Educational Media Reviews Online

In stark contrast to the motion picture Black Panther, which describes the struggle of the fictitious African country Wakanda to hide itself from the world in an effort to protect its natural resource and its people, When Elephants Fight describes the brutalizing of the Congolese and the plundering of the natural resources of Congo. The director begins by presenting how Westerners brutalized the Congolese in order to harvest ivory and rubber, and mine various minerals. The film then shifts to document how the role of the minerals in Congo have shifted from Western plunder to serving as the mechanism for financing the war between the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola (DFLA) and the government of Congo.

At times, the film appears disjointed as it tries to represent all the varying factors surrounding the conflict in Congo, its minerals, and its people. Additionally, the producers document the human rights violations suffered by the Congolese at the hands of Western governments, the DFLA, and the government of Congo, thus perpetuating the conflict and conditions of poverty in the country. The film concludes by illustrating some ways in which Western nations, in recent years, have altered manufacturing practices to produce “conflict-free” products, and illustrating programs and services that have been been started in an effort to empower the Congolese. As a word of caution, some of the images included in the film are graphic. This film would be a beneficial resource in library collections supporting studies in anthropology, sociology, and international affairs.