Jonah 2013- Kibwe Tavares

 Jonah 2013- Kibwe Tavares

Jonah is based on the bible story Jonah and the whale. This short film highlights self reflection and be careful what you wish for, as does the story.

Being based on a story, Jonah includes lots of fantasies in order to keep a dream like feel to the film. Mbwana is fed up of his village. The village in the film looks beautiful, but poverty stricken. Jonah is successful in highlighting issues behind tourism and questions; Is it the answer to poverty? Tavares uses Mbwana dreams to answer this question and show the effects tourism has on poverty stricken villages.

 

Tavares inspiration came from the book The Old Man and The Sea, we can see this through Mbwana and the jumping fish. Tavares also wanted to include his own experiences in travelling, therefore he based the setting on fishing villages he had visited. The two main characters were based on a group of "beach boys" In Lamu who gave informal tours. We can see these traits in the two main characters as they appear to work for what they can.

The village is not the only way Tavares presents the effects of tourism in poverty stricken countries. The jumping fish can also be a representative of effects. Before tourism the jumping fish looked colourful and healthy. After tourism and being used to rope in tourists the fish is covered in litter. The colour of the fish appears dull. Despite having an obvious way to show the effects, Tavares uses the fish to also highlight these issues