BBC Image of Somalia

"Somalia continued to dominate the headlines with pirates increasing their reach, despite international naval patrols. Fighting for control of Mogadishu intensified between Islamist militia and the UN-backed government, which gained some ground by December."-BBC

The slide show of pictures from BBC, titled Focus on Africa in 2010, was really fun to go through and featured amazing pieces of photography in Africa. The only problem I found with this slide show is that it doesn’t properly represent all of Africa for the entire year of 2010. There are only twelve photos in the slide show and there are fifty three countries in Africa. There is no way this slide show can really capture what has actually occurred all throughout the continent in twelve photos and that is not its purpose. The purpose of the slide show is to show the most general and simple of overviews of the most significant events in the continent in 2010 and it is important that everyone who sees it understands this.

The picture of the Somali soldier in the BBC selection of pictures of Africa in 2010 really stood out to me. The purpose of this photo is to show an image that represents the issue of Somali pirates but this, in turn, portrays a specific image of Somalia that the rest of the world digests.

The issue at hand is the increasing power and reach of the Somali pirates. For the past twenty years, there has been no real functional form of government in Somalia and the region has become dangerous. Right now, the Islamic militant group, Al-Shabab, has power and control over most of the country through support of local warlords and weapon technology and intends to turn Somalia into a purely fundamental Islamic state through strict interpretations and enforcements of sharia law. Al-Shabab is officially loyal to Al-Qaeda, the terrorist network of extremist Muslims lead by Osama Bin Laden. The Somali pirates were generated through reaction to the poverty and lack of government. They are responsible for much of the economy of several regions in Somalia. They are a combination of people who were previously fishermen, militia and technicians who now form militias claiming to be guarding the coast of Somalia. They are employed as mercenaries by warlords and live off whatever they can steal, working solely for the purpose of financial reward.

The picture meant to represent the issue of Somali pirates was probably included in the slide show for 2010 because their impact has not been very significant until recently. Until the attack on the American ship, the Maersk Alabama,and recent attacks on Americans, the global eye has not really paid attention to them.

The picture itself features a man, heavily strapped with weaponry, looking out to sea, a symbol of what has become of Somalia. It represents Somalia as being dangerous and uncontrollable, and in some ways it is, but this is not meant to embody all people of the country. There are people working towards forming an efficient government and creating peace. It must be clear that this photo is not something symbolizing all of Somalia, but it is creating a picture of the recently recognized spread of violence in the area.

Freedom and Vuvuzelas

The caption of this image states, "Football fever overtook the continent in June, With the vuvuzela- South Africa's plastic trumpet- becoming the sound and image that many will remember from the first World Cup to be held in Africa." Vuvuzelas are the symbol for South African football and the reason as to why the 2010 FIFA World Cup was hosted, for the first time, in South Africa. Known to the US as "Stadium Horns," vuvuzelas are used for enthusiasm in community gatherings. This image portrays a sense of freedom and excitement through the use of vuvuzelas, intense color, and open space.

Even though there was much controversy present in Africa at this time, the World Cup was still a time of celebration where individuals could come together to cheer their team to victory. The use of vuvuzelas in this image shows the excitement of the people. The image doesn't focus on the actual people or what they are excited about, but the use of these horns allows the audience to depict the excitement present because of the horns symbol of spirit and intensity. The intense colors put a major focus of the image on the horns, allowing once again the audience to obtain a sense of excitement from the image. This image explains a lot with little detail.

The open space present in the image gives off a feeling of freedom. The image's focus is on the vuvuzelas and the individual's outstretched arms, leaving a lot of open space filled in by blue skies. This lack of clutter shows a freedom aspect. Even though the World Cup itself is filled with huge crowds and much shoving, nothing to this affect is shown in the image. This fact brings up the point again that even in times of chaos, a freedom to be excited is present. The vuvuzelas, intense colors, and open space of this image work together to portray both freedom and excitement even in harsh times present in South Africa.

Ezra, Blank Face

The story of Ezra is a powerful tale about a child taken away and raised under the iron fist of a rebel leader. In Africa, a handful of countries that are dealing with corrupt governments or civil war contain half the number of the world’s child soldiers. As a problem that is out of our hands, as movie watchers we witness the specific story of Ezra, and his experiences.

In the movie, many names and places are left blank: the name of the country, the rebel leader, and most last names as well. This gives the story a sense of anonymity, letting it be an outline and explanation for thousands of stories about children in guerilla groups. The filmmaker makes sure to give enough detail that we relate to Ezra as a real person and not just as a story. If Ezra had been any vaguer it would lose any sense of reality and automatically become a fiction tale in our minds.

Although it’s left unclear, Ezra most likely takes place in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is most well known for the blood diamond situation it faces and the recent civil war, which ended in 2001. As portrayed in the movie, many guerrilla groups cut off hands and feet of male and female people alike. Many people automatically assume that the soldiers doing this are heartless or cold-blooded, but in Ezra it shows the brainwashing, sleep deprivation, and amphetamine injections of the children making them zombies and unaware of their actions.

The movie’s cinematography is strategically placed flashbacks that happen during a trial before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The trial is a great present-day place for the movie because it displays the process of recollection of memories and thoughts in contrast to who he really is as a person, post-war. It’s hard to see this kind of reality, and in Ezra the trial is hope for the future and the beginning process of healing.

Fela Kuti's Controversial Song "Zombie"

The song that I chose to analyze was Fela Kuti’s Zombie, the title track to his album which was released in 1977 and contains four controversial songs in Fela’s Afrobeat style. Both the song and the album criticize the Nigerian government, using the zombie in the song as a metaphor for the Nigerian armed forces. Although before he was successful with Koola Lobitos, Fela’s first band in London, he admits to not being politically minded at all, “I made my comment as a citizen. I was just another musician playing with Koola Lobidos and singing love songs, songs about rain… What did I know?” After experiencing the Black Power movement when he lived in America in the 1960s, Fela Kuti was deported back to Nigeria due to his political affiliations ands started the band/renamed the band to “Afrika 70” with whom he produced Zombie. The song portrays the Nigerian army as faceless and senseless, an army of zombies mindlessly following orders, “Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think.” Fela’s mockery of the Nigerian army with its upbeat rhythms and almost taunting vocals are tools used in the song to raise support against the government, taunting the military to its breaking point. After its release, the song led to a swift revenge by the Nigerian armed forces when they wrecked the compound Fela had established in Nigeria. During the attack Fela was severely beaten and his mother was thrown out of a window which ultimately killed her. Fela Kuti’s multiple albums with “Afrika 70” contain confrontational and controversial songs towards the Nigerian government and the Nigerian army. After being banned from Nigeria because of Zombie, Fela Kuti formed his political group MOP or Movement of the People, never resting and touring non-stop spreading his message. Zombie itself holds to be one of the most confrontational pieces in music and Fela’s message resounds ultimately in his multiple albums.

Not Quite Mapquest

This map of Africa was published in the early 18th century. I compared it to a modern-day map of Africa, and as far as the general shape of the continent, it is pretty spot on (excluding Madagascar). My argument is that when this map of Africa was published the general goal wasn’t to further exploit the continent, but to historically document the current knowledge of scholars. It was published by a man named John Harris. He was a man who published works reflecting his scientific and religious background.

This map is a mixture of physical and abstract mapping concepts. In the northern part of the map and a little in the south, the physical features are shown: the black lines are a representation of the desert and terrain. On the edges of the map though, the abstract lines are drawn. They show the political states of Egypt, Congo, and Nubia to name a few. As you can tell, the countries mapped are primarily on the edges of Africa. This is probably because of the slave trade. Why go deep into a place you don’t know, when you can find what you’re looking for on the edge? That and if you spent too much time in Africa as a slave trader, your lifespan was quickly shortened due to being exposed to diseases that your immune system couldn’t fight off.

Although slavery was still a big industry, I think the map is a step forward. By drawing the abstract lines, they’re acknowledging that the people living in Africa have their own countries, and that it’s not just a vacant place filled with goods.

Physical Coffle, Mental Coffin?

As uninterested as I usually am about all things African, or cultural for that matter, this picture changed my mind. When I look at this picture, the one thing that stirs inside me is surprisingly not the fact that there are women who are being enslaved(in this case by Portuguese). Sure this picture is a great example of the inhumanity of the Transatlantic Slave trade, especially to women, and also showing no visible mercy to children, as these women are obviously carrying babies on their backs. However, we already know that the slave trade was a brutal business. We obviously have seen the horrific pictures of slaves stuffed inside of a ship. But what we don’t ever contemplate is this theory that “Europeans and other slave trading intruders to pre-colonial Africa saw Africans as being primitive and without order or intellect”, yet we hear it all the time. Of course, judging by the evidence they provided (pictures, literature, and the like) of their encounters with various African natives (for lack of better terminology at the moment), the theory is valid. But what strikes me about this picture is that they’re making Africans do something they would normally do, minus the chains and whips and guns. They’re gathering to provide in a way they know how. However, instead of gathering to provide for their family, the Portuguese are using the Africans to gather THEIR OWN resources to provide for the enslavers. This, to me, is evidence that these people obviously knew that there was potential in the African society and that they were well capable of surviving where they were, or they would not have had them gathering goods as they are in this picture. I cannot let go of the idea (or argument) that maybe the Enslavers were not so ignorant of the potential of the African pre-colonial society after all. Maybe my point makes no sense, and I may be missing some important fact here, but it truly strikes the question in me, if they had not been previously performing this gathering –survival activity, the Portuguese would not know to force them to continue it (and they obviously did), so what is it about the African way of life they can't seem to accept? They obviously trust the method enough to benefit from it.

A New Interpretation of Africa

Torment, torture, and abuse of black slaves are what are seen at first glimpse, but the detailed landscape is a representation of Africa in contrast to slavery. David Livingstone was an African explorer who enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Africa, but despised the ongoing process of slavery. His detailed portrayal of foreground and background presents a double-sided coin, a double perspective in other words, to what Africa really was. The fact of the matter was that slavery was occurring, it wasn't something to deny, but at the same time it was not the only thing that Africa had to offer. There were huge hills, gorgeous oceans, and tons of plant life in addition to the slave trade that was occurring daily.
The title, as you can see, of this piece if "Slavers Revenging Their Loses". The purpose of the painting, from the title, is to show the unequal treatment of slaves, but the landscape of both foreground and background is in great detail. Livingstone is educating us onlookers; he wants us to be aware of the tortures that are occurring, but not to lose sight of the beauty Africa has to offer.
The detailed portrayal of foreground and background is also a portrayal of slavery and freedom. Looking in the foreground you are shown slaves attached together and one even being killed for not being as fast as the others, this is a clear representation of slavery. In the background you are shown the ocean, hills, and birds soaring through the sky. The ocean looks closer than it actually is and the birds are bigger than they actually are, these alterations present the concept of freedom. Even when death and captivity is present in Africa, there is still good alive in the background. There is more to this picture; there is an interpretation and meaning this image for us to understand.