Feb 13

Does geographical position determine how a country will develop? Yes. In the example of countries that live on a coast, their economy will thrive on aspects of water (fishing, trading, etc). If a community lives in a busy, high-profile area, the country will develop to that standard. I thought it was interesting when Dr. Wachanga showed us the two different views of Africa. The first one was of tourists exploring the african savannah with the animals and beauty of the land. The second view was of the starving children and the tragedy of the continent. I have grown up seeing both of these views when hearing or learning about Africa. Stereotypes exist for every community and country, and there are probably more than one view for each as well. I found it very amusing that there are africans who will come to the U.S. and attend African festivals, dressed a certain way and doing certain "african" dances for entertainment. It really is just for show and it has nothing to do with the culture in Africa. The map of Africa is very hazy...with all the many different regions and tribes and communities and countries...it gets very confusing...I found it interesting that in Kenya/Tanzania, the people say they are going to "London" when going to Kenya and "Germany" when going to Tanzania....just because those were the people that took over each territory. It's funny that the reporter who did the story on the "barefoot" monks made it a point to say they were barefoot, when that is part of their culture... I would love to see a story from one of them saying that we were all walking on campus with our shoes on. When it comes to criticizing documentaries, voice is power. We use celebrities to get to the public, which is understandable but also really sad. I hate how much we idolize celebrities and think that because they use a product, it must be better. Why can't my neighbor say a product is good and we trust her judgment? Cameras do lie...everyone has their point of view and there is not way to not be biased when filming anything..whether you try to be or not.