Cinematic Representation of Development and Commodification of the 'Other'

Sammanfattning: As a growing number of popular films continue to document development issues related international development, it became ever more crucial to move beyond treating these films as mere sort of entertainments and start questioning how these popular commercial films are representing the developing world as well as the messages embedded in them. Some critics have pointed out that these Hollywood-produced films are made to entertain and earn profits, and they represent what is actually a complex issue with their own biases and assumptions. This study aims to see how these popular films are representing developing world and the issues related by analyzing two popular films that fall into ‘development film’ category: Blood Diamond (2006) and Avatar (2009). Through the lens of Orientalism and Lauren Berlant’s notion of the ‘intimate public’, this research analyse the narrative of these two films. The study concludes that these two films are reproducing the ancient stereotypes of the developing world, as well as the hegemonic ideas of the West. In addition, the research finds that the popular films examined are commodifying the ‘other’ subjects represented, through fantasies of achieving wealth and romance created in their narratives.