Social Darwinist ideology, racism and conflict in selected hollywood films about Africa

Abstract

The study focused on the Social Darwinist ideology, racism and conflict in selected Hollywood films about Africa looking at the case study of Tears of the Sun, Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamond. The aim of the study was to interrogate the interaction of Social Darwinist ideology, race and conflict in selected Hollywood films about Africa with sub-objectives of establishing perceptions, determining conflict interpretations, assessing racial perspectives, identifying filmic techniques used and evaluating the effects of the techniques by Hollywood films.

To carry out the study the researcher used the Reception theory to do a qualitative study which proved to be very useful because a detailed picture was built up about why people act in certain ways and their feelings about these actions. However, people are rigid and this made it difficult to assess, demonstrate and maintain the study. The theory was useful in that a viewer’s identity helps them to decode film text according to their identity. Results revealed that Hollywood filmmakers falsely depict African conflict and make it look like it is silly and unnecessary and Africans as either blood thirst savages or helpless wide-eyed children who cannot tell their own stories of solve their own conflict. In doing this wrong information about African conflict is passed and blacks are portrayed as an inferior race to the whites and here the Social Darwinist Ideology is imposed. The filmic techniques used were music, facial expressions, proxemics, dialogue, juxtaposition, camera angles, casting, symbolism and body language. Main recommendations are that African filmmakers should reproduce these films and offer an African perspective. All films that contain racist words should be banned. African filmmakers should also produce films where African conflict is solved amicably. Western filmmakers should present whites and blacks equally in their films. Areas for further study are class stratification and gender and conflict.