Mister Johnson Is a 1990 Movie Based on the 1939 Novel by Joyce Cary. It Details The

Mister Johnson is a 1990 movie based on the 1939 novel by Joyce Cary. It details the British attempt to bring their version of civilization to the continent of Africa. Civilization in this movie is in the form of a road that will connect the large city of Kano with the outlying villages and therefore opening up trading routes and the opportunity for prosperity. Both the movie and the novel on which it is based demonstrate the conflict between both the culture and characters of colonial Nigeria in the 1920s. The Africans in the movie are portrayed in a myriad of ways. The main character, Mister Johnson, has a strong desire to cast off his African heritage in exchange for the British lifestyle. He abandons native garb for a more westernized look. He refers to England as his home – even though he has clearly never been there. In the end his downfall closely mirrors that of the British Empire: both fail due to overextension. Good point, although he is clearly connected to his fellow Africans. Johnson’s Machiavellian approach to problem solving ends ultimately with him being fired and eventually executed. Waziri is the local spiritual leader. He is depicted as conniving but also clever. He seems to recognize the threat of imperialism, and even pays money for information regarding the British plans. But what exactly he plans to do with this information is never fleshed out in the film. Maybe just guard against British undermining Emir rule. Most other Africans in the film are used to juxtapose the culture of the indigenous people against that of the British occupiers. Some natives adapt the “if you can’t beat them, join them” attitude and dress like Brits, whereas the majority still wear native clothing. The British characters in the movie are presented as generally superficial. Indeed. Sargy Gollup, owner of the general store, exhibits a ghastly form of racism. He regards Africans as a sub-human species living on a sub-civilized continent and demonstrates his feelings by repeatedly beating his servants. Officer Tring is a “by the book” man who also demonstrates a disdain for the location of his posting. Only officer Harry Rudbeck tries to make the best of his circumstances and is shown exhibiting any conflict at all regarding his actions and how they affect not only Johnson, but also the village in which he has to dole out British justice for African crimes. When Rudbeck’s wife joins him in country, a montage show her experiencing the same kind of culture shock that most of the viewers would if put in a similar position. Chinua Achebe adverse reaction to the Cary novel probably is due to several reasons. Cary’s depiction is limited to his own experiences in Africa. In 1920 Cary was an aspiring British officer attempting to help African villages by building roads. Interesting. Almost twenty years later he wrote Mister Johnson, a novel about an aspiring British officer attempting to help African villages by building roads. This telescopic drawing point is probably not how Achebe envisioned his homeland to be presented to the western world. Achebe probably thought that a Nigerian, and not an outsider, would paint a more accurate (and sympathetic) portrait of the country. This novel might be considered a colonial tragedy because the main efforts of the British in the movie were an exercise in futility. What worked to connect the continent of Europe is quite obviously not going to work in Africa. The failure of England’s attempts at further colonization also marked the end of England as the world’s most powerful democracy. Reviews of the movie were and are generally positive. Upon its release, Roger Ebert wrote that the movie was attempting to, “re-create a moment in colonial history when many people both white and black believed in the rhetoric of official idealism, even while it was rotting from within.”1 This assessment is right in line with our class discussion during which the empty ritual, and superficial adherence to tradition by the main character only brought more attention to the ultimate failure it underscored. Negative reviews of the movie are focused on the lack of depth in movies that use historical Africa as a backdrop.2 We never do receive much, if any, knowledge of traditional African culture, and even Johnson’s motivations. The director, Bruce Beresford, shows an affinity for the subject matter. After moving to England from his homeland of Australia, Beresford found little success trying to break into the British film industry. He then took a film editing job in Nigeria, where he worked for two years.3 Success would eventually come to Beresford when he directed Driving Miss Daisy, Wow. See any connections? which won the Academy Award in 1990 for Best Picture. Such success gives a director carte blanche in choosing future projects; and the one he chose was Mister Johnson. Beresford would go on to direct A Good Man in Africa four years later in which the premise is also the conflict between British and African culture. I am in general agreement with what the critics have to say about Mister Johnson as a motion picture. It is no Driving Miss Daisy – but I do not think that the director Beresford was aiming at accolades here. I think he was utilizing his commercial success to make a passion project that mirrors his own journey to Nigeria. His attempts to succeed in Britain led him down the same path as Cary and Rudbeck, and into the continent of Africa. Rudbeck’s desire to finish the road reminded me of another British officer, and his quest to finish a large engineering 1 Ebert, Roger, “Mister Johnson,” Chicago Sun Times, April 19, 1991, accessed September 23, 2011, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19910419/REVIEWS/104190301/1023. 2 “Mister Johnson,” IMDB, accessed September 23, 2011, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102458/externalreviews 3 “Bruce Beresford,” Absolute Atronomy, accessed September 24, 2011, www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bruce_Beresford project – Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Both projects are ultimately futile in their attempts to change a culture by means of a ambitious public service project. It was stated in class that it is hard to be sympathetic to Johnson because he is a criminal. But I see Johnson as a tragic figure brought down only partially by his own ambition. And possibly a victim of being squeezed by two cultures. Johnson is used by Rudbeck to finish his road, his wife and her family for wealth, and by Waziri for information. Once finished providing these services, he is cast aside. His wife betrays him by turning him in for reward money. Waziri attempts to mutilate him when he can no longer spy for him. And finally Rudbeck fires him for doctoring the books. In the end, the only one who does not get what he wants is Johnson. Bibliography Ebert, Roger. “Mister Johnson.” Chicago Sun Times, April 19, 1991. Accessed September 23, 2011. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19910419/REVIEWS/104190301/1023. Absolute Astronomy. “Bruce Beresford.” http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bruce_Beresford. IMDB. “Mister Johnson.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102458/. .

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