The Stereotypes Of African Americans In Blood Diamond

Growing up as a first generation American-Ethiopian child, I have come to experience the many stereotypes of African people as a whole. A lot of the stereotypes that I have seen consist of the stubborn, uneducated taxi drivers who think that America is made of pavements of gold. In fact, my mother always makes jokes about these stereotypes that surface around the conventional African. Additionally, there are many videos surfacing the web that showcase the many (and sometimes hilarious) stereotypes of Africans that my sister and I will watch and eventually end up bent over laughing. Some forms of the media have served as a great way to shed light on the correct and realistic depictions of who African people really are. Blood Diamond, a film
Solomon, at first, was portrayed as the strong head of his family. He called the shots and made the choices and everyone pretty much adhered to him, much like the stereotypical African. Solomon possesses the power of authority in his family, but that soon changes when Danny Archer comes into the picture. When Archer agrees to help Solomon find his family in exchange for the huge pink diamond that Solomon found when he was in custody of the rebels, it feels like Archer has all the power and Solomon is now depicted as a weak, submissive, and desperate father trying to find his family. I think that this relationship between Archer and Solomon was a less extreme example of the Imperialism era. Essentially, Europeans ventured out into Africa for economical, political, and social gain, taking over land for themselves and using the native people to work for the benefit of the Europeans. At the beginning, Archer had horrible intentions, using Solomon, a battered and down casted individual who would do anything for the safety of his family, for the huge diamond that Solomon found in the diamond mines, for Archer’s personal gain. At the beginning of their conquest, Archer immediately takes control, telling Solomon “When I say go, you move like your life depends on it!” and Solomon responds with a sarcastic “Yes, boss.” At another point, Archer actually
Sierra Leone had a decade-long civil war for control of the country’s diamond mines. In the 1990’s the rebel forces wanted to obtain the diamond so that they could exchange them for weapons. These rebel forces would go into various villages and amputate the libs of he civilians, trying to intimidate and spread terror among the population. These diamonds became know as conflict diamonds or blood diamonds, because they were obtained during this blood-thirsty war. This war ended in 2000 and the government of Sierra Leone thinks that Blood Diamond is shedding light on Sierra Leone for all of the wrong reasons. They feel as though they have made tremendous progress ever since their involvement in the Kimberley Process, an international society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. This process tracks the diamond from pit to shelf, ensuring confidence in the buyer of whether or not the diamonds were obtained in vain. The government feels as thought the movie will prompt diamond buys to look elsewhere for their gems and minerals, causing Sierra Leone to lose money. Apparently, the government has asked Hollywood to add a small “epilogue” if you will, saying that the country is now peaceful, the war has ended, and there are no more blood diamonds, but Hollywood has not obliged to their