Review of 500 Years Later (2005) by Aaron R — 08 Nov 2008

Despite its bias and flaws, this is a powerful documentary that everyone should see so that they better understand the world from an African perspective. It makes many good points despite imitating many of the flaws it condemns: ethnocentrism, blaming, and a lack of responsibility for a people's actions in perpetuating their own predicament.

Having mostly British intellectuals speak about the need to be African when they themselves carry European accents and values strikes me as somewhat hypocritical and elitist: this is hardly a film that comes from a man on the street's perspective.

There is also the contradictory issue of Africans not being judged by the color of their skin while, in the meantime, they view the world entirely in terms of race. Moreover, the diversity of the continent is oversimplified, in my opinion, to make African-ness more palatable for culturally adrift Africans in the diaspora who are seeking some sort of validation and identity.

The end result smacks of a superficial African-ness that is expressed on college campuses and bought in head shops. Islam is considered to be "African" despite the legacy of Arab colonialism, and there is almost no mention of Africans' own responsibility in perpetuating many of their social problems; rather, everything bad in the African world is, and partially rightly so, caused by the legacy of slavery.

The end result is a documentary that, in its heavily Marxist, value laden perspective, will make you feel guilty if you are white. That said, it is also a valid, largely even handed study that is badly needed in the frank discussion of racial equality.