To watch the trailer for the show:
While watching the trailer, phrases/words that stood out
were:
"saving Africa"
"make a difference"
" degree in international development"
"build capacity"
Although some of these phrases are problematic, it is
commonly seen in the world of volunteerism and development.
I think the creation of this show reveal the attitude that
some people many have about NGO and their work.
There is a growing number of people who have become indifferent to the commercials
that ask for money to save a hungry child or send a girl to school.
Furthermore, poverty alleviation work has become notoriously linked to NGO. The NGO has become a household concept.
This show, The Samaritan, criticizes the assumptions that
NGOs are always effective organizations to address the problem of global
poverty. Similar to William Fisher's article, this show ask viewers to question
the work of NGOs and not assume that NGOs are all wonderful organizations that
can replace government.
The show has manage to point out the common problems and
flaws with NGOs in a funny and entertaining way. First, the director of the NGO
in the show is a white male from London. He has a master degree in
international development and his experience includes past internships with the
NGO. The show depicts him a an incompetent man who is out of touch with the
mission of developmental work. Interestingly,
all the employees and staff were people of color, displaying the different
power dynamics that occurs in an NGO. It also brings attention to concept of
the global north coming into the global south with the assumption of knowing what
is best.
Overall, I think this is a clever show that is funny because
it is something many people can relate to and also has some truth to it.
This is really interesting! I really wanna watch the series!
ReplyDelete"I AM HERE TO EMPOWER YOU!" ~ I really laughed at this part
The director also says "I am your partner", which clearly just an elusive term some NGOs are using more and more.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this. The ironies are so obvious, and while the show is meant to be funny, it does seem to shed light on important issues such as the dynamics within an NGO's operations, and the questionable work of many NGOs. Still, I think that the concept behind the show is still oversimplified and doesn't give enough credit to NGOs with the real goal of creating sustainable change in poverty settings. Other issues like that of how the widespread rise of NGOs has antagonized governments and governmental efforts, are also important to think about when it comes to challenging the notion that NGOs are the solution to all. It would be interesting to follow the show and see whether they go into these concepts or not. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI think this video is brilliant. The satirical points of view that they bring up are real and are very funny all at the same time. I think you made a good choice in blogging something different other than your current practice experience because it brings about more knowledge about the world and can bring up different topics for various other dialogues about the work NGO’s do and the effects they have on governmental systems. Humanitarian efforts and volunteerism are one of the ways in which we can combat global poverty and it is just amazing to know that they brought this to another level to see others points of views on this matter. I am really interested in seeing other shows from the series to see more of the director’s point of view.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everybody. I myself really liked this video too because you can tie in all the contradictions that we discuss in GPP 105 and 115. I like the intervention that NGOs give, but the work done by them should still be analyzed. For instance, how does their goals address the issues of poverty? Who comes up with ideas for these goals? Who should speak for those that need help? (like we have seen in GPP 115)
ReplyDelete