Movies

As human beings, we were all given great gifts of intelligence, of wisdom, of courageousness, and even of outwitting others. But it was up to us how these would be utilized, some opted to make the best of it and have become scientists and inventors, professors and physicians. But others have a deeper passion for pursuing greatness, and it is through helping others that they have found this.

The three chosen films, The Constant Gardener, The Last King of Scotland, and Babel, had shown maltreatment, abuse, and oppression of those that are different from the ones who control the political, economic, and social powers of the world. In The Constant Gardener, we are given a birds eye view of how the Africans are being utilized for drug trials that are obviously unknown to them. In The Last King of Scotland, the Ugandan president Idi Amin abuses his power to commit homicide and kill those that are not siding with him. In Babel, we witness how coincidences that put young Moroccan children in peril have been punished in unjust ways. The people in the refugee camps are mistreated and abused they are not being treated like humans and are instead being left to die. In the same way that all humans cannot be treated this way, all of us deserve a life that we can be proud of and we can live with, these people deserve this too. If the circumstances were different and if we were in their shoes and we were the ones suffering from poverty and oppression, maltreatment and abuse, then would we not want the other to exert some effort to come to our aid, to rescue us from what we are experiencing. Surely, the United Nations would come to our aid, but sometimes, even their help cannot suffice. Just like how the wars were fought before and each country came to help each other, then maybe if we were all aware of how dreadful and appalling their situation are, then we would not need these films to encourage us to do something about it and instead, actively participate for their cause.

Each film shows how some people who are in power, which have the guns and the military by their side, abuse this power and use it for their own personal gains. I learned that sometimes, human compassion is overthrown by loyalty to people who can give financial complacency and safety from being caught in issues like this. For example, in The  Constant Gardener, human rights activist Tessa Quayle have stumbled upon the discovery that million dollar drugs are being tested on Africans, and even with their consent for the wrong information, they were not told of the deaths that arise from these drugs. The British are protecting each other because each party gains so much from this illegal drug testing. And this is why I learned that some people would do anything for money and power. It was very courageous of Tessa to pursue her leads with regards to the drug testing, even though she knows that all this might be futile. In the movie The Last King of Scotland, torture and oppression was seen through the eyes of Scottish physician Nicholas Garrigan. At first he did not want to see this and had chosen to be blinded by it, but when he witnesses and slowly realizes that it is happening to him and all those around him. Idi Amins cruelty was even paralled to Hitlers genocide (Dorfman).  But in spite of this, I learned that there are people like the Quayles, the doctors volunteering in Uganda who would have the best intentions, and they would want nothing but justice and peace brought to all people.

Whose map is Britain using when it completely ignores the UN and decides to invade Iraq asserted by Tessa Quayle in The Constant Gardener (Burcher). I believe that each filmmakers intent was to open the eyes of the public to the realities happening all around the world. Some may not be completely aware of these while other might be sheltered by what their government and the money hoarding companies are telling them. When it comes to power and money, people would do anything to get their piece regardless of the consequences and the lives that they take while doing so. I also deem that these filmmakers want the people who witness these dreadful conditions to be active and not passive, participate in whatever cause they believe in. Maybe find their inner Quayle, Garrigan, or Jones and believe in the goodness that mankind has left. Moreover, I also think that they would want to expose some of the symbolism that they think warrants exposure to public. In some ways, the filmmakers are becoming the activists themselves because they want to relay the message of their intention to those who will watch their movies.

I believe that the filmmakers were able to relay their messages to the public. Their intentions of becoming mediums of exposing hidden drug trials, the oppression of the African people, how they are being mistreated, how color affects peoples judgment and their actions towards one another. We have a glimpse of how the internal affairs works in these situations and maybe the filmmakers want us to see that sometimes, these events dont just happen in films, they too happen in real life. Maybe the filmmakers want us to determine for ourselves if people who have the worst intentions deserve all the grandeur that they have and the power bestowed upon them with that title. Maybe the filmmakers wanted us to learn how to act, how to survive in case we are put in the same situation cited in the films. Maybe they are teaching us to be clever, to be proactive, and to want to achieve betterment through helping others and becoming advocates of what we believe in.

When Tessas husband stopped being the constant gardener that he is and tried to find out what really happened to his wife and took matters in his own hands, I pitied him. I pitied him because his own wife did not want to involve him with her work he was kept in dark because maybe his wife believed that her husband would not be able to handle it. But also I admired his courage, because while others may not pursue what their wife has done, he was brave enough to do this not only for his own peace of mind but for his wife as well. As for Nicholas Garrigan, his attempts at an adventure in Uganda made him a great man, a great doctor as well because his cause, while at first may be personal, he learned to interact with his environment and had come to realize his good cause. However, we can see that he would prefer still the sheltered life and lived under the lavish roof of Ugandas president. It showed his character and his weak points, but when he realized that he needed to do something about the abuse of power that the president was imposing on his subjects, he was able to show his courage and gain justice for the people that he has hurt and has caused trouble for. For the film Babel, Mr. Jones was able to forgive and drop the charges for the nanny who took their kids across the border, even though the nanny might have gotten his children killed. He has shown compassionate for the life of the one who took care of his kids and put their lives above hers.

Films like these have always been a medium on how to express the simplest to the most complex messages that these filmmakers want to impart to their watchers. It shows the multitude of characters people around the world have especially when in the face of power, money against compassionate and vindication. It is very rare to witness the heroic acts of the aforementioned protagonists like Tessa Quayle, but it is in these people that we find strength and inspiration to be the change that we would want to see in the world.