Educational Media Reviews Online

African Rhythms is not one film, but three! Each of these is a cartoon short, anywhere from 6 to 11 minutes in length. Although each presents its own set of characters in various and unrelated settings, they all share a common theme; that of the struggles of young people of African descent, in Africa and beyond, and how they address these challenges and learn and grow as a consequence.

The first of the three, The Magic Lion, is the story of a young boy from Mombasa, sent on a journey to find medicine for his gravely ill grandfather. It is a coming of age story, where an adolescent boy takes his first steps toward manhood in a time of crisis, and meets that crisis head-on. In the process he shows great courage, perseverance, and compassion, while at the same time experiencing the mystery and magic in the world around him.

The second, The Cora Player, is a story of forbidden, young love. An impoverished teenage boy, who makes his living as a musician, falls in love with a wealthy, upper class girl, and she with him. Their relationship is disapproved of by her father, who violently rejects the younger man. Eventually however, the refusal of the young couple to give each other up, and the support given them by many in her family, bring the story to a happy conclusion. This is in one way the most interesting of the three shorts, in that it has no dialogue whatsoever. The characters hum, gasp, laugh, cry, sing and even grunt, but they never speak. The story is told primarily through movement, facial expression and background music. This allows it to be accessible to any viewer, regardless of what language he or she might speak.

The final short is entitled, Jump-Up: Caribbean Carnival in Canada. It tells the story of a little girl named Lisa who comes from the West Indies, but who has recently moved to Canada with her parents. She desperately misses her warm, tropical home, and hates living in Canada, which she sees as being cold, gray and dreary. She tries to adapt to her new home by making new friends, but more importantly by participating in the Jump-Up parade, which annually celebrates the various Caribbean communities in Canada. In the process she learns how to embrace both her native land and her new home, all at the same time.

The sound and picture qualities of African Rhythms are good. While it is a very colorful and entertaining set of productions, it is primarily designed to be an educational tool. On the inside jacket of the video, pre and post screening activities and discussions for the classroom are suggested. These include possible writing assignments. These when combined with the stories themselves, will help students to better understand the peoples of Africa and the Caribbean, while at the same time teaching moral lessons that many cultures will appreciate.