Faryal Zaidi: 70174841
Bakht Zahra: 70152632
Rimsha Wajid: 70174827
‘The Ghost and The Darkness’ through Orientalism Perspective: Exoticizing, Marginalizing
Africa and Glorifying the Western World.
Abstract
This paper presents a well examined and explained analysis of the 1996 film, The Ghost and The
Darkness by Stephen Hopkins. The film is analyzed through the lens of Orientalism theory
presented by Edward Said. Set in Tsavo, Kenya during the 19th century the film narrates the story
of John Peterson and man-eating lions. Using the qualitative content analysis, this study analyzes
how the film challenges and reinforces Orientalist stereotypes and power dynamics. It further
reveals how the film is presented from a colonialist gaze, exoticizing and marginalizing African
cultures, landscapes, people and religion. The white men showed as the heroes saving the Dark
Continent. The study also shows the resistance to Orientalist discourses and relationship between
the Britisher colonizers and African workers. Ultimately, the research contributes to a deeper
understanding of the ways in which popular films present and control the perspectives of
colonialism and Orientalism.
Keywords: Orientalism, exoticizing, marginalizing, stereotypes, colonialism, control.
Introduction
The Ghost and The Darkness, directed by Stephen Hopkins is a movie made in 1996. The
movie is a colonial era adventure based on true events that took place in Tsavo, Kenya in 1898.
The drama that tells the story of Colonel John Peterson, a renowned engineer and hunter, is given
the task to build a bridge in Kenya in order to unite the world and save Africa from Africans.
Another character which is entirely fictional, Charles Remington portrays as a famous white hunter
who is heroic and brave in all senses. Both embark on a perilous mission to hunt down a pair of
man-eating lions in colonial Tsavo. On the surface the movie seems to be a tale of bravery, survival
and adventure in Africa. However, the dialogues and portrayal of the Africans shows how the
, Faryal Zaidi: 70174841
Bakht Zahra: 70152632
Rimsha Wajid: 70174827
American film culture has exoticized the African culture, religion and landscape. It reveals itself
to be a complex and multifaceted text that challenges dominant ideologies of colonialism and
Orientalism.
Edward Said's work on Orientalism provides a deeper analysis of the film's narrative and
imagery. It shows the ways in white Western cultures have represented and constructed the Orient
as a realm of mystery, exoticism, be wilderness and savagery. Edward Said gave the concept about
Orient and Occident. The Orients are the people of Asia and Africa, which are considered to be
inferior, illiterate, hopeless and misguided. Occident on the other hand are the Western powers
that dictate and control the world by forcing their own customs, rules, religion and culture on the
suppressed ones. Through analyzing the discourse of the film, this research aims to explore how
the film perpetuates and subverts Orientalist stereotypes and power dynamics.
Literature Review
The 1996 film The Ghost and The Darkness, is a colonial era drama that tells the story of
a true legend of man-eating lions and their hunter John Peterson, an English engineer assigned to
build a bridge in Tsavo, Kenya. This review of literature will examine the movie through the
insights of Orientalism, exploring how the film portrays the different races, dominance of
colonialism.
Edward Said’s works provides a framework for analyzing the representation of Africans
and Muslims in the film. Said argues that the Western cultures have deliberately constructed the
Orient as a realm of mystery, exoticism and savagery (Said,1978). This construction is reflected
in the movie, which depicts Africa as a place of chaos and savagery, reinforcing Orientalist
stereotypes (Shohat & Stan, 1994).
Scholars have critiqued the film for its representation of Africa and its people. According
to Hooks (1992), the film perpetuates a colonial gaze, representing Africa as a realm of savagery.
Another analyst, Diawara (1992) argues that film media reinforces stereotypes of African cultures
and portray them as primitive and uncivilized.
Bakht Zahra: 70152632
Rimsha Wajid: 70174827
‘The Ghost and The Darkness’ through Orientalism Perspective: Exoticizing, Marginalizing
Africa and Glorifying the Western World.
Abstract
This paper presents a well examined and explained analysis of the 1996 film, The Ghost and The
Darkness by Stephen Hopkins. The film is analyzed through the lens of Orientalism theory
presented by Edward Said. Set in Tsavo, Kenya during the 19th century the film narrates the story
of John Peterson and man-eating lions. Using the qualitative content analysis, this study analyzes
how the film challenges and reinforces Orientalist stereotypes and power dynamics. It further
reveals how the film is presented from a colonialist gaze, exoticizing and marginalizing African
cultures, landscapes, people and religion. The white men showed as the heroes saving the Dark
Continent. The study also shows the resistance to Orientalist discourses and relationship between
the Britisher colonizers and African workers. Ultimately, the research contributes to a deeper
understanding of the ways in which popular films present and control the perspectives of
colonialism and Orientalism.
Keywords: Orientalism, exoticizing, marginalizing, stereotypes, colonialism, control.
Introduction
The Ghost and The Darkness, directed by Stephen Hopkins is a movie made in 1996. The
movie is a colonial era adventure based on true events that took place in Tsavo, Kenya in 1898.
The drama that tells the story of Colonel John Peterson, a renowned engineer and hunter, is given
the task to build a bridge in Kenya in order to unite the world and save Africa from Africans.
Another character which is entirely fictional, Charles Remington portrays as a famous white hunter
who is heroic and brave in all senses. Both embark on a perilous mission to hunt down a pair of
man-eating lions in colonial Tsavo. On the surface the movie seems to be a tale of bravery, survival
and adventure in Africa. However, the dialogues and portrayal of the Africans shows how the
, Faryal Zaidi: 70174841
Bakht Zahra: 70152632
Rimsha Wajid: 70174827
American film culture has exoticized the African culture, religion and landscape. It reveals itself
to be a complex and multifaceted text that challenges dominant ideologies of colonialism and
Orientalism.
Edward Said's work on Orientalism provides a deeper analysis of the film's narrative and
imagery. It shows the ways in white Western cultures have represented and constructed the Orient
as a realm of mystery, exoticism, be wilderness and savagery. Edward Said gave the concept about
Orient and Occident. The Orients are the people of Asia and Africa, which are considered to be
inferior, illiterate, hopeless and misguided. Occident on the other hand are the Western powers
that dictate and control the world by forcing their own customs, rules, religion and culture on the
suppressed ones. Through analyzing the discourse of the film, this research aims to explore how
the film perpetuates and subverts Orientalist stereotypes and power dynamics.
Literature Review
The 1996 film The Ghost and The Darkness, is a colonial era drama that tells the story of
a true legend of man-eating lions and their hunter John Peterson, an English engineer assigned to
build a bridge in Tsavo, Kenya. This review of literature will examine the movie through the
insights of Orientalism, exploring how the film portrays the different races, dominance of
colonialism.
Edward Said’s works provides a framework for analyzing the representation of Africans
and Muslims in the film. Said argues that the Western cultures have deliberately constructed the
Orient as a realm of mystery, exoticism and savagery (Said,1978). This construction is reflected
in the movie, which depicts Africa as a place of chaos and savagery, reinforcing Orientalist
stereotypes (Shohat & Stan, 1994).
Scholars have critiqued the film for its representation of Africa and its people. According
to Hooks (1992), the film perpetuates a colonial gaze, representing Africa as a realm of savagery.
Another analyst, Diawara (1992) argues that film media reinforces stereotypes of African cultures
and portray them as primitive and uncivilized.
