"Black characters are ciphers at best. They suffer and they grab at the clothing of our attractive leads, but they get minimal dialogue and zero depth. By focusing on the difficulties faced by foreign aid workers rather than the local people (gory injuries and thin anecdotes do not equate to characterisation), the true agenda of the film is all too apparent. This is not a film about Penn helping people, it’s a film to show how much he wants to be seen helping people. It’s self-satisfied posturing rather than film-making and a staggering misfire for all involved."
I've been thinking a lot about the distinction here, between wanting to be the kind of person who helps and actually helping. It's something I see so often on so many scales, from the grandiose promises of presidential candidates to people who speak over you to talk about how they are great listeners. But I don't think it's because the world is full of narcissists, I think it 's because of the models we have for how to be a good person, which are mostly just these presentative people We learn about the importance of being a visibly good person before we learn what it actually looks like to have a positive impact.
Related: The opposite in Attack on the Block*
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