MovieChat Forums > The Girl in the Café (2005) Discussion > The Questions That Never Get Asked

The Questions That Never Get Asked

posted 19 years ago by dickmarvel
25 replies | jump to latest

I agree with the other posters. This film was blatant propaganda, and painful to watch at times. Someone should have asked Gina if she would have been just as forcefully blunt if she were speaking with African leaders. Would she have demanded that they end the rampant corruption that squeezes the life out of their nations and squandors the aid we send? Would she have asked them to start talking about safe sex practices that might save lives? Gina would have gotton real quiet then.

During the entire Live Aid thing -- you never once heard any of the do gooders talk about condoms. They're very vocal about forcing Western government to provide drugs to Africans with HIV, but nobody would dare ask Africans to wear a rubber, even though they are 95% effective in prevention of ever getting the disease. The real tragedy of AIDS in Africa is that it's probably the first pandemic in history that could have been almost completely prevented, simply by altering cultural behavior. Demanding personal responsibility, however, is not a hallmark of leftist thinking.

[–] cgrosso 18 years ago

Sure, the film was a polemic, but there's a difference between advocacy and propaganda. Was there anything that Gina said that wasn't true? I agree with several things you say about African leaders and responsibility, and the rest, but I don't think this lets us off the hook. People on the left **are** talking about safe sex practices, even while people on the right try to pull the plug on funding for condoms in favor of abstinence only programs.

Bono is great because he cuts through the liberal/conservative hogwash and is willing to work with leaders on all sides.

I agree that people need to focus on personal responsibility, but a few whiny liberals don't give us an excuse to do nothing. What sort of personal responsibility can AIDS orphans exercise? So their dead parents should have behaved differently (and I absolutely agree with you on this), so then what? And then what about the people (mostly children) who die of malaria - two per minute? I mean, is it their fault that the mosquito bit them? Or maybe it's their fault that they have no access to prevention and treatment. Sounds a bit Scrooge-like to me.

Personal responsibility cuts both ways, don't you think? We have some obligations here. The film highlights that. Well done.