In the film from 1980, "The Gods Must Be Crazy," written and directed by Jamie Uys, one of the members of a tribe in the Kalahari Desert named Xi embarks in an adventure through unknown civilizations that coexists in the Kalahari Desert due to an empty coke bottle. In my opinion, this film is a well-organized set of scenes that illustrate the many different points of views from extremely different cultures that come about each other throughout the movie. The main characters of the film like Xi, mentioned before, Ms. Thompson, and Andrew Stein, among others each describe a different culture and viewpoints. .
Xi and his tribe live in unity and happiness and their relation with family and the gods is highly treasured. They do not believe in good or bad and no social class or punishments exist. They have no knowledge of ownership and are unaware of the rest of the world. For example, in one of the scenes, Xi finds himself hungry and decides to hunt killing a goat, and is later arrested by the police. To Xi this is not bad, but in the eyes of the society and police it is a crime. Xi and his tribe are also very understanding of the nature around them, respecting both human and non-human life. .
Although to some, these conditions are not typical, the film portrays the Bushmen's living to be a life of well-being and gratification. Another character named Andrew Stein, a biologist who is studying the local animals in the desert is quite more civilized. Along with Ms. Thompson, who comes from the city where modernization reigns, each person is an individual with beliefs, routines, and personality. In many occasions this characters wound up together in many unexpected ways showing the cultural differences among them.
To me the different viewpoints of each culture are impressive. To begin with, their perception of beauty shocked me as Xi encounters himself with Ms. Thompson and describes her a hideous individual, while in Andrew Stein's eyes she comes of as a beautiful blonde, thin, wonderful women.
