Hotel Rwanda Essay Example

Hotel Rwanda Essay Example Hotel Rwanda Essay Hotel Rwanda Essay The film Hotel Rwanda should be used in a world history program because it accurately depicts a significant historical event that people should be informed about and reflects several major themes of world history. The movie begins in Rwanda in the early 1990’s, when racial tensions between the two major ethnic groups, Hutus and Tutsis, have led to a civil war. After the Hutu president is killed, Hutu extremists begin a mass-slaughter of the Tutsis. Paul Rusesabagina, who is the manager of the Hotel des Milles Collines, is a Hutu, but his wife is a Tutsi.Tutsi neighbors run to Paul for shelter from the extremists, and at first, Paul is reluctant to provide them protection in the Milles Collines, but as the massacring intensifies and more and more innocent people need protection, Paul opens up the hotel to over 1,000 refugees. Paul struggles each and every day to protect the people living there, which include his family. The UN is unable to protect them, since they aren’t allowed to try to stop the genocide. But with help from UN officer Colonel Oliver, Paul is finally able to leave the hotel with the refugees and enter into safety.This film was fairly accurate. The characters behaved in ways that were fitting for the situations they were in, and the movie paid attention to details that were crucial to the events of the genocide, such as the RTLM â€Å"Hutu Power† radio broadcast, which â€Å"brainwashed† ordinary citizens into participating in the killings. The most important historical inaccuracy was the relationship between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The film made it seem as though there was very little social friction between the two groups, when in reality, they were very much divided.Before Europeans ruled in Rwanda, the Hutus and Tutsis were very loosely divided, but when the Germans came, they â€Å"†¦heavily favored the Tutsis and exacerbated and codified the formerly flexible divide between the two groups† (Carnegi e Council). After the Hutu revolution in the 1960’s, Hutus gained governmental control, and began discriminating against the Tutsis out of spite for the years they had been looked down on. The film took 30 years of rising tensions and condensed them, making it seem as though there had only been tension for a few months.However, it would be difficult to get the full scope of the history, due to the nature of movies, which typically focus on one specific aspect of an event rather than a more broad approach. Hotel Rwanda shows that this time period was a time of turmoil and chaos in Rwanda for the entire country, not just certain individuals. Obviously it was especially difficult for Tutsis to survive, but Hutus who were either married to Tutsis or didn’t take a firm political stand in either group also struggled. The situations the characters were in inspired immense fear, confusion and hopelessness, which left the audience feeling the same emotions.It is made very clear that many citizens had nowhere to turn for help, and those that did had to literally fight for their lives each day to get to safety. The movie also made it very clear that the rest of the world had closed its door on the Rwandan people. â€Å"Journalists, radio broadcasters, and TV news reporters covered the events live from Rwanda, until the violence escalated to fanatical levels and all foreigners were encouraged to evacuate. In short, the world knew of the genocide from its first day up until its conclusion† (World Without Genocide).Very little effort was made by more influential countries in the world to prevent the massacres. Overall, this film does justice to the genocide in its portrayal of it and leaves audiences feeling compassion for Rwandan people and wanting to do something to help prevent future genocides from occurring. Hotel Rwanda is a film that deserves to be used in world history programs. The first reason is that is raises awareness about one of the most tragic events to occur in the 20th century. Nearly 800,000 people were killed along with almost 2 million forced into refugee camps, all within a matter of 100 days.Many generations who didn’t grow up in the 1990’s aren’t well informed about this especially tragic event, and even more know nothing about the history that led up to it. This film encourages viewers to research more about the historical aspect of the social divisions in Rwanda and also magnifies just how damaging this genocide was. In addition to shedding light on an important event, the events in this film represent several recurring themes of world history, such as exploration and colonization and cross-cultural exchange. The most important of these themes is social stratification.Rwanda was divided into Hutus, Tutsis and Twa. The Tutsis were favored by European colonists because they believed the Tutsis â€Å"had more European characteristics, such as lighter skin and a taller build† (Abou t. com 20th Century History). This angered the Hutus, leading to even more social separation, and eventually a Hutu revolution and a civil war. These patterns are seen everywhere in world history, such as middle ages Europe, Ancient Greece, and the United States. Using this film in a world history class would reveal to students how prevalent social stratification is around the world, both in ancient and modern times.