Below The Surface

Bunmi, who actually is Nigerian, unlike the rest of us tossing around ideas around District 9 in these parts has a fascinating, comprehensive look at the question of how Nigerians are portrayed in the movie. I'd quote from it, but I can't pick between the sections on Pentacostalism, Albino killings, or Italian prostitution rings, and besides, if I chose a section, you might not go over and read the thing in full.

This kind of thing illustrates what I love about blogging, particularly arts blogging. At its best his stuff goes so deep, and is so intertwined with so many cultural strands that I think it's impossible for any of us to unpack all of them on our own. I feel incredibly lucky to be in conversation with folks like Bunmi, who I don't think I'd have stumbled onto if I hadn't started blogging in the first place, and all of you who comment and email. As I've said before, this is a big voyage of exploration for me. It's nice to have folks who illuminate the way for me.