The Short Representation of the Chaos in Hotel Rwanda

By Jae Yong Shim

Introduction

[1] Hotel Rwanda, despite being a moderate commercial success, receives strong criticism from critics, especially from African scholars. According to these critics, director Terry George fails to represent the chaos of Rwanda. First, Rwanda genocide is triggered by complex and numerous features, yet George oversimplifies the situation, simply dichotomizing good versus evil. Hence, the critics suppose that either George does not understand the Rwandan background or the situation is too complex to be captured on film. Second, they denounce George for the lack of violence. Violent images do not appear as much as expected in a film presenting the massacre that killed 800,000 people; critics point out that without violent images the film cannot portray the real slaughter . Nevertheless, there is a scene that well-represents the chaos with relatively explicit expression of violence -- the "Ambush" of Hutu extremists on UN convoys carrying refugees out of Hotel des Mille Collines (1:28:57).

Brief Summary of the Scene

[2] Briefly elaborating the scene, the refugees in the Hotel des Milles Collines call their families, relatives, and friends abroad for help. As a consequence, some of refugees attain exit visas to Belgium and other African countries. The United Nations peace corps take those with the exit visas to an airport; however, Interahamwe finds out about it and ambushes the UN convoys. Colonel Oliver attempts to protect the refugees on the back of convoys, yet, outnumbered, the UN corps is, in fact, powerless. During the confrontation, refugees are attacked and injured. Eventually, the Rwandan regular army intervenes. It is hard to say which side the regular Rwandan force takes, but, because of the intervention, the confrontation ends, and UN convoys with refugees escape back to the Hotel des Milles Collines.

Analysis

[3] First, the disorder in Rwanda is represented in the figure of Interahamwe. Interahamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization. It is unofficially supported by the Rwandan government and military. However, the militia depicted in the scene of Hotel Rwanda appears to be unorganized, and an unorganized Interahamwe represents the chaotic situation of Rwanda in 1994. There seems to be no leaders -- Hutu extremists act on their own. In addition, ambush is often a highly strategic military operation, but, in the film Hutu extremists do not show any strategic movement. Rather, they are dancing and singing on the road by which the UN convoys are expected to pass. When the UN convoys pass by, the dancing and singing rapidly turns into violence. Two opposite images -- singing and violence -- coexist in one place at the same time, illustrating the fact that there is no order in the society of Rwanda.

[4] Second, the RTLM radio broadcasting station is another device to depict the turmoil. Throughout the movie, RTLM radio broadcasting has significance. It is a mode of propaganda and communication for Interahamwe. In this scene, a radio is particularly important since the radio broadcasting actually make Interahamwe members attack UN convoys, acting as a chain of command. Additionally, the crucial point that radio has is that the listeners are the general public. In other words, Hutu extremists consist of almost the entire population, and they play parts in the genocide. Mohamed Adhikary says, "A unique and disturbing feature of the Rwanda genocide was widespread popular participation in the killing. While over 12,000 suspects were jailed by the RPF government by the end of the decade, many more participated directly in the killing" (279). The fact that the whole nation is involved is the most important piece of evidence of chaos, and the radio is something that engages every Rwandans in the atrocity.

[5] Next, there is yet other evidence of chaos in the reversed power structure. Throughout the film, it is clearly manifest that the Western hemisphere always has the upper hand -- the destiny of the Rwandan people is often determined by Western countries. For instance, when the Rwandan army orders refugees to leave the hotel, Paul Rusesabagina contacts the Sabena Airlines President, a Belgian, to stop the order. Nevertheless, the power structure is reversed in the scene. The UN peace corps that represent the West are powerless in the scene. Although they carry guns that should be superior to machetes , their power is limited. All they can do in the scene to protect the refugees is to fire blanks and yell at the Interahamwe. On the other hand, the Interahamwe that represent Rwanda and use inferior weapon -- machetes -- ironically appear to be stronger. Interahamwe not only outnumbers the UN peace corps but also has a degree of leverage in the situation. They stop the convoys and tell Colonel Oliver that they are going to search the convoys. Hence, the structure of power in the scene is the opposite to what is expected from the audience, displaying that the society is in chaos.

[6] Lastly, the turmoil in the society is expressed through the regular army of Rwanda, led by General Bizimungu. It is apparent that the army is in support of Interahamwe. Nevertheless, General Bizimungu also sends the police to Hotel des Miles Collines on Paul Rusesabagina's request, which is followed by the bribery to protect the refugees. Likewise, in this scene, during the ambush, the regular army intervenes but does not take either side. The regular army both stops the attack of Interahamwe and the flight of the refugees. Indeed, the regular army is capable of controlling the situation. General Bizimungu and his army, however, are not interested in stopping the genocide, only bearing it. Rather, they merely follow material interests, increasing the disorder in the society. Hence, they too are sources of the turmoil. In addition, the army that forgets its responsibility to protect citizens and their own country represents the chaos as well.

Conclusion

[7] In conclusion, the ambush scene is significant because it gives Hotel Rwanda an identity as a genocide film. The scene that lasts fewer than five minutes may be insufficient, considering the importance of the genocide in not only Rwandan but also World history. This point is especially brought up by African historians and scholars, and their criticism is understandable. However, Terry George, the director, at least, deserves praise for using a black hero and offering the first movie "with mass appeal to deal with the genocide in Rwanda" (Adhikari 281).