think the true heart changing, mind molding scene for me was the children fighting over the little food they had managed to cook. Then kids as young as ten with a cigarette in one hand and drugs in the other. That's horrible.
And then the fish factory owner refusing to discuss the famine...oh that made me so mad! And all for weapons! All for war! It's like the Russian guy at the end said "children in Europe get grapes for Christmas, children in Angola get guns".
The prostitutes had the best lives in Africa, that was clear in seeing their nice clothes and full cups of beer. And then she was killed! I did not see that coming! The best life in Africa is one in constant danger?!
I think Africa is Darwin's nightmare. I think if Darwin saw the world today then he would put his head in his hands and say "What have we done?".
Mr. Prill, if you showed this movie again I myself would come to watch it again.
but EVERYONE should watch it.
you dont understand anything until seeing this. those villagers had enough fish to survive off of but had no choce but to participate in low paying jobs that couldnt even pay to buy one of those fish... it seems like people around the world could do so much more to help africa. not just during war but to help the people catch up economically and let the countries be independent.
i hated the fish throughout the movie.... too greedy.
oh and EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIGHTING TO GET A SPOT IN THIS FILM!!! c'mon people... just go watch it, mr.prill is right!!
Honestly, you should make it mandatory to see this film.To say the film was disillusioning would be an understatement. I have seen a good deal of troubling things in my day, but this is by far the most disturbing thing I have scene on film. It makes me wonder what the director wasn't able to film.
The meaning of the title could be taken a gratuitous number of different ways whether it be in a social, ecological,or economical context;all of these being a nightmarish situation. In every aspect it is like the West treats Africa like a colony for them to go in and take and manipulate whatever they want to with all of the benefit going to the west.
But here is what I was wondering, why don't the fishermen sell the fish locally. It is way more lucrative to sell them to the fisheries, but what if they sold/traded them locally to create internal trade within Africa to stimulate the economies of these impoverished areas. Africa has plenty of resources and an abundance of man-power, there is no need for a famine or foreign intervention. But I guess that would require unity within the African peoples and the willingness of the western economies to leave Africa alone in a negative way and only help Africa with completely benevolent means.
Every student needs to be enlightened on the issue, Show it again.
I have not left that disillusionment and am so upset. I fought with my dad over the topic and even cried.... I want to do something about this! Seriously. My sister is helping me try to get word out right now. If all I can do is spread knoweldge then I will. Do you know any charities or something related to these situations in Africa that would be trustworthy?
Not to jump to far or anything, but Mr. Prill, If I could get someone high up there to talk to me, would you go on a talkshow to inform people?
It was very, very good, and moving. I think you should show (a) clip(s) in class if we have the time, to try to get some more affected students.
with pleasure and in a heartbeat. GET THE WORD OUT ON THIS FILM, GET THE WORD OUT! film is not just for entertainment purposes.
My sister and I emailed the Ellen DeGeneres. Hopefully someone will reply, or else we will try another and another, etc. This all frustriates me so badly!
Trevor,
I totally agree that this film should be mandatory. Mr. Prill, you should make everyone watch it. They won't be sorry.
Nicole,
I'm behind you all the way.
i second that miss persyn... but miss gustufson, if by any chance you were to hear back from ellen, i'm not the guy she needs to talk to. my hero at the moment is herburt sauer, the guy that took the risk to bring a digital camcorder to tanzania to present this. he's the guy the needs to be on that show, because he's lived it, breathed it, and seen it.
Do you know how to contact him? We could probably find him somehow...
we could certainly try... how interesting would it be to get him to talk to our students at north as a guest speaker?
An encore would be great so more people could see it; it is shocking. I know understand dependency theory to a much greater extent. The title goes far deeper than the Nile Perch predator fish. Like Prill pointed out I think Darwin's nightmare is the West being a predator on Africa in this case. I too thought planes were coming empty at the beginning, I thought that was what was trying to be pointed out. Darwin's nightmare started way back in season 4 with social darwinism and imperialism, what we saw today was the result. I agree with Laura that the most powerful quote was from the Russian "Kids in Russia get grapes for Christmans, kids in Angola get guns for Christmas". Are the Russian pilots morally incorrect in doing their jobs? What about the Indian plant owners? What about people who purchase and eat the fish? Do we all play in a part of neo-colonialization by purchasing these goods that come from Africa? It certainly did not look like this fish industry was a help to the people of Tanzania; it was more like a parasite. WHat is the alternative? No industry? Like Prill said the first step is awareness , but what will do to fix this? Selling the fish locally seems simlple; but I am sure it is more complex than that. "You are part of the big picture" is what the claender from the World Bank(?correct me if i'm wrong) said, with such a great difference between the indutrial capacities of the West and those of Africa is it possible for this local process to happen. GLobalization in this case seems stiffling. I remember reading in Human Geo and looking at a picture of Brazilians protesting globalization, and i did not understand. Why would you reject greater opportunity and being to communicate and be on the playing field going against all in the world? I know understand that better. herburt sauer as a NGHS guest speaker would be AMAZING, is this his first film?
hubert.sauper@free.fr -email
I was skeptical at first on whether or not I really wanted to see this but I am SO happy I did. Not that it's a happy movie but it really opened my eyes to what life is like outside our bubble even more than just sitting in your class does. I really feel like this is the most useful class I have ever had. Even with knowing the problems in Africa it's so much realer and scarier to see it happened without it being acted or having a script.
When I came home today my dad asked how the film was and I said scary and depressing and he asked if we only watched depressing movies for your class. That got me to thinking though that we do watch depressing movies because it's what's actually happening rather than everything being sugar coated.
i hate to be posting here and not even seeing it. but after reading all these responses really does show how good it must be. i must it.
I really want to see this movie, especially with everyone's comments on this! Is there anyway you're going to do another showing Prill, or should i just go rent it?
i will strongly consider an encore presentation next thursday if there is support.
Well I'll cross my fingers that our match is not on thursday. We won today, so we go to the next round of state next week, but the coaches have to agree on the day for the match so there's no set day.
this film did not only leave me feeling like a jerk, i felt like crying. I feel like a jerk because i feel that as americans we take so many things for granted and not only do we do that, we wear our arrogance on our sleeves and wear it with pride. What do we have to be proud for? Atomic bombs that wipe out hundreds of thousands of people..? But back to Tanzania. Mr Prill, you mentioned that after seeing this we have the burden of knowledge. I do not think that burden would a correct use of words here. It's more of a motivation to get out there, do somthing for these people, take action. it's our duty now. We can't ignore the facts. Like Jonathan the painter said, he finally felt like a citizen of the world. Notice he did not just say a citizen of Tanzania. he said Of the World. Humans are equal, there are no superior peoples. When the people can't even eat their own major export that they work to get everyday of their lives, it's more than a problem.
hey Mr.Prill this is kind of off topic but i think that another good fill on Africa is The Color of Freedom which discusses the issues between the Tutsi and huti people.
just thought id throw that out there lol
is being a citizen of the world what Tanzania needs though? Does a citizen of the world mean more economically powerfuly citizens can take advantage of those in economic shambles. Tanzania needs intervention but not exploitation. I know this sounds cynical, but it is something to think about. Foreign influence is largely to blame. Being part of the global economy is eating up all Tanzania's resources and Tanzania is a smuggling spot for weapons in return.
after reading these comments i really want to see this movie. if there is going to be an encore presentation i will be there
Can you present an encore presentation next week for those who missed it? possibly a thursday? because this seems like a very interesting movie and unfortunately, i have sat practices on wednesdays.
yeah mr. shin, we'll do it.
Wow! I think our reactions after the film sums up everything. We all just sat there thinking about it. We were all more disillusioned after watching that film than we ever had been before. Seriously everyone should watch it cause no one really understands their conditions that they have to live through until this film is seen. I thought it was ridiculous seeing the advertisement of Coca-Cola in a village full of people who could hardly even feed themselves. I think "Sick" is almost a good word for it. All of the thoughts to help areas such as that always have something that would cause another problem. You were right when you said its frustrating. It feels almost impossible even though there has got to be away. I also thought it was awful and sad when the one prostitute died from being stabbed by an Australian Client. The people are being treated terrible by foreigners even when the foreigners are the guests. The Africans are inviting these guys into there country and they are treating the natives as if they were lower than dogs. it is truly disgusting.
hey mr.prill, i was wondering since i wasnt able to view the film i was wonderin if u knew if they had the movie at blockbuster or somewhere like that
sadly, it's tough to find in a rental store. i saw it at barnes and noble once. i rented it off of blockbuster.com though. and i finally bought it online for 9 bucks. better yet... come see it with us after school on thursday.
After watching this film i was stunned. I had no idea that Africa was this bad off. What stunned me even more than just the poverty, is that africa doesn't have be starving. They have enough food but Europeans and Russians are taking it like it is their right. I cannot believe that people could even act in this manner. I mean do they have any kind of conscience at all? Mr. Prill your absolutely right. We need to act on this situation right now because the conflict is happening right now.
after watching this again I was still stunned at what was going on in Africa.
I few things I picked up on the seconded time were.
1. there were 2 million starving people in Tanzania according to the UN, and also 2 million white people eat fist from lake Victoria everyday.
2. The UN was asking for $17 million to help the people of Tanzania, but later on the EU gives 45 million shillings to help secure the fish trade....basically showing the "we only spend money on something if its benefiting us" mindset of the Europeans.
since it sounds like you'll be showing this again (and it seems like it may fill up fast), id like to go ahead and save my seat please! i cant wait to see it!
mr.prill,
if u r doing an encore presentation next thursday, then i'm in!!!! please!!! sign me up!!!! i have to watch this!!! i feel like im missing out on everything!
When I came to see the film this afternoon, I had the mindset that although people said it was tragic and disturbing, it really hadn't clicked for me. Throughout the film, every single connection that was made was shocking, horrifying, and even sickening. I though it rather unusual that they called AIDs "the virus", and whenever they mentioned it they spoke of how many of the husbands died of it. At the end it raised the same point you did is class - the medical and pharmaceutical companies profit more by not giving the cure, if there is one. The kids was what got me most though. They sniff "drugs" to the point where they can fall asleep and others are unable to wake them, to the point where they feel no fear. Then there was the young girl who had to stay with the younger boys so others couldn't force her into a sexual situation. One thing that raises more questions than it answers for me though is the fish. If, just if, the Europeans and Russians decided to withdraw their companies from Africa, what would happen to the people? Would they all lose their jobs and still starve as the fish went into local markets instead at ridiculously high prices? Or - would allowing the people of Africa to eat their own fish help with the amount of starving people? I have a lot to think about tonight.
This movie was the most disturbing movie i've ever seen simply because it was real. One of the parts that affected me the most were the children. This is Africa's future generation and hardly any have parents and are living in the streets. They smoke and sniff glue, made from the foam used in the fish packaging. The scene with the rice was particularly disturbing. The kids literally had to fight for their food. Also the prostitutes story was particularly sad. Just like everyone else she took whatever job she could get to help her family. She wanted an education and a respectable job but she had no oppurtunity to get it. It really upset me when I heard she was killed. Its an almost indescribable feeling to see someone alive with hopes and dreams and then find out she is dead 15 minutes later.
I'm still flabbergasted by the truth that was exposed. I was really frustrated when Tanzania was reportedly experiencing a famine, yet they have enough fish to feed 2 million residents in Lake Victoria. It's all being shipped away to other people. And what really frustrated me was seeing all of the children living on the streets, being abandoned by their fathers and mothers, not by their own will, but because most parents were lost due to HIV/AIDS. The scene that hit me the hardest was when they were all fighting for the rice. Like that picture you have for this specific blog, there was great urgency to find food and survive. These children didn't verbally fight, they came with fists and violence. What was even worst is that these kids would have to smoke in order to 'survive'. They inhale this glue that they make in order to sleep easily and not fear of whatever might happen. AIDS is one of the worst problems in this village and all of Africa. AIDS is claiming the lives of mothers and fathers, who leave their children as orphans and also pass the disease along to their children. Globalization has really made a horrible impact on Africa and so has Europe. Leaving Africa without an infrastructure, leading to disorientation with the work and local political forces. This film is absolutely heart-wrenching and you really don't understand Africa's situation until you see this film.
I know i've already commented on this subject/blog post, but i have a little more to contribute to this discussion. It is a horrifying film and i wish i could have come seen it again yesterday. Everytime I thin about it I can't seem to get it off my mind. It bothers me because I know of all the things happening in tanzania, yet i cant seem to find a way to physically help out. yes, I've been trying to do a little of my part by spreading my knowledge (even to those who dont want to listen) but i feel like theres more. There's one scene that stiks out in my mind. It's the one where the kids are literally fighting over food. I know I've never experienced this problem and im guessing not most of us have. And its an everyday thing for these kids; they cant expect to eat day after day. This truely is an influential film in that it changes my perspective on life in general completely; it also allows me to make comparisons between africa and other parts of the world like india/pakistan.
well oh my god.
this was one of the most disturbing truths i have ever seen. when the movie ended, i literally sat there wondering how this could be the truth. and the truth was the hardest part. i love horror movies and i watch them all the time, but the fact of the matter is this was the best horror film ever, and thats kinda sad to think about. its sad to sit there and watch little kids literally fight over some rice or listen to them talk about how their parents died due to AIDS or are gone because theyre fishermen.
i honestly dont agree with how theyre exporting all of their food. i mean they literally have endless fish supply but all they care about is giving it away. maybe if they cut their exporting in half, things wouldnt be so bad..
but this movie really shows the hard hitting truth. no matter how bad it really is....
It lightens my heart to see that all these people have seen this film and feel so strongly about it...The situation in Africa is a very important and pressing matter, and it's good that everyone who watched the film has discovered this. WATCH
IT WATCH IT WATCH IT!!!, and btw...WATCH IT!!!
Also, Mr.Prill I think it would be awesome if we could have Herburt Sauer to come and talk to students at North Gwinnett, we need to spread the word, film his speech, put it on youtube, let EVERYONE know!
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