I grew up in India. Almost 8 1/2 years while I was a kid. I still speak the language, listen to Indian music and love their food. It is a part of who I am.
When I returned home and as I started to get older, I started to hear things about India that as a kid I didn't see or understand. Things like the caste system and other social issues were too complex for my mind. I remember being puzzled when I would hear some negative things about India and found myself wondering if I was sheltered from a lot of it.
What I always admired and want my home country of Ethiopia to adapt - is their ability to document their history. I especially like how they make movies and songs with a very large rate of consumption by Indians themselves. I have heard that the movie industry makes a huge contribution to the Indian GDP and is an excellent way to educate and keep documenting Indian perspective of things.
Recently, I watched one show on Netflix. It was about some corrupt businessmen in India. I found it fascinating and watched the whole show. So now the Netflix algorithm keeps recommending Indian movies and shows to me. And so far, I like them all.
Yesterday, I watched a movie called White Tiger. I was very impressed. It talked about all of the fascinating topics I have been obsessing about - power, corruption, mind etc. And it was a perspective that I didn't see in India or hear about so it was fascinating. It was also not the usual boy-meets-girl love story either. It talked about so many societal issues that I even saw some aspects of Ethiopia in it.
I think if creativity continues to show and challenge our perceptions, especially in developing countries, we would all move towards a better future.
When I returned home and as I started to get older, I started to hear things about India that as a kid I didn't see or understand. Things like the caste system and other social issues were too complex for my mind. I remember being puzzled when I would hear some negative things about India and found myself wondering if I was sheltered from a lot of it.
What I always admired and want my home country of Ethiopia to adapt - is their ability to document their history. I especially like how they make movies and songs with a very large rate of consumption by Indians themselves. I have heard that the movie industry makes a huge contribution to the Indian GDP and is an excellent way to educate and keep documenting Indian perspective of things.
Recently, I watched one show on Netflix. It was about some corrupt businessmen in India. I found it fascinating and watched the whole show. So now the Netflix algorithm keeps recommending Indian movies and shows to me. And so far, I like them all.
Yesterday, I watched a movie called White Tiger. I was very impressed. It talked about all of the fascinating topics I have been obsessing about - power, corruption, mind etc. And it was a perspective that I didn't see in India or hear about so it was fascinating. It was also not the usual boy-meets-girl love story either. It talked about so many societal issues that I even saw some aspects of Ethiopia in it.
I think if creativity continues to show and challenge our perceptions, especially in developing countries, we would all move towards a better future.
It's interesting how much disagreement we have here. But then I'm thinking, I've never spent extended time in a third world country so what do I know?
But what I always assume that third world countries need less of is media and what they need more of is infrastructure. Interesting to get your take on the empowering facet of media though.
I think the best way to explain and share the problems that seem exclusive to developing countries is books and films. I didn't realize some of the things pointed out in the movie even though I had lived in India. So there is a lot of contribution that such movies can make. Infrastructure is definitely a need as well - way more than movies.