especially when he points out wellknown criticisms on aid in Africa and how corruption is eating away Africa ’ s fortunes .
He states rather proudly , “ I was actually part of the IMF group that came to rob you blind and we did … I work for a broker who ’ s acquired a chunk of your country ’ s debt . We will be handing your president a couple of millions and walking away with a cheque ten times as large .”
The nerve of this white man ! But that is only a tip of the iceberg . Things go left fast when he starts bragging about the white man ’ s superiority on how they invented the light bulb and built planes like the one they are flying on while Africans sit and do nothing about the deplorable state of the continent .
It turns out , Walter is not angry at hard-working poor Africans , rather , he is angry at African intellectuals like Ruwe who have failed Africa by failing to transfer and apply the knowledge they have acquired abroad in their home countries .
Jason Corder embraces Walter ’ s contemptibility with such passionate arrogance ; you can see why Ruwe fidgets uncomfortably in his seat , unable to fight back as this man chips away at Africa and at his own existence as an intellectual from Africa .
Ruwe ’ s helplessness and “ catgot-your-tongue ” reaction further heightens Africa ’ s weakness and inferiority that Walter is trying to prove . Perhaps , like the rest of us who feel as humiliated , Ruwe sees the hard-to-swallow truth in Walter ’ s abrasive arguments about Africa .
Ultimately , Intellectual Scum is a thought-provoking piece and may
I advise that you will need an open mind to watch this movie from beginning to end . It is not that long really , just 14 minutes . And Njue does with those few minutes what some filmmakers have failed to do in 60 minutes or more , he captures your attention and makes you really think about what Walter is saying .
However , the ending undermines the whole narrative that could have stood a firm ground without the selfrighteous newsroom commentary delivered by Kevin Samuel ( Mali ) just before the credits roll . At this point , the audience does not need any heartfelt speech about the political culture in Africa to agree with Walter , but the movie feels the need to reiterate it anyway .
Intellectual Scum is now streaming on Showmax .
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