|
So, I finally watched Blood Diamond and I have to say, placing an action/adventure/romance plot on top of a backdrop of true and recent civil war replete with slaughter, dismemberment and child soldiering was really hard to stomach. For instance, I found it really hard to appreciate the tenderness of the father and son reunion that takes place between the lead characters when, seconds ago, hundreds of other little boys just like his son were blown up as 'cover' without so much as batting an eyelash. The more I think about the whole movie, the more disgusted I become. I appreciate that the movie was attempting, in a way, to illuminate the greed of the diamond industry and their culpability in enabling a civil war that killed thousands and left thousands more armless. But the passion would have been better served as a documentary. The film itself comes off as a modern day version of Mogambo.
__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce
|