The Review

In the documentary God Grew Tired of Us the Lost Boys of Sudan are portrayed in a humorous light. While the subject matter of the film is naturally somber, the directors of the film consistently shine light onto the small conversations and actions of the Lost Boys that highlight an omnipresent spirit of hope and humility. For example, a long scene is dedicated to explaining the origins of the so-called “White House” that was established in the refugee camp- a small detail that displayed the inner-spirits of the refugees of South Sudan. The humorous take allowed viewers to move from a state of pity to a state of appreciation. Humor is an intrinsically human emotion; thus, actively working to incorporate moments of humor helped to evolve the refugees’ image from that of a suffering fool to that of an optimistic opportunity-seeker.

Overall, the film failed to incorporate key elements of a refugee’s journey. The film, in essence, depicts a refugee’s journey to asylum as fun and exciting, using humor to highlight a positive enthusiasm. So far, the film does an adequate job of not painting Western humanitarian efforts as the “ultimate hero”, which is the tone Fadlalla warned against. In his Urban Anthropology, Fadlalla notes that many Western humanitarian efforts work to prove the neoliberal belief that safety and success can only be attained by “[being] brought back to civility” (Fadlalla 106). In other terms, many Western, neoliberal humanitarian organizations acquaint success with Western developed societies and savagery with the underdeveloped bush lands of Africa. This association is dangerous because it fuels the ego of the powerful Western hegemon dominant in the international system today. The film does a decent job of avoiding this ego-fueling formula by allowing refugees to speak directly for themselves and by showing the happy energy of the refugees (which works to disrupt the humanitarian assumption that all people fleeing from tragedy are innately suffering beings).

However, one prominent fault of the movie is that it does contribute to Western society’s tendency to “[produce] simplistic understanding[s] of the conflict, which obscure[s Africa’s] complexity and embeddedness in both national and international politics” (Fadlalla 105). In the beginning of the film, the conflict between North and South Sudan is merely described as a religious contention between Muslims and Christians. The simplification of the conflict contributes to the refugees’ helpless and simple image, which in turn, allows Western humanitarians to dehumanize the refugees into small objects in distress. In this way, the film fuels the egotistical mindset of the Western hegemon.