Didn't anyone flind this remotely insulting? (Spoilers)

Is it really too much to ask Hollywood to even try to do Africa some justice? Movies like Blood Diamond and The last King of Scotland shone through, so obviously the task isn’t too onerous. And yet for decades now, Hollywood continues to demonize Africa.

For starters, all the African characters seem straight out from some guy who wrote How to Stereotype a People. Every single African character is portrayed to be as a warmonger, irrational, hysterical and corrupt. And oh yes, don’t forget the African kid who’s dream is to go to America and be saved. You guessed it folks, every single African stereotype that you could glean from CNN, Fox or any other mainstream media, it’s all here in this movie. Several scenes in particular strike out.

When the characters land in Burundi, you are greeted with utter chaos. For some reason, everyone seems to be running around for no reason, cops are openly seen to be either bullying people around or taking bribes, kids are crying and generally making a nuisance of themselves with their moms scurrying behind them, while our Western friends are seen as the only people with any composure and sobriety.

When our protagonists reach the shores of the river where the croc apparently lives, people suddenly drop all their work and suddenly start singing a song for them. Our heroes calmly wade through the loving crowd and greet everyone with a royal nod; our heroine even has time to wade through the water to “save” a puppy that the locals had callously put out as bait. “I believe in tradition, but even I’m not gonna let that puppy die,” explains Maid Marian. Thank you for civilizing the natives with your kind gesture.

And finally, the attempted rape scene. A black brute of a guy (incidentally, for one of the poorest country in the world, every single black militia member seems straight out from African Gold’s Gym, plus they seem to have a year’s supply of grease all over them every second) knocks around our favorite white chick, strips her and is about to have her way with her when lo, deux ex machina. Every single gun toting black guy in this movie has only one purpose: kill and ravage. Civil wars are fought for the most irrational of reasons and that also conveniently explains the croc’s existence. Wow genius.

In the end, it’s obvious that no one comes across well from a piece of *beep* movie like this, not the least our Western amigos. But what is insulting is how Hollywood continually remains naïve about the soft power it markets all over the world. Most of the world is already ignorant about Africa. Do Hollywood directors feel not the least bit of compunction to even try and make an effort? I understand that you make money out of selling stereotypes, but as the movies I mentioned before, you can have quality and make money; they’re not mutually exclusive. Why does it take decades and decades for an industry to try to do some good for a change?