Zulu Reflection

     After finishing some of the movie Zulu in class, I realized how significant this film was. Especially being that we don’t normally hear of the African side of exploitation. I also realized that this movie reminds me a lot of the novel Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fannon that we are reading as a class. A bunch of colonizers come in an exploit the people of Africa and gain a lot from it. Although its knowledge that needs to be learned, it really bothers me sometimes to read and watch these stories of what happened in the past. Africans or Black people in general are always exploited and treated terribly. I don’t know if it’s because I’m African American and it just hits a little too close to home oppose to other kids in the class who just probably think of it as history that happened several hundred years ago. Or maybe it’s just a natural human instinct to hear of history like this and to automatically get sick to our stomachs every couple of pages. I’m not sure but whatever it is, it surely affects me while reading.

     In the movie, the pastor and his daughter witness a messenger transferring the news about the British defeat. They seemingly try and bargain peace. When that did not work, the two of them quickly run off to warn the soldiers. Quickly after the fail negotiation of peace, it was then that the Zulu were left with no other choice but to go to war. The Zulus then prepare themselves to get ready to attack. The British decide to defend themselves and start to prepare themselves for the battle that is to come as well. Sooner or later the Zulus take the first blow and begin to attack in a rampage. Something I found interesting was during all the fighting that was going on, there were doctors that were taking care of the people who were getting wounded. The British were evidently outnumbered therefore it was inevitable for it not to go well for them. The British clearly thought they were smarter and definitely underestimated the Zulu, however they soon learned that their modern weapons did not compare to the Zulus. In between attacks, the Zulu ceased fire, they regroup and then would randomly start back up again. Finally after several recharges along with many people now dead, the Zulu withdraw.