Stop Filming Us (2020)
Genres: Documentary
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Stop Filming Us(2020)
Overview
Based on the struggle of young people in Goma (Northeastern Congo) against the prevailing Western reporting about war and misery, Stop Filming Us investigates how these Western stereotypes are the result of a skewed balance of power. Stop Filming Us creates a cinematic dialogue between Western perceptions and the Congolese experience of reality. While the Congolese perspective becomes increasingly clearer in the film, questions arise about the perspective of the film itself; is a white director able to make a film about the new Congolese image or is it primarily a story created by his own Western perspective?
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This was a compelling watch, I found that the attitude of the director and his heart was in the right place. He opened himself to criticism and appeared to take what was being told to heart. Are the Congolese right in that Westerners are exploiting their misery? Yes, no doubt. Does that mean that nobody else but Congolese people should make movies about the Congo? That's a bit extreme. The movie showed that with tangible examples that the Congolese people are also complicit in that exploitation (her justification? [spoiler]they expect it of me[/spoiler]), but nowhere in the movie you see them ask for her deportation or for her to stop taking pictures. That "we can do it ourselves" attitude is great, yet how that evolves into "only Congolese people should make movies about the Congo" is a bit confusing. Both westerners and Congolese people can make movies, one does not stop the other. I think their grievances boil down to the depictions of poverty and misery, but even when the movie showed a lot of positive things in Goma the audience at the end seemed to object to the inclusion of the not-so-good things as well. So the ideal movie according to that audience would be showing only the positive things and pretending like there's nothing wrong in the world, and to me that's even worse. All in all, I felt like the film was balanced and accommodated all points of view, parts of it were eye-opening. Would recommend.
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