History 18 - A Tears of the Sun During the 19th century, Europe was developing into an Industrialized nation.

They were in search of raw materials needed to create their products, as well as consumers for these new goods. This was one of the reasons why Africa became a main target for colonization. Africa is known for having an abundant supply of materials like oil, gold, and different varieties of plants and herbs. Africa s vast lands were also an effective motivation for European colonization since the 19th century was also a time of increase in their population. Another cause would be the goal of Europeans to humanize and civilize barbaric nations, which mirrored of how they saw other races as inferior and how they feel that they must correct this problem. The intervention of Europe gave Africa a new lifestyle. The Christian religion was introduced to the members of the African population and they were transformed into what the Europeans believe to be an independent and cultured country. After all the revisions have been done to make Africa a civilized country, the Europeans immediately left. This shows two sides of the story: first is the positive side. Europe has given Africa its independence as a country, a new power and confidence through the guidance of a greater country. Africa is now a step above what they were before. They now have structure, and have adopted the ideologies and beliefs of the Europeans; the second would be the negative side. The Europeans could have moved on to a different place, stating that they no longer needed the resources of this bountiful place, and in a way, they do not care or want to care about them anymore. They could have been just another one of those nations that needed to be changed. It may be said that the Europeans invented the African country. They saw African people as typical, incomprehensible, black people that need to be made over, and that that was another task for them to take. Maybe it was just their pride taking over, making nations out of people they know nothing of, but their usual actions make big differences in society and in the development of interactions between distinctive groups. Tears of the Sun is not just an ordinary war movie. It s about cultural problems that other countries face, which are still happening in modern times. There are many themes found in the movie that interact and connect with each other, and as a whole, opens the eyes of viewers to the negativities in our world. The first theme that is evident in the movie is how they show the difference between westerners and Africans. All throughout history, members of less developed countries are seen often seen as inferior, uncivilized and uncultured. They are never part of the higher community in society. They are always the ones that are oppressed and scared because they have nothing to protect themselves with. In this movie,

the Africans were not able to escape this view. Most of the scenes show how the abused Africans, living in their own tribes, were being tortured and killed by their fellow Africans. Although the oppressors here are not westerners, the effect on the abused Africans is still the same. It provides the viewers an image of what a typical African experiences throughout his life, and how his actions are boxed by the decisions and actions of others. The Nigerian military seemed like the elite group in the movie. They were the oppressors. They made it clear that they wanted power and they used weapons to get it. But if you analyze the ending of the story, you would see that the Americans still overpowered them. Here, the typical view of westerners is evident. They are always more advanced and they will have the last say. The Nigerian military thought that they had their time as the ones on top, with all their guns and their grenades, but the Americans only needed two jets to wipe them all out. So here, it is seen that the conditions in history are still the same until now. Civil war brought about by the need for control is also a theme in the movie. It was said at the beginning of the movie that the Nigerian military had declared a coup d tat in their country and that they assassinated the whole presidential family. When you put together different people who don t always get along, in one place, disagreements and problems cannot be avoided. This is the mark that the westerners have left in many places. These colonized people are left on their own, and of course, they will fight for their territory and for their status in society. Even though they are all from the same race, the tension created by other forces actually separate them. It is ironic to think that the intention of the westerners was to create one country, cut the result was just different groups, in one place, fighting for no better reason. The characters in the film all contributed to the themes that are evident in the movie. Almost all the groups of people have had their own developments as the movie progressed. The connections between these people also developed as the events went on. The most improved individuals in the movie are the American soldiers. Lieutenant Waters, played by Bruce Willis, is the leader of a Navy Seal group which had a special task: to pick up the American doctor, the priest and the two nuns, and bring them back to safety before war erupts in their area. These soldiers are known to be the best of the best, and they do everything possible to complete their mission. They were trained to exercise discipline, loyalty, and obedience. Nothing gets in their way. The group of Bruce Willis showed all these characteristics from the start of the movie. They were told to retrieve the doctor, which they referred to as the package . In certain events, the groups that believe that they are above the rest have a tendency to dehumanize others. In this case, the objectification of a human shows how one-way their interactions are with others. It is never a reciprocal conversation because they will always force themselves to see others merely as things. The doctor was

no more than a package that they needed to get; therefore her feelings, ideas and opinions didn t matter, and it shows in how he interacts with her in the first part of the movie. Although their actions overtly showed how dehumanized the others were, it was not expressly shown how they were, in a way, dehumanizing themselves. As soldiers, they were given tasks to finish and rules to obey. By following these rules, and ignoring their sense of morality and goodness towards others, it makes them look like robots. They can t feel or pity others because these are obstacles that would hinder them from finishing the job. All human beings have emotions and urges to help others in need. It is in our nature to be this way; but because of the honor and pride given to their titles, it seems like they didn t have a choice. Their emotions had to be kept locked for them retain their roles in society and for them to be seen as formidable men. The turning point of the story was when they started feeling and caring for the Africans. They started to realize that honor could be earned in other ways and that being human gives more satisfaction than any task that they could finish. With this development, their relationships with other characters also improved. Lieutenant Waters referred to the doctor as the package at the beginning of the story, then it became doctor, and finally, he addressed her as Dr. Lina Kendricks. The steps of his development showed the change in interactions with others. Even with the people of Africa. At first, they wanted to leave these people in the woods. They didn t care about those that were not part of their mission. Their only concern was their task at hand. But after seeing a village burning helplessly below them, they became human. They started to feel empathy towards the Africans and they started to realize that they were worth saving. That even the dead body of a woman they don t know is worth protecting. Because of certain expectations in life, individuals tend to lean towards decisions that give them the best outcome, even if these decisions tug other people down to their lowest pedestals. It is so easy to dehumanize others while on our way to the top, but certain situations in life can make us realize that we are all equal. That not doing anything and ignoring what could be dehumanizes us. When we start feeling and becoming human, we become one with the people we interact with. The movie makes it clear that we have the capacity make good decisions and great nations. We can significant changes in the lives of others when we earn the trust of those that make us better citizens and use it to improve as one community.

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