Problem
A. What is the argument (thesis) of the film? I am not asking what the film is about. We know that the film is about the life of Patrice Lumumba and the history of the struggle for Congolese independence. The question is: what do you think is the film director Mr. Raoul Peck's main point? What message does the film director want you to take away from the film?
B. List your 3 highlights from the film and explain why you picked them. Give full answers.
C. In the interview posted in the module for Week 16, Martin Luther King, Jr. said that the Africans were watching what was going on in the United States regarding the Black civil rights struggle. Why would the US government be concerned that "Africans were watching" what was going on in the US? Why didn't the US government just shrug its shoulders and say, "why should we care what you Africans think. We don't care what Africans think about the US." Why was it important to the US government that Africans have a positive impression about the US?
D. During his independence day speech in the presence of the King of Belgium, Lumumba is said by many to have signed his death warrant. Which line in that speech struck fear and anger in the minds of those who defended European empire and eurocentrism, but yet was a source of pride for people in Africa and in the African Diaspora?