Review of White Material

I have been reading, slowly but surely, a book about Post-colonialism. Having taken several course about Modern Imperialism and studied, in various forms about Empires in History, post-colonialism is the logical progression in furthering a study about World History, World Literature, and, in my case World Drama. I've been studying playwriting and I took it upon myself to read the great plays and gain some understanding of current theories in the Theatre. Yet, the book is large so it will take me sometime to read through it. I will also read shorter plays to provide some examples about post-colonial theatre and it has already yielded a start on a short play.

Anyway, I watched a film about French neo-colonialism in West Africa. It was a very good film. Less about the characters, I didn't know any of them save for Isaac De Bankole who had a small role. It was more about the story. French neo-colonialists are trying to hold on to a coffee plantation amidst a revolution in the host country. The French colonialists refuse to leave. The revolutionaries are growing stronger and more resentful of the French who live lavishly and own a large portion of land.

I had watched some colonial films before. Mostly made prior to 1968, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement or the student protests in France. Zulu and Khartoum were two of my favorites. They are blatantly anti- Native, as in Zulu, and are also pro- Empire in Khartoum even though Charlton Heston loses his head at the end of that film.

This film was similar to those, except for the outcome and situation. The French neo-colonialists have no political control. There is not a military that is going to save them from the revolutionaries. In fact by the end of the film everyone is dead and the plantation is destroyed. Sorry for spoilers!

I enjoyed this film very much. The story was something you read in the headlines about Africa quite often. Yet I didn't know exactly where the story would end. I also enjoyed it immensely for taking on a topic such as neo-colonialism in Africa. I have tasked myself with watching the Battle of Algiers which is a film all about French involvement in Algeria. That is next on my list.