Bradbury: Hotel Rwanda

The movie Hotel Rwanda starring on Cheadle is an interesting take on the events that occurred during the three month genocide of the tutsis by the hutus.  As far as I know, the facts of what happened in terms of the genocide are accurately depicted in the film. The whole aspect of the hotel is apparently based on real events but I think it is safe to say that it is a loosely based interpretation. Most movies based on real events are dramatized because real life is always less interesting than what can potentially be put on camera. Since I do not know what actually took place however, I will write this blog solely from what I saw in the film, under the knowingly false impression that it is accurate. So I begin: The events circulating Don Cheadle's hotel are extremely sad. The movie makes a point to show that the rest of the world did not care about Rwanda. One statement by a U.S. official was that the United States was not sure if the risk to American lives and dollars was worth the cost of intervening. I think this statement is completely inaccurate. Going off of the movie, I saw an army of disorganized men, most of whom did not have firearms. I do not think that small groups of men with machetes could pose much of a threat to the United States military. The real reason I believe the Americans or any other major country did not intercept this slaughter was because they would of had nothing to gain from it. Unlike the middle east, Rwanda has no resources. It also posed no threat to our economy like communism did which prompted s to help South Vietnam. All in all, the film does not paint the world in a good light. The only man that actually helps Cheadle is his boss and I am willing to bet it was because he was both guilted into it and did not need the negative publicity surrounding his hotel. The U.N. pretended to help but did not want to get their hands dirty. The only time one of them fires a shot was in his own defense. On the radio, the tutsis heard reports that the world was covering up this catastrophe by stating that acts of genocide were happening instead of all out genocide, which was the case. I think that the movie does a good job of doing what Don Cheadle advised the tutsis to do: guilt people into caring.