Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by mr grits (A) on April 28, 2012 at 21:19:50

A mediocre film about a group of photographers in South Africa covering the violence leading to Mandela's election and the end of Apartheid. Mired in its own lack of star power and clear direction it did convey the true story of the young men who carried the cameras and ran into the fog of violence to capture the moment.

One of the club members snagged a Pulitzer for a man, bathed in flames, about to catch a Zulu' machete in the head. The Zulus did not like Mandela because he wanted all blacks on strike and they believed they should work to support their families. Because of this, the Zulus were secretly aided by the SA government with arms and ammunition.

The real story was Kevin Carter a native SA who won the club's second Pulitzer. He needed money badly (drug problem) and took a side trip to the Sudan. He captured the above picture and left immediately to catch his plane back to civilization. At his Pulitzer presentation he was asked about the fate of the girl. He had nothing. He fumbled around and it became apparent he did nothing to help her. This haunted him from interview to interview and made his life unbearable. He taped a hose from his exhaust to his truck cab and called it a life.

In the Wikipedia link their is a second account for what Carter did when he took the picture and it is worth taking a look . . . .

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kevin-Carter-Child-Vulture   (Open in New Window)