Educational Media Reviews Online

"Tubab" is the word used for white people or foreigners by the people of the the Gambia in West Africa. This film follows a number of "tubabs", in this case several American college students, as they travel in the Gambia and experience the local culture. In the process they not only learn about a society that is in many ways very different from their own, but come to re-examine many of their presumptions about how human beings can and should live.

The students, nine in number, go to Africa as part of an anthropology course offered at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Many of them see it as an adventure in an "exotic" part of the world. Unfortunately, most are unprepared for the environment they are about to enter. When they arrive in the Gambia they are required to take classes in the local language and culture, so as to better adapt themselves to their new environment. Though these classes are helpful, they can't fully prepare them for the culture shock they experience when they come into contact with the Gambian people. This country is one of the poorest and least developed in the world. Modern conveniences, such as running water, electricity and paved roads are in short supply or simply unavailable in many places in the country. In addition, the students often find the customs of the people disturbing or difficult to understand. They make the complaint, common among Westerners traveling in developing countries, that many of the locals see them as "rich", and as such as unlimited sources of cash who can pay any price, no matter how exorbitant, for goods and services. This initially makes them suspicious of the locals, wondering if those that want to befriend them are doing so for genuine reasons, or instead as a means of extracting money from them. As they travel away from the urban areas, where Western tourists are more common, to the rural areas they see this situation change. People there greet them warmly, and make fewer financial demands of them. They are impressed by the friendliness of the people, and increasingly warm to the local culture. Unfortunately, as they travel into the countryside they also find the accommodations there are more rudimentary, and the poverty of the local population is more severe.

As part of their course they are each expected to undertake a "research project", which involves working alongside some segment of the population in their everyday jobs, and doing so using local techniques and technologies. These include gardening, fishing, and working in a birthing center. While undertaking these jobs, they come to realize how hard the people have to work to survive, and how difficult the local conditions and technologies are. During this process the students develop a deep respect for the people and their culture, and are impressed by the way in which they manage to find happiness and contentment in their lives in spite of their many hardships. Even though the people of Gambia may need help from the outside world and “tubabs” like themselves, many of the students come to believe that it would be difficult to apply Western solutions to the Gambian problems, because such solutions won't fit into the cultural context of the country. Instead, the people of the Gambia, and indeed the rest of Africa, will have to find solutions of their own, that are directly in line with their own values and vision of themselves. In the process of making these discoveries, the students also learn a great deal about themselves. They learn what their limits and abilities are, and more importantly, that there is more than one road to individual fulfillment.

This film is an excellent introduction, but no more than an introduction, to cross-cultural interaction in an African context. It is informative and well paced, with excellent picture quality, but an inconsistent soundtrack. The sound alternately spikes and fades from segment to segment throughout the film, making certain sections hard, though certainly not impossible, to follow. The bulk of the film is made up of conversations and interactions between the students and the Gambians in various settings. These scenes are punctuated by interviews with the students themselves, their instructors and the local people. There is no narration. All interviews are in English. Whenever African languages are spoken, English subtitles are used.