Colonial Authorities in Africa and Their Attempts to Curb Leisure Activities through the Law: The Conflict between African Identity and British RuleThe British colonial administrators in Africa viewed Africans like “children” in need of training in terms of how to be more masculine ala the Western tradition: for that reason, Oliver Bell, president of the British Film Institute, wrote “the native must be treated as we treat a ten-year-old white child, i.e….he must be shown films of action of the Western type” (Burns, 2002, p. 103). While it was true that Africans enjoyed cowboy films, in the years that followed Bell’s recommendation, there occurred among the settlers the sense that cowboy films were inspiring a violent attitude among the Africans and should therefore be banned. This attempt on the one hand to cultivate a Western ethic in the African and on the other to curtail aggressive or perceived hostile behavior was evidence of the colonial authorities’ attempts to superimpose a foreign sense of self on the African people, through the force of colonial law if necessary. The colonialists recognized, nonetheless, that leisure was a way to cultivate attitudes and ethics within the African people—and for that reason film as well as sport were of immense interest to the British as they sought to develop the African people into subjects they felt would be more amenable to the colonial rule of law.
As Fair (1997) notes, “playing football for the neighbourhood team was not a passing diversion for young children but a passionate part of becoming a male adult in post war Zanzibar” (p. 243). Yet even here, as the British promoted and fostered the athletic spirit among the Africans and supported their love for football, the colonial authorities also feared a negative side effect or consequence of the deep enthusiasm that the Africans evinced and the focus on ethnicity that ultimately emanated from the various representations by teams in Africa as...
Africa's Political Crisis Most African colonies became independent in the 1950s and 1960s amid hopes that this would be the prelude to an era of democracy and development (Cooper, 2002). By the end of the 1980s, Africa was plagued by instability, authoritarianism, poverty, war and famine. In some countries, the state itself had begun to disintegrate. There are many reasons for Africa's current state of political instability. For one, continuous rivalry between
However, how are these hardships related to the civil strife and militia? It is this point that is unclear. Edgerton provides more of a subjective review of what he feels is going on and provides a few factual details to support this, but provides little in the way of detail and real conjecture, which would help the average person discern what steps the people of Africa should take to
Technological advancements are rare in the bulk of sub-Saharan nations, which remain among the poorest in the world due to their weak levels of exports. However, some Sub-Saharan nations possess a range of natural resources from ore to agriculture. Some sub-Saharan African countries such as Sierra Leone rely on a corrupt and dangerous gem mining industry, the profits of which do not reach the general population. Many African nations
It would depend on one's view of the legitimacy of psychoanalysis and its patchwork utility in describing a mental complex. Basil Davidson recognizes the alienated consciousness of Africans, albeit from a politico-historical rather than a psychological perspective. He phrases it in terms of forced African rejection of its own history under hopes of prospering in the new modernization the colonial system pushed for: "The future was not to grow out
" (UNDP, 2007) Therefore, the official voice of the UN draws the attention on the necessity of the societies facing difficulties that the best means possible for the re-launch of their economic segment and automatically the eradication of poverty is the share value of the work they undergo. Despite the realistic tone of most official commentaries, the reality on the ground rarely coincides. In this respect, there are other factors as
(Feldman and Slattery 201) In this environment, it is likely that the people of Somalia would welcome the devil himself if he was carrying food and water, and these circumstances have not been lost on those who would exploit them for their own political agenda. Historical Role of NGOs in Somalian Reconstruction. The experiences of the United Nations and other relief agencies in Somalia are proof positive that even the best intentioned
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