"the Africans"


Aside from the fact that the killer bees are obviously African killer bees, what was up with characters continually referencing them as "the Africans"? Was the label just a product of a time with less political correctness and/or ethnic sensitivity? Was there somehow some hidden socio-political agenda, perhaps a way of mocking Roots? (Yes, I know that that idea is a reach.)

I will say that the label may have proved more realistic than one might want to believe—in the sense that some folks may indeed have talked that way.

Of course, realism is not one of The Swarm's strengths, either.

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Perhaps constantly mentioning "African killer bees" seemed a bit repetitive, and they shortened it.

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... perhaps, and such an abbreviation would have been plausible in the real world. However, I am not sure if any of the characters even used the phrase "African killer bees" to begin with.

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It was, several times. This isn't a racial issue.

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... fair enough. Of course, the matter of subconscious ethnocentrism cannot be ruled out—if the bees had been from Britain, would the characters have referred to them as "the Brits"?

I do not know.

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You're really stretching on this. I believe that this was the screenwriter's choice, being that they could keep the dialogue from being even more redundant than it is. Plus, the scientists at the time were asking people to stop calling them "killer bees," which would certainly have played more into Irwin Allen's goal.

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Perhaps constantly mentioning "African killer bees" seemed a bit repetitive, and they shortened it.


But why "Africans"? Nevermind the race element, it's extremely misleading as well. If they didn't want to be repetitive, they could've just called them "the bees." Hell, that's 2 syllables shorter than "the Africans."

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Why not just say "bees" then? What are some other instances have you heard people refer to animals from Africa as Africans? I mean actually heard, not a hypothetical.

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Do you really care that much? Enough has been said.

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You appeared to need a little help in understanding where that poster was coming from so I volunteered.

I actually don't think there was a racial element either but I'm not surprised that some people do, given how sensitive people are and the verbiage being used in the movie.

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I didn't need any help. I was too thorough to begin with.

The movie is a @#*# Allen dud from the 70s, not a black-faced musical from the 30s.

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So you think racial connotations in movies only exists in the 30s? A man has to wear black paint on his face before you notice it?

You need more help than I thought. Things aren't always that obvious my friend.

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I don't need any help. You are being ridiculous. Bye.

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Lol.

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Of course, if the film had been made today that term would definitely not be used!

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