The People We Civilized

1944 18mMovie

Interesting, almost ethnographic, sequences on peoples of southern and central Angola, show the diversity of their customs and the richness of their cultures. The images often of quality are not devoid of a dominant look that frames them as exotic. The Euro-centric commentary on the exaltation of “lusitanity” is rather paternalistic and even contemptuous: “All these peoples are Portuguese and love Portugal, what a wonderful destiny it is for this country that came to civilize them and lead them on the paths of spirituality after having opened the roads of the world.”