Hotel Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda was a depressing account of the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi people. Paul Rusesabagina is the manager of the upscale, European owned Les Milles Collines Hotel in Kigali. He is the perfect host, taking care of his clients with all of their needs and storing the favors for the future. He is eventually forced to use them all as his country falls apart in the violent slaughter that the Hutu bring upon the Tutsi. The fancy hotel becomes a refugee camp for over a thousand people, including Hutu and Tutsi alike.
I tried to draw some reference to African culture as I watched the film, but because of the film’s subject matter it was hard to distinguish a cultural identity. The entire film depicts the common acceptance of bribery, theft and even brutality that the military, police and politicians practice as a general rule. Bribery is accepted in almost all countries outside of the United States as a common and useful tool. It is looked down upon here and is illegal, but many countries in Asia, Africa, South America, Eastern Europe, etc. rely on bribery to supplement the income of those working in government. It is an accepted as a way of life. Bribery is a calculated expense for people traveling, businessmen and even tourist. Bribery is part of the culture.
My impression of the girls dancing by the pool is that they have a sense of peace. I do not know what the dance signified, although it certainly looked as if the dance was telling a story. I tried to put myself in the place of those people and the kids as well. Many of the refuges likely lived in deplorable conditions and had been rescued from certain death. They were now safe behind the walls of a luxury hotel. There was food, water (water is water, even from the pool), shelter and a sense of family that was forged by the commonality of the situation that everyone at that hotel faced. The girls were dancing perhaps not in celebration as we often relate to dancing, but dancing as a way to kill time, to play, to entertain or perhaps it was a dance designed to help one through difficult times.
I was more impressed by the scene when Paul took Tatiana on the rooftop for a candle lit dinner. That was impressive as the fighting rang in the background. They could actually see tracer rounds being shot through the darkness. He then asked her to kill herself and the children in order to avoid the machete’. That made an impression on me as a father and husband.
I certainly think that America has many hidden dialects in different social groups and ethnicities. The majority of our dialects are obvious, notably the difference in regional dialects, for example southern English versus northern English. In certain social circles southern English is improper and lacks the standard for acceptable speech. I have experienced this personally as I’ve worked with hundreds of northern transplants that are quick to point out our accents or use of certain phrases, etc. I am as quick to point out that this is not an accent, this is the language here. If I was visiting New York or Maine, then I would have an accent. When northerners are in the south, it is they who have an accent.