29.11.05

The Lost Boys of Sudan (Documentary) reflection

I really enjoyed The Lost Boys of Sudan documentary. I found it very truthful, enlightening and interesting. It helped shed a bit of light on a school whose large group of inhabitants I barely know at all. I think the intentions of showing us students the film were great as well. The intentions were to educate us about what we see every day, what our meager eyes can’t tell us. It was a truly great thing.

To start off, I’ll explain my previous beliefs about the Sudanese refugees. I didn’t know much; I guess I thought that they came here because there was civil unrest in their country, and they needed to move to a safer place to get an education and such. I had the lucky opportunity of having a few Sudanese refugees speak to me and a few other people (not at school). They basically told us a first hand retelling of what their lives were like in Sudan (although they weren’t in the refugee camps and such). I knew that it must be hard to come to a new country and such. To summarize it, I hadn’t thought or knew much about the whole thing.

And wow. There are things like this that we don’t know about all around us! It’s amazing how we get through each day not knowing about the world around us. We’re usually so locked up in our way of thinking about the world and our selves, that it’s great when a movie like this can slap some sense into us. For instance, when I was walking the halls outside after the movie, I saw some people walking around that could have been Sudanese refugees. “Wow” was all that went through my mind. I had tapped into this large unknown abyss that’s around us everyday, and it was a very eye-opening experience.
 
I think The Lost Boys of Sudan was done very well in the way of displaying a very accurate and well-rounded portrayal of reality. The movie didn’t cover the worst things that can happen in situations like this (gangs and such), but it didn’t focus on the best situations, landing more in the middle, typical situation (feeling lost, disoriented, money troubles).
 
I was amazed how the camera seems to be just there, and how everyone seems to not really notice it. The good part of this technique is that it shows the interesting lives these people lead. It showed the hardship, friendship and everything they encounter in a very ambiguous way, which is necessary to a good “learning experience”. The interviews were indirect and objective, asking interesting questions. The whole process must have been an interesting experience for the filmmakers, to observe reality rather than trying to participate in it.
 
I thought it was great how the boys kept together to some extent. You could definitely tell that in Sudan there was a strong community (community dancing, singing, cooking, socializing). Their friendship seemed to deteriorate a bit in the US, with people being split up and the pressures of being in a new place. It was awesome how they retained there great sense of humour, and were able to laugh with each other despite all of the new things they were experiencing. The reunion was very fun to watch, especially at the beginning with how everyone was greeting each other for the first time in a while. You could tell how much they loved each other.

Overall, if you haven’t watched this documentary, I recommend you do no matter where you live. It’s really interesting because it applies directly to everyday life and how we think about others. Things like these are very powerful tools for teaching. Thanks for showing us it!

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