Journal 5, Kayla Frea

My thoughts on the movie Blood Diamond are the movie is very intense. The leading roles are played by, Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer, Djimon Hounsou as Solomon Vandy, and Jennifer Connelly as Maddy Bowen. The value of this film is it gives a good representation of what the war in Africa looks like to the world and how the progressive nations are adding fuel to the flame by exporting illegal diamond exports. I find it to be a very powerful movie. I would recommend it to others, because it puts a story behind the information, it is not a documentary where it is just information it has a plot and added Hollywood effect. My view on A Long Way Gone, painted a terrifying image of the experiences the children went through, then after watching the movie just showed me, visually it was a terrifying life, because of always having to be running for your life. The educational value of this movie is intertwined with Hollywood style, the writers and director did a good job of putting all the information value with the movie. The one flaw I saw while watching the movie, was if I hadn’t read A Long Way Gone, I do not think I would get the same educational benefit out of the movie, because I would not be able to comprehend the war and survival of the citizens. I think the characters that were the most effective to the movie were the rebels, the way the director showed them, he used the lighting of fire and the shadows to create the presence of fear that followed the rebels. We do not see the rebels in as a whole when we are reading the novel. In the beginning of the movie the rebels were only shown in silhouette by fire. It created the illusion of terror and power. The whole movie the rebels were shown with their brutality and the brainwashing they would do to the child soldiers.     

I learned from these reviews that the writers did not get the same value out of the movie as I did. The reviews seemed to be focused on the relationship between Maggie and Archer, or how the director made it to lengthy. There was nothing really about how this movie gives us a look into the civil war in Africa. One of the reviews I read, by Brian Lowry stated, “Africa’s enduring sorrow is ripe for drama, but “Blood Diamond” is, finally, a fitting metaphor for the gems: Potentially brilliant from a distance, but upon closer inspection, one likely will see the flaws.” I do not like how they use Africa in what they think would be a good drama when people are suffering.

 

 Article by David Williams. Published 26 April 2012. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135369/Charles-Taylor-trial-Found-guilty-arming-Sierra-Leone-rebels-exchange-blood-diamonds.html

RUF armed with guns that were traded for blood diamonds.