Hotel Rwanda: Hope or Aberration?

I just followed The Last King of Scotland with Hotel Rwanda. Like The Last King of Scotland, Hotel Rwanda shows the beauty, affluence and appeal to Western tourists that African countries can possess. Unfortunately, it also shows the impact of mass-killings and the lack of intervention by those same Western countries.

Unlike The Last King of Scotland, Hotel Rwanda is told from the perspective of a local, in this case, hotel manager, Paul Rusesabagina, as played by Don Cheadle. The local perspective on the Hutu-Tutsi conflict avoids the patronizing white, Western perspective in The Last King of Scotland while showing that individuals such as Paul can successfully fight the good fight while chaos surrounds them.

If Hotel Rwanda were the only point of reference for Africa that you have, what conclusions would you draw? Depending on your experience with civil war, either you understand how two groups of people can turn on each other over time or it may baffle you. The lack of action by Western powers may frustrate you or may make frigidly cold sense. The main character, Paul, should inspire you - giving one faith in the African people to take care of themselves and each other despite their differences. As in The Last King of Scotland, this film probably doesn't do much for one's respect of African governments or armies. And it may even portray Paul as an aberration - that rare leader amidst the chaos - who works for the common good and succeeds.

How can I use Hotel Rwanda? Good question. I need to learn more about the tribal make-up of Botswana first. If there are multiple tribes and if it they get along it would be nice to show that they don't refer to each other as "cockroaches"; that Botswana's radio stations only incite people when soccer scores are given; and that violence is not the immediate and sole answer to the problems in society that arise.

On the Michigan side, a friend has lent me Sufjan Stevens' "Michigan: Greetings from the Great Lake State" which I'll take a listen to and see what I can glean from it.