Critical Historical Viewing of Ghandi

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2008)

Ghandi is useful for someone learning about the history of apartheid. It shows the experiences of an Indian (or Coloured) person in South Africa, which is beneficial because most representations focus on Black South Africans being victims of Apartheid. The Apartheid policies and racism towards Coloured people are shown, especially in Gahandi being thrown off the train and abused by white people. In the movie the character of Ghandi is central, and he is a very likable character. By focusing on him the viewer might be forced made to feel emotional about Apartheid policies. Watching this movie became very attached to the character of Ghandi and very angry about the racism of apartheid. Some people might suggest that this is a bad thing because it makes people emotional and they focus less on the facts of the history. But it is also quite good because the facts of the history are emotional. Focussing on a likable character like this is might help people to better understand how terrible it was in South Africa during apartheid. When viewing this movie we need to be critical. I explained that the audience easily becomes emotionally involved. This can be helpful for someone learning about apartheid because it makes them more interested and enthusiastic. But it can also cause problems because it stops the viewer from being objective about the truth. When we watch movies like this we need to be aware that this is happening, and not totally get sucked in by the emotion. In addition, this movie would have been more useful if it had had more information on South Africa. Unfortunately Ghandi leaves to go to India quite early in the movie, so we never really get to see that much. It would be better if the audience were shown more examples of apartheid segregation policies and the attitudes of more of the white people. Overall, this was an emotional movie  but one which let you understand how terrible apartheid was for many people. - Al, Jason and Eliot