Berlin 1885: The Division of Africa 2010
Distributed by First Run Features, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036; 212-243-0600
Produced by Joel Calmettes
Directed by Joel Calmettes
DVD, color, 84 min.
College - General Adult
African Studies, History, International Studies
Date Entered: 01/26/2012
Reviewed by Alexander Rolfe, Technical Services Librarian, George Fox University, Newberg, ORThis is a quality re-enactment and documentary about the 1884-1885 conference seeking agreement on Africa. The re-enactment is well done, and reliance on transcripts from the conference give it authenticity. A narrator fills in some of the behind-the-scenes negotiations that are not covered by the official transcripts. Scholars from around the world provide comment at various points, and photographs and other images of Africa at the time further illustrate the points under discussion.
It’s a big task to condense months of negotiations into an hour and a half. As a result, the dialogue is sometimes choppy and hard to follow; in an effort to show the variety of considerations and range of viewpoints, it occasionally disintegrates into a series of non-sequiturs. Except for a very few pieces, the whole thing is in French, with English subtitles.
This film would be excellent material to support courses on Africa, 19th century Europe, or imperialism. One learns how the attempt to forestall fighting over zones of control in Africa resulted in giving the Congo to the International Congo Society; the tragedy that followed, after Leopold II swiped it, is only touched on. But the elements of the conference—the high motives, the ignorance, the scientific racism, the discussion of slavery, the testimony of explorers, the problem of borders, and the ignorance—all are on full display in this valuable video.
Recommended