BRAINWASH

Dramatised advertising film for Lux toilet soap intended for African audiences.The final scene in Mary's Lucky Day - in which Mary gets married - illustrates some of the traditional ideas of gender, beauty and race used within the Lux advertising campaigns. First, this narrative conclusion relies on the notion that this beauty product is a tool for sexual empowerment. Lux signifies a move from the 'servile' to the 'civilised' for Mary - she first uses the soap in the bathroom of the white woman she works for - and through this soap, she is able to attract a husband and move up in her social status. Secondly, this sequence shows marriage as the aspirational goal for women, with the soap as a means of achieving this. This is most blatantly revealed in the final sequence in which Mary presents her two bridesmaids with a bar of Lux soap. Thirdly, the marriage service itself - which contains a version of 'Here Comes the Bride' and features the bride in a white wedding dress - is represented as a western ideal of marriage and this is of particular significance when considering the processes of identification and the representation of race used within this film. Mary's Lucky Day promotes an ideal of whiteness. After the lengthy sequence in which Mary applies the soap, her skin is markedly lighter than before. Aligned with a popular rhetoric linking whiteness with success, and social status, the film implies that this literal 'whitening' can in turn bring marriage and social advancement. Furthermore, within the film Mary aspires to an image of whiteness. For example, in one shot - within the house owned by the white family where Mary works - Mary transfers the image of her and her prospective husband onto a framed image of Bob Hope and his glamorous co-star. Mary thus identifies and aspires to the glamour of the Hollywood stars. In the next scene, when Mary goes to buy some Lux soap, the shopkeeper relates the popular slogan - 'used by nine out of ten film stars'. The film is extremely clear in showing how film stars are used to articulate images of whiteness - linked to beauty and success - and reveals the position this accords the black spectator. This process of identification is slightly different for those African audiences watching the film. Mary may identify with images of white glamour - the film stars, the domestic space, the wedding - which, the film suggests, can be acquired by using Lux soap, but for the film viewers, there is an additional layer of spectatorship here, which encourages them to identify with Mary and the African film stars on screen. The film contains an almost entirely African cast ­- with local dialogue and music by a popular Rhodesian group - and although the camera rather voyeuristically reveals Mary within the domestic space of her white employers, the white employers are not shown. The film thus represents and encourages identification with an African social class, influenced by white society, and with African film stars, who themselves identify with white stars. Mary's Lucky Day also reiterates the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in the social development of the Africans, a message often repeated in colonial discourse. The film is also instructive in the context of the popular debates over the filmic requirements for African audiences. Blake Dalrymple evidently favoured the popular over the instructional, and the style of the film - particularly in the initial lengthy driving sequence - indicates the oft-quoted preference of African audiences for slapstick comedy, and in particular, the early films of Chaplin. (1952)

The Wives of Nendi uses and endorses the popular image of Helen Mangwende as an almost mythical figure who was able to 'bridge' the gap between the races. While the film represents an apparently African initiative, instigated by African women, the ideals presented by Mai Mangwende within this scheme are closely tied to western practices and colonial ideals of 'civilisation'. Furthermore, the voice for African characters is provided by a British male commentator, who speaks on the characters' behalf and who oversees and comments on the developments within the narrative. The film promotes the 'westernisation' of Africa, aligning the 'development' of Africa with the adoption of European customs. As such, the film endorses established British ideas that link cleanliness with 'civilisation', with health, and with knowledge ('many families live in dirt and ignorance... ignorance and malice breed hate and unhappiness'). The film also promotes traditional British notions of the family. This is illustrated in the contrast between the chosen representative of the women's club and the wives of Nendi. The selected female role model has a family life structured along European lines. Her husband wears trousers and a shirt as he leaves for work, and is supportive of his wife - he is 'pleased that his family has been so honoured' - while their children 'happily go to school'. Furthermore, while this woman may appear as the film's protagonist - isolated within the village and almost single-handedly attempting to introduce this club - she is still positioned in relation to her family and not as a modern independent woman. Her husband 'stood by and encouraged her all this time' and it is only after talking things over with her husband and 'with his permission and encouragement' that she decides to visit Mai Mangwende again. In contrast, Nendi has three wives - a non-European family structure - and initially appears dishevelled and with ripped clothes, while one of his children knocks over milk in their 'unkempt' hut. The film contrasts the 'primitive' with the 'civilised' and, in its conclusion, highlights the primacy of the European model. In the final scenes, Nendi's wives are effectively transformed - as the Nigerian audience recognised - into European women. Nendi and his wives now sit at a table with a tablecloth, sipping tea from cups, an established signifier of British identity. Nendi now wears a shirt, jacket and tie - further signifiers of the 'civilising' process - while Nendi's first wife completes her transformation by winning a cake-baking contest. The film's narrative illustrates the importance placed on 'cleanliness' within colonial discourse, as the means of transforming from the 'primitive' to the 'civilised'. The film was evidently intended primarily for African audiences. Within the film, Mai Mangwende talks directly to a seated African group, functioning as an onscreen representation of the larger cinema audience. Furthermore, the commentator explains that Nendi's wives live in a cleanliness 'they had never realised was possible for ordinary people', so emphasising the film's promotion of development along European lines for 'ordinary' Africans. However, the reactions of Nigerian audiences suggest that the film's message did not translate throughout Africa. (1949)

In both its narrative format and message, The Two Farmers deploys some of the dominant strategies used by British filmmakers in addressing African audiences. First, the film's narrative structure - the Mr Wise and Mr Foolish format - used previously in Bekefilm pictures, such as Post Office Savings Bank (1935), and in Colonial Film Unit productions, was now widely adopted by the Central African Film Unit and established as the ideal framework within which to present these instructional messages. Secondly, the film promoted a message of African development under European supervision. Although European characters are only seen briefly in one scene - in which the European provincial agriculturalist demonstrates the "modern" methods of farming - the voiceover provides a British instructor throughout, and again speaks at, and for, the African characters. At many screenings, a local commentator would have provided the commentary, but the representation of the good and bad farmer is still defined on screen in distinctly British terms. The film constantly reiterates the value of hard work - "you worked well and here is your reward... well done indeed Panganai, you've earned it". In contrast "Washoma got his reward too - a lazy man's reward", while drink is used as a signifier of his lack of self-control. The film directly relates the adoption of these British agricultural methods and of these perceived British qualities - hard work and discipline - to success. This success is defined predominantly in financial terms, as Panganai is motivated throughout by a desire for a new cart. Yet, success also serves as a means of social advancement, as Panganai seeks to show off his cart to his neighbours: "wait till all my neighbours see it". The Two Farmers also seeks to develop a level of responsibility amongst the Africans and to encourage cooperation with the British officers. This is illustrated both by the character of Machiri - an African instructor, supervised by British officials, and administering British policies - and by the examples of the two farmers. Washoma complains to Machiri that "you're always telling people how to do things", as he illustrates - and ultimately exposes as foolhardiness - a resentment towards state intervention. In contrast, Panganai endorses a message of cooperation between the state and the individual. "He's done his share", Panganai remarks of the demonstrator, "now it's up to me to do mine". (1948)

From Fear to Faith is not sponsored by any particular missionary society, and so lacks many of the common features of missionary films. A common viewing context might well have been in Methodist churches, but the film itself does not identify any particular society or denomination.The story follows Shoniwa as he eventually wins over his hostile people to the new ways he has brought with him. He brings new methods of agriculture, heals a sick child, begins to teach, and takes a wife - the couple are married in the village by the white missionary teacher from his original school, who has come to visit. The film follows the well-worn trajectory of missionary objectives in Rhodesia and elsewhere: evangelise the young, and when they return to their villages they will spread the gospel through their undeniably good works in healthcare, agriculture, etc. The narration is portentous and frequently delivered in faux-biblical language. The opening scenes of drought give the strongest nod toward the local past, both missionary and Shona. The period of greatest success in evangelising the previously unresponsive Matabele (Ndebele) and Shona peoples of Southern Rhodesia came in the aftermath of the violence and failure of the Matabele and Shona rebellion of 1896-7. The uprising was finally crushed by the settlers with great brutality, and the defeat brought with it the longed-for Christian breakthrough. The rebellion itself followed several years of severe drought, plagues of locusts and a catastrophic outbreak of rinderpest which decimated cattle stocks (this last was exacerbated by the settler policy of destroying thousands of healthy cattle in attempt to prevent the spread of the disease). Thus from the drought of the opening sequence, through the violence and hostility of the people to Shoniwa, and on to their final conversion, the narrative structure of From Fear to Faith appears to incorporate a reference, in distorted and trivialised form, to this disastrous sequence of historical events. (1946)

The narrative highlights the dangers of bilharzia to white children. The film shows the effect of the disease on a young white boy, Don, while the story, narrated by a white doctor, revolves around the arrival of the doctor's two young English nieces. There are two important points to note here. First, while this story in its narrative and tone may appear to be aimed predominantly at children, this film is intended as much for their parents. Secondly, and of most significance, is the film's emphasis on white society. At one point after "rounding up any available Africans" on the farm, the doctor inspects the farm workers and states that 90% are infected. The narrative immediately shifts back here as Don, the young white boy, is taken ill and the doctor - along with the audience - leaves the Africans to focus on this one individual. As an additional example, when Don initially contracts the disease while standing ankle deep in contaminated water, he calls out to two African boys. The commentary explains, while reflecting clearly defined racial divisions, that "remembering the depth of the mud he called out to some piccaninnies who were cooling off on the far side of the pool. Happy to oblige they floundered over and pulled up the plants and carried them to the shore". The film does not address the problems subsequently faced by these African boys, and in relating the disease directly to the white settlers, the film supports the notion that tropical diseases were only of concern when they impacted on white society. The farmer - with a financial interest in the welfare of his employees - does respond to the spread of bilharzia and improve conditions for his African employees, but only after the disease has directly affected his own son. The film uses racial stereotypes in its descriptions of the Africans, claiming that "these Africans showed their usual faith and interest in the mysterious actions of the white man. How were they to know that the injections I was to give them were harmless?" This also indicates the film's paternalistic attitude towards the Africans, as it is the white farmer who is able to help the Africans, and it is he, rather than the Africans themselves, who is responsible for their welfare. (1948)

The film targets an imperial - and in particular British - audience. This is evident from the opening lines, as the commentator states 'In this land, the youngest of the self-governing units of the British Empire, tobacco can be grown in practically any part'. The commentary is aimed at those unfamiliar with Southern Rhodesia, while the country is immediately introduced in relation to the Empire. Furthermore, the film emphasises the quality of the Rhodesian tobacco for the international market - 'discriminating and meticulous in the standard it sets in catering for smokers throughout the world' - responding to a perception within Britain that the quality of tobacco from some of the colonies was not as high as that from America. This emphasis on quality is repeated throughout, culminating in the lengthy sequences showing the checking and grading of the tobacco. As a production made for the Southern Rhodesian Government, The Consoling Weed would appear to be part of a concerted effort to increase exports and expand the Rhodesian tobacco industry in overseas markets. The film illustrates the modernisation of the industry - for example in showing the newly established auction houses - and highlights the production process. In particular, the film attempts to promote an image of a happy workforce. The African workers are described as 'the cheerful farm labourers of Rhodesia who have become very adept in their work'. When they are shown stringing up leaves, the music is up-tempo and akin to fairground music. The shots here show the Africans working under European supervision, and also reveal the young children working within the industry. The film ends with what amounts to an advertisement for Rhodesian tobacco. The commentator explains that Rhodesian tobacco is 'rapidly acquiring international favour' on account of its 'low nicotine content', which will not 'soil delicate fingers and teeth'. The final lines appear almost as an advertising slogan - 'there is consolation in this delightful product for the sun splashed country' - while the concluding image of a young European woman smoking, again suggests that the film is targeting a European audience. Shown first with a close-up of her hand - wearing a watch and ring (but seemingly not a wedding ring) - the woman is then shown smoking a cigarette directly to camera. In advertising terms, this affluent, modern European woman represents the ideal consumer, as the film seeks to promote Rhodesian tobacco as a fashionable product for the British market. (1937)

Released at a time of extreme social and political unrest within the Federation, Federal Spotlight No. 167 contains items on creating artwork out of stamps and on a pet rhino. As a government cinemagazine, subject to censorship, the items often veered towards the mundane or at least the non-political, yet these subjects still served to promote an idealised image of the Federation for both domestic and overseas audiences. In many respects the reel offers a nostalgic celebration of a traditional settler lifestyle that was seemingly coming to an end. The story of Rupert the Rhino (possibly the only item that could be deemed more lightweight than the previous tale of stamps) is presented as a fairytale. The commentator begins by stating 'Once upon a time there was a little orphan rhino called Rupert. He lived at Kariba, but the big lake sprang up and Rupert lost his Mummy and Daddy, so a noble knight of the vet department adopted him'. While presented as a light, comic piece, showing Rupert drinking Castle lager and taking his daily bath, the item endorses a message of conservation and, more broadly, of settler paternalism. The settler family look after the African creature and embrace him as a member of the family, before preparing to set him free. Viewed within the context of impending independence, the item presents a nostalgic and optimistic account of settler life, concluding that Rupert would soon be released to a game reserve, where he will live 'happily ever after'. However, there was to be no fairytale ending, either for Rupert or for the Federation, as within 18 months of his release into the wild (shortly after the break-up of the Federation), Rupert died of pneumonia. The final item responds more directly to the social changes within the Federation, as it shows the collapse of the tobacco farming industry within Fort Jameson. Over shots of derelict barns, the commentator notes the effects of closing the auction house within the area. The item does once more conclude on a note of optimism, stating that the Europeans that remained are doing 'better than ever', while also noting that 'the emergent African farmers are now catching up with modern methods and many are thriving'. The item endorses a message of African development under European guidance, but still inadvertently reveals the vastly different conditions for the Africans, who are shown checking their harvest in small huts. This brief reference is the only consideration of the African experience within a newsreel whose avoidance of significant social and political issues is conspicuous. These impending changes within the Federation do, though, still influence the film's tone and message, as the newsreel romanticises and celebrates an image of traditional settler life for white audiences at home and overseas. (1962)

While Rhodesian Spotlight No. 87 does contain an item on the Emergency and 'disturbances' in Nyasaland, its representation of these events is intended to dismiss them as brief incidents instigated by a minority of 'agitators' and certainly not as a broader threat to the Federation or to British rule. First, the item is entitled 'Nyasaland back to normal', and as in the previous issue, the newsreel defiantly claims that the problems have been resolved (the situation is only discussed on film once Nyasaland has returned to 'normal'). Second, the film offers no consideration of the background to these events, or the motivations behind the unrest, talking merely of 'wild ideologies'. The film completely avoids discussing the 'disturbances' in political terms (or as anti-colonial). It rather talks of 'mob madness' and emphasises that the rioters attacked those that 'do most for the Africans' as it shows missions, vets and agricultural officers threatened. This, then, is presented as an attack on British development, progress and social welfare. An attack that the commentator suggests was not widely supported ('the sort of cooperation that prompted many Africans to remain loyal'). The item should not though be viewed in isolation, and it is significant that once again the major social and political events within the Federation should be so briefly covered and subsumed within items on the scouts, official ceremonies and on conservation work within the area. These surrounding items are important also in contextualising the events presented within 'Nyasaland back to normal'. The first item on the Jamboree held at Ruwa Park, Salisbury, shows scouts from Tanganyika and Basutoland, each bringing something of 'its own originality to the Jamboree'. As a metaphor for the Empire, the item shows the scouts from various countries all coming together, emphasising in particular the role of children in preparing for the 'tasks of tomorrow' and highlighting 'what a power for good it [the scouts] has been'. The item immediately following the footage of the 'disturbances' (or at least its aftermath) shows the Paramount Chief of Barotse receiving a knighthood. He is described as 'one of the greatest Africans of our times' as the film highlights recognition for African authority and British and African collaboration. The film concludes with yet more footage of Operation Noah, which was extensively covered by the Central African Film Unit both for its newsreel and on lengthier releases (for example, Bring Forth Every Living Thing). Again this message of conservation and, in particular, or rescuing and protecting the local wildlife (rushing off to a 'new found freedom') counters the images of destruction shown in the earlier item. It presents the Europeans in paternal terms as moral protectors, looking after those that most need help. On closer inspection, this message sits slightly less comfortably with the ongoing messages of progress littered throughout the newsreel. For example, the first item spoke of Kariba as an example of 'building for the future', while the third item illustrates further industrial process. The flooding of the Zambezi valley and the resultant drowning of thousands of animals was a direct result of the construction of the Kariba Dam and the creation of Lake Kariba. The film certainly does not draw a link between the message of 'progress' and the destructive scenes shown both in the Nyasaland disturbances and in Operation Noah. Instead the film presents the aftermath of these incidents, depicting British and Government figures, not as causes of the problems, but rather as those left to dutifully clean up the mess. (1959)

Although How a British Bulldog Saved the Union Jack may have exploited the popular hostility towards, and topical interest in, the Zulus during the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906, the film largely follows the representational structure of earlier Boer War fiction films. For example, the Zulus sneak up on the watching sentry - as the Boers do, for example, in A Sneaky Boer (1901) - while the film highlights the inherent differences between the patriotic behaviour of the British and the 'devious and unchivalrous' conduct of their opponents, as in from example, Shelling the Red Cross (1901) (Popple, 2002, 20). In How a British Bulldog Saved the Union Jack, the British sentry offers water to his fallen assailant, who is immediately revived and shoots the sentry. Later, the British man is ambushed while bandaging his injured horse, as the British again suffer for their code of decency. The film also places a huge emphasis on the flag as a visual, emotive signifier and uses it as a narrative device as in, for example, Hands off the Flag. Indeed, in How a British Bulldog Saved the Union Jack, the flag effectively replaces the 'damsel-in-distress' as the object to be rescued. The film features 'genuine natives', with the Boer enemy now replaced by Zulus (The Optical Lantern and Kinematograph Journal, October 1906, 225). The similarities in the representation of the Boers and Zulus may suggest that they were largely interchangeable as enemies within the popular imagination and that there were common visual signifiers of villainy within early film. The film does though also utilise new narrative modes to develop empathy and ideological allegiances. The characters directly address the viewer in the opening and closing shots, while the earlier example of the Zulu creeping up behind the sentry - seen by the audience but not his British victim - again encouraged the audience to respond and participate in the film. The film embraces further popular trends of narrative cinema, which had developed since those earlier films. In its narrative structure, the film begins with a close-up of a Zulu staring and jumping back at the camera - highlighting the film's main threat - and then concludes with a tableau of the man, dog and flag - indicating the film's moral and providing narrative closure. The introduction of a dog within the narrative also illustrates an emerging trend in cinema by 1906. Following the success of Rescued By Rover in 1905, Hepworth, with his director Lewin Fitzhamon, produced Black Beauty in 1906 and Dumb Sagacity in 1907, which teamed Black Beauty up with Rover (Sopocy, 1998, 118). In 1908, Fitzhamon made eight films that featured animals, and How a British Bulldog Saved the Union Jack indicates an early desire to exploit the popularity of these films. (1906)

The Landing of Savage South Africa at Southampton is symptomatic of much early cinema, both in its emphasis on movement and the display of 'attractions' - the Africans dance and wave their spears and shields - and in its construction, as the Africans perform to the fixed camera as if on a theatrical stage. Most significantly though, this is an early example of an ethnographic film, displaying and artificially staging a representation of 'Savage South Africa' for the British public. The purpose of the Africans' visit to England was to serve as objects of display, as exhibition pieces. In particular, these Africans were presented as 'savage' and 'uncivilised', in accordance with imperial prejudices - apparent in discourses surrounding the show as well - that highlighted British supremacy and emphasised the perceived dangers of the African. This image is also evident within this short film, as the Africans wave their spears at the camera and appear in tribal dress. They appear in contrast to the white man - quite possibly Fillis - who features on screen in top hat and tails. However, the appearance of this white man clearly reveals the artifice behind this representation, as the Africans look at a figure outside of the frame, and then move forward under the direction of the white man who now appears on screen. Film historian Michael Hammond suggested that this film had two purposes: 'to advertise the travelling show and, more subtly, to demonstrate the power of cinema in bringing exotic events, locations, people - in fact the Empire - to the British cinemagoer' (Hammond, 2007, 150). The film camera, that most modern of devices, is used to record traditional Africa. The film highlights - both through the technology used and the representation offered - British primacy and furthermore, in showing the Africans arriving at Southampton, a spirit of imperial adventure and conquest. (1899)