Themes In Hotel Rwanda

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The movie Hotel Rwanda (2004) directed by Terry George is an accurate depiction of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Based on a true story, the film documents all the acts that a Hutu hotel manager named Paul Rusesabagina, played by actor Don Cheadle, did to save both his family and a thousand Tutsi refugees. The setting takes place in the spring of 1994 where Hutu extremists mass murder the Tutsis. Paul Rusesabagina grants shelter to the refugees by having them reside in his hotel, Hotel des Mille Collines. Paul’s effort to save the Tutsis during the 100-day massacre is widely seen as a heroic act. There are thousands of Tutsi refugees trying to survive but is there room for them all? “There’s always room.” - Paul Rusesabagina.
When Rwanda was
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Terry George stated that he made this film as “a message for peace”. Terry George is an Irish screenwriter and director so he is from the west. During the time of the genocide, the western media reported what was taking place in Rwanda but it did not receive much attention. Terry George produced this movie in order to increase awareness of what was happening outside the western world. Almost a million Tutsi Africans were being killed and the western world viewed this as no big deal. Many people today are still unaware that such an event even happened. Terry George created the movie Hotel Rwanda by focusing on the life of Paul Rusesabagina who risked his life to save the lives of many others. The powerful and moving film gained publicity because it was based on a true story and it made people recognize Paul’s heroic acts to help save many live in …show more content…
Gender propaganda presented Tutsi women as sexual objects because they were beautiful and desirable but also enemies of the state. Women were often spared by Hutus and were used for rape and humiliation. The Hutu militia forced both women and girls into sexual relations. This form of sexual violence can be seen through the movie. When Paul goes to the Hutu base to buy supplies for the Tutsis, he sees a group of naked women caged in a cell. Women and children are seen huddling together in a dirty cell and waiting until they are taken away and “used”. White American civilians in Rwanda were able to depart the country but Rwandans could not. France and Belgium sent troops to airlift American civilians out of Rwanda, which upset many Rwandans because they thought the west knew about the genocide and just wanted to save their own kind of people. Rwandans felt abandoned by the

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