The traditions in their community are subtly evident on the movie. At first, we can observe some people chanting whilst wearing some sort of a costume. It reflects their ritualistic tradition on begging for rain. There is also another scene during the re-opening of their community where Chief Wimbe started delivering his speech. Chief Wimbe wears a traditional attire of their community that reflects their political way on having and following a chieftain. Moreover, in the entire movie, the tradition on connectedness with nature is seen. The tradition of plowing the dry fields is a manifestation on what the community members only know and do for their living. At the end of the movie, this tradition is highlighted and is infused with positive perception due to the windmill and water irrigation that William built.
As for the government, the movie depicts an unrest that results to more poverty and corruption. The government unrest is subtly foreshadowed in the scene where some local teenagers beg for William to fix their radio. On this scene, when the radio is fixed, we can hear a news report of planes hitting buildings in the U.S. This scene portrays how their community received the news about the 9/11 attack defining the movie’s timeframe. Due to the 9/11 and followed by its destabilizing impacts, the community of William shared the same suffering as their government crippled them more in poverty. On the movie, their government serves as an instrument for strife as manifested on the crisis in their community. Since the government turned into a corrupted one, William’s community suffered from food shortage and inequality on receiving goods from the government. Thus, due to this government, many people fled.
Despite William’s family believing in Christianity, the religion observed in the movie are paganism and Islam. There is a scene where Agnes, William’s mother, shared that she and her husband, Trywell, promised that they will never be a stereotypical African family. In this context, being a stereotypical African family means those who still practice paganism, i.e. “praying for rain like our ancestors do”. This scene depicts how paganism is being rejected by William’s parents because they both assert that they are “modern people”. It may also be interpreted that as time goes by, the pagan practice no longer holds strong power on African people due to some innovations, mostly brought by foreigners. Furthermore, at the death of Chief Wimbe, there are some men who prayed an Arabic prayer; hence, Islam has its own exposure in the movie. The burial ceremony in Islam is also seen in the movie. For this, the movie emphasized that multi-religion occurs in William’s community, but it does not separate from each other—only the famine does.
Finally, the movie highlights the value of education. We all perceived William as both an inventive and a curious kid. Since he witnessed natural and man-made plights, the only resort he went to is education. Through education, William is abled to take a pursuit on planning, and eventually creating, the first windmill in their community. However, the movie also highlights how the educational system in their community looks like—expensive fee, old classrooms, battered blackboards, and aged wooden chairs. On the scene where William’s school and classroom is depicted, we can observe the underlying poverty in their education. This can translate into having a poor educational system leading to the school to close amidst the famine since as per the headmaster, “There is no teachers and no students”.
Additionally, the scene where a teacher found out that William is not paying his fees anymore, the teacher accused William on “stealing from other students”. This scene can be interpreted on how African teachers heavily rely on the tuition fees for their salary. And if one student failed to pay their fees, it could snow ball into something worse, i.e. lowering the teacher salary resulting to more poverty on African teachers. Despite the struggles of the school and William, the school still managed to expose how beneficial can it still be through its library. The library on the school became both a training ground and a repository of knowledge for William. Through the librarian, Ms. Sikelo, and the available books in the library, William managed to self-study everything related to his windmill project. And with the assistance of one of his teachers, Mr. Kachigunda, his pursuit on building the windmill for water irrigation and electricity became possible.
Overall, pressing issues on traditions, government, religion, and education can be observed in the movie. These topics helped to mold the entire atmosphere of the story, creating an impactful narrative. Through these aspects, we shared the experience of William on his losses and victories.
Tags: movie review, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Malawian inventor, windmill, famine, true story, drama, inspiring, LifeThinker
Author: Christian Loid Valenzuela
