while i agree with some of your points, the ignorance all over the discussion board for this movie is getting to me, and i will elaborate on my thoughts here. yes, stereotyping is a horrible thing, no matter what. in this vein, i am tired of all white people being stereotyped as a pack of ignorant racists. this movie/book was based on a true story... before posting this, did you consider the fact that maybe the man that lemalian was based on actually WAS an immature, jealous, sexually ignorant person? for a moment, let us consider the mirian-webster definition of racism: "1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race... 2: racial prejudice or discrimination." it was never said/shown that anyone in the tribe was beneath carola BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE; THAT would be racism. nor was carola prejudiced against their culture. if she were, she certainly wouldn't have lived there for years and years and years. this movie was based on a true story of a woman who fell in love with a man. both were from completely different backgrounds (regardless of the specifics of those backgrounds), and the story revolved around the trials and tribulations of trying to assimilate to a new culture. i'm suprised so many people missed this, in today's more multicultural day and age. if none of this makes sense, then keep this last point in mind: the movie and the message would have been exactly the same had it been an african movie, about a regular african guy who fell in love, moved to europe, and just couldn't make it work no matter how hard he tried. would he be accused of stereotyping the european people? probably not.
reply
share
black_magic2001
17 years ago
but the problem i found with this film was that Carola didn't truly try to assimilate at all. she had no respect for they're culture and would be surprised when he'd be angry with her about things that in his culture were unacceptable. he bent his beliefs and customs a lot for her. and she was just stubborn and believed she could do whatever she wanted. i hated the character of Carola in this film. even in parts where i should have sympathized because her husband was being an ass, i didn't, because in the back of my mind.. i kept thinking she should have known to better respect who they are as a people.
reply
share
animesux
17 years ago
i understand. and i agree, he did bend his rules for her WAY more than she did for him. i was actually surprised when he helped the dying pregnant lady.
reply
share
Anonymous_07
17 years ago
Did he? From what I remember - he did NOT do that in the book. The lady almost died when she herself removed the baby from her womb.
Maybe some things were changed for the movie then?
reply
share
TaoLou
17 years ago
Black magic,
So if you saw a girl getting her genitals cut off or a woman with a baby stuck halfway out of her being left to die you would just leave it and shrug it off as 'tradition'? You think she should have assimilated to the idea that the pregnant dying woman was cursed because she was having a difficult pregnancy? And she should have just left her there? I don't really know which bits you are referring to about her not assimilating but I think considering she WAS a western woman, brought up with the luxuries and strong morals regarding women that a westerner would have been, that she was actually very tolerant. You have to remember she was the one sacrificing so much for this man, it wouldn't hurt him to see a little of her culture and beliefs as well. Of course she was surprised when he got angry, she was learning at the beginning. She sat back and endured an amazing amount I think and accepted their way of life, but some things she just couldn't understand, and frankly I cannot understand genital mutilation either, no matter how much respect I had for a people. It doesn't mean she disrespects them, it just means she has an opinion formed by her own western upbringing on certain matters, just like the tribe had their opinion that female circumcision is ok, becuase that's what they have been told all their life. Of course you have to expect cultural clashes like that - it would be physically impossible for her to assimilate completely.
HK
reply
share
sphinx1998
12 years ago
I liked the film but found it very sad. A proud and noble warrior by the end of the film became a very broken man.
Thats how I saw the film.
Also have spent some time in and around the parts she lived in at the village in Kenya and I can tell you it's not for the faint hearted. I guess Love/Lust can make you do almost any-thing.
reply
share
juddynz
17 years ago
Well said. This film did not set out to portray stereotypes or racism intentionally or unintentionally. It was simply telling the (true) story of one woman's experiences in Africa. If you watch the DVD, the actual woman (Corinne Hoffmann) talks about how the film compares to her experience and says it's a pretty accurate portrayal. I'm fed up with cries of racism and stereotypes. As Animesux says, if the Samburu warrior travelled to Switzerland and tried to change people there or adapt the same problems would exist. The ways of life are so very different that it would be almost impossible to live happily together. Every one of us was brought up differently with different values, experiences, prejudices and perspectives. Stop calling it racist and call it what it is - human experience.
reply
share