1. Racial equality:
There are many white people having a candlelit dinner in the film. Even in the desolate wilderness, they still drag white tablecloths, nostalgic phonographs and other household items to create a romantic atmosphere , of course, without the faithful service of the Negro Natives. I usually think that it is elegant for Westerners to talk about poetry and literature while listening to Mozart, but when I watch this film, I think that behind this kind of comfort and luxury is the enslavement and exploitation of black people. The African brothers and sisters are the masters of the land, but they have no ability to express their hearts, let alone communicate with the white people on an equal basis. In the eyes of the white people, they are just ignorant, ignorant and backward primitive people, so they can only be The background and decoration of the aliens on the land. Take a look at the history of British colonization of Kenya to know what rude and brutal are behind those superficial elegance and noble.
2. Gender equality:
Karen's husband can blatantly seek out women, but she wants to be with the one she loves, but she has to have scruples. From the scene of excluding women from entering the Man's Club at the beginning, it can be seen that the status of women in Western society was still lower than that of men at that time. As the plot unfolded, Karen gained respect by running a farm independently and taking risks to the front line of war to send spare supplies. Finally these "gentlemen" toast Karen. Karen himself said: "Men go off to be tested for courage. Women are tested for patience and enduring loneliness." Men can go off to be tested for courage, but women are tested for patience and loneliness. This is what prompted her to take the risky expedition.
As a result, this film confirms the status hierarchy of race and gender, white males > white females > African males > African females (Africa can be replaced by Asia).
3. Love and freedom:
Denys is the kind of man with a distant heart. He belongs to nature, and ultimately his soul returns to the earth. He doesn't belong to any one woman, Karen's independence and bravery attracted Denys, but when Karen wanted to go further, he gave up, in the face of "love" and "freedom", he chose his beloved freedom. In fact, according to ordinary people, she has no unreasonable requirements, just wants to live together to warm each other, take care of each other, and live a normal life, but this is not what Denys wants. He is unwilling to compromise, unwilling to be kidnapped and controlled by love, such a person has a strong courage to endure loneliness. If you can handle the loneliness, you can also declare like Denys, "I don't want to live someone else's idea of how to live. I don't want to find out one day that I'm at the end of someone else's life. I'm willing to pay for mine, if lonely sometimes, to die alone if I have to," instead of complaining about the sacrifices and trivialities of marriage.
(The novel was written by a woman, and the movie was made by a man. I haven’t read the novel yet, so I don’t know if the film’s perspective is different from the original, so let’s use this title first)
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