Mark Anderson Writes

 There are so many great Zimbabwean novels that should have been turned into novels already. It is a shame that they have not converted these captivating tales into cinema. In no particular order. Harvest of Thorns by Shimmer Chinodya A book about the Rhodesian bush war also known as Chimurenga 2. Action packed and full of drama. Takadini by Ben Hanson I read it in a high school. It's about an albino boy growing up in a hostile environment in precolonial Africa. Nguo Dzouswa by Aaron Chiundura Moyo Written by Zimbabwean literary legend Aaron Chiundura Moyo. It delves into the treacherous world of politics. China Manenji Hachifambisi by M.A Hamutyinei Jekanyika by Francis Magugu Tambaoga Mwanangu by Giles Kuimba Maidei by Mordekai Hamutyinei Sajeni Chimedza by J Kawara Nhume Yamambo by N.M Mutasa Mlimo by Mziki Soldier Blue by Paul Williams

March of the Titans by Arthur Kemp is the complete history of the White Race. To summarise it suggests that all civilisation comes from the White Race and race mixing with non-whites lead to their destruction. The ancient Egyptians were white. The ancient Sumerians were white. The founders of the Chinese civilisation were white. The ruling elite of Roman empire were Nordic whites. And all the great civilisations collapsed when whites race mixed and interbred with non-whites thus bringing their societies to ruin.  Now I am not a historian, archaeologist or biologist so I do not have a clue whether Arthur Kemp is right about whites being the source of all civilisation. However, I did enjoy the book and it is a delightful read. Though it is 1689 pages I sailed through the giant book like it was a pamphlet. My thoughts on the book Culture is a product of race I think Arthur Kemp is right in stating that a certain people will create a society and a culture that reflects their intellectual

  I had heard about The Northman movie many times from Youtubers and from the critics giving it raving reviews.  How Northman got 90% on Rotten Tomatoes I will never understand. Many times I had heard people say it is a great movie and fans were heaping praise on the film. So I decided to watch the Northman. I was expecting to see something akin to Ragnar from the Vikings series. And I was disappointed. I felt like I wasted 2 hours of my life. The Northman is a poor man's Hamlet. The magic scenes and hallucinations are too long and waste a lot of screen time. The ending was very unsatisfying. I am not one for sad endings that seem pointless. It would have been better if Amleth and Olga escaped and lived happily ever after. A few things did not make sense to me Where did the boat come from that got Amleth and his blonde girlfriend, Olga? So Amleth and Olga escape and all of a sudden there is a boat waiting for them? How could Queen Gudrun not recognise her own son? Even if 20 yea

  One of the best books I ever read on the former president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe is the work of Martin Meredith called Mugabe : Power, Plunder and the Struggle for Zimbabwe. It is easy to read because Martin Meredith is a natural writer. It feels like you are having a conversation with a friend. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Zimbabwe. My thoughts on the book Mugabe does come across as a bit biased. Yes, Mugabe was a tyrant. He has been described by his numerous enemies as the 'apostle of Satan' and a 'bloodthirsty Marxist'. Mugabe is a man who had the blood of innocent people on his hands. He is a man who didn't die a hero but lived long enough to become the villain. Mugabe oversaw the Ndebele genocide known as Gukurahundi in the early 80s. He was the architect of the disastrous land grabs that saw white farmers driven off their farms thus causing the downfall of the Zimbabwean economy. Hunger and poverty would be the result, s

I just watched the 8 episodes of the Rhodes series that was created in 1996. I encourage everyone to watch it. It looks at the life and career of Cecil John Rhodes, the mining magnate and imperialist. Cecil John Rhodes is often painted as an oppressor, racist and evil man. But Rhodes makes the viewer sympathise with Cecil Rhodes. It humanises him. I would give Rhodes a 9/10. Every episode is well written. The script is impeccable. The acting is realistic. The costumes are flawless and are an accurate portrayal of the 19th century. The cinematography is breathtaking and the soundtracks heighten the sense of adventure. You feel like you are a part of the journey with Cecil John Rhodes. Do watch Rhodes. It is free on Youtube. With that being said, it is amazing what Rhodes achieved in such a short life. He died at only 43 years old on 26 March 1902. Was he a racist? Yes. Was he an ambitious imperialist? Yes. But he was also a man of his time. If he was alive today Cecil Rhodes would pro

  A few shows are able to remain interesting and consistent. Sopranos, the Shield, Breaking Bad and the Wire were fun and intriguing from beginning to end. On there other hand there are tv shows that started out great and somewhere in the middle they lost their way and the story got stale. Vikings Vikings was and is one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. The opening music theme set the tone and got me at the edge of my seat. Ragnar Lothbrok was one of the most charismatic characters I have ever seen. The actor that played the part did an amazing job. The first three seasons of Vikings were enthralling. There was action, battle scenes, romance, comedy and drama.  However, after Ragnar dies in a pit of snakes, the series went downhill. The whole story of his three sons looking to avenge the death of their father started well but became nonsensical. I doubt the real Ivar the Boneless crawled on his belly. Looking at the character who played Ivar moving on all fours was unbearable.

I am tired of the Cleopatra films and American slave movies. Every few years they churn out these movies and people are tired of it. I speak on behalf of the whole world when I say we are sick of Cleopatra and slave movies. I will never understand why the following events haven't been depicted on the film. If I had a billion dollars or a magic wand I would turn these historical events into movies. The Maccabean Revolt 160 BCE A group of Jewish zealots fight and defeat the Seleucid Greeks. Judah Maccabbee is the Jewish Braveheart. The Roman Jewish War and the fall of Jerusalem 66-73 CE A great historical event that still has ramifications to this very day. The destruction of the Jewish temple was a moment that haunted Jews for thousands of years and yet no movie has been made about it.  The Bar Kokhba rebellion and the third Roman Jewish War 132 CE Another moment in history that had great consequences. It led to the exile of Jews from their homeland for thousands of years and the re

 It seems like the American gangster genre is dead and buried. In the past few years we have gotten a few films about the gangster and they were all lackluster. The Irishman was overrated and garbage. It was too long and the CGI was not very realistic. People only pretended to like it because it was Scorsese and Pacino and Robert De Niro and Pesci.  Gone are the days in the 90s when we had Scarface, Goodfellas and Casino. Gone are the early 2000s when we had the Wire, Breaking Bad and the Sopranos. Maybe Hollywood is too obsessed with super hero movies and don't care about the gangster genre anymore. Nevertheless, there are still many stories to be told in the gangster genre. There is still a fascination with the outlaw who lives by his own rules. One of the few series that I appreciate is Narcos. It does not glorify crime and paints the mobsters as the vicious bandits that they really are. Gomorra was also another television show that was very realistic and did not sugar coat the

 A multitude of movies have been made about Mandela. A few series have been made about Shaka the Zulu. But I hope one day we get to see the story of precolonial African leaders who fought against colonialism and were great and capable rulers. Below are books about the men.  Sekhukune king of the Pedi He fought and defeated the Dutch and deserves to be put on screen. Mzilikazi king of the Ndebeles He was brave and intelligent. Fought the Zulus, Boers and Griquas and survived.  Dingane king of the Zulus Brother of Shaka and king slayer. He resisted the Boers and fought them at Blood River.  Maqoma legendary Xhosa warrior He fought against colonialism and participated in the Cape Frontier Wars against the British. Moshoeshoe king of the Sotho Founder of the Lesotho nation and bulwark against imperialism, Moshoeshoe deserves to have his life put on screen.

 It's unbelievable to me how these three books haven't been put on the cinema. Hollywood makes movies about everything but Africans fail to honour their greatest books by depicting them on film. Hopefully one day one of these books will be put on television. God's case no appeal by Dan Fulani. Read it when I was a kid and I will never forget it. Awesome story. Mpho's Search by Sandra Braude Read it in Literature class in high school. It's a sin that noone made a movie about it. Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta This book brought me to tears they way it ended.

  A Song of Ice and Fire could have been one of the greatest stories ever told. It found its way onto television via HBO and the world got to witness great story telling in the form of Game of Thrones . For four seasons the world was captivated by the world that George RR Martin had built. We felt like we knew the characters on our screens. We cried for Rob at the Red Wedding and grieved when Ned Stark got beheaded. We felt a mixture of joy and sadness when the wicked Joffrey choked to death. And when David Benioff and Dan Weiss ran out of book material the show became a parody of itself and lost its way. Game of Thrones became all about "subverting expectations" just like George Martin had done to the fantasy genre. George Martin did not want to have heroes in white and villains in black. He wanted morally ambiguous characters where good does not triumph over evil. And thus Game of Thrones became a caricature of that staple. From season 5 to the horrid finale it was all ab

  In 2007 the controversial last episode of the Sopranos, Made in America aired and was the last chapter of the Sopranos universe. Personally, I didn't like how it ended. I think Tony died and there are many signs that Tony got clipped in front of his family as revenge for Phil getting killed in front of his wife and grandkids. Signs like 3 o'clock, the bathroom homage to the Godfather, the orange tiger behind Tony are signs he got killed and the waitress pointing to her head are all signs Tony got shot in the head. If it was up to me, I would have liked to see either the trial of Tony Soprano and ending the series with Tony of a bus going to jail as Woke up this morning played in the background. Or I would have preferred the same ending but with a gun shot right before the black screen and the member's only jacket man wearing a NY hat showing it was New York behind the hit. I doubt anyone really liked the ending. Perhaps, David Chase wanted an ending that would have people

 Just finished reading Chaminuka Prophet of Zimbabwe by Solomon Mutswairo. It was written in 1983. It is about Chaminuka, the spirit medium who  It's a good enough read but I had a few problems with the novel. It should not be read as a historical text and thus there are some historical inacurracies.  Chaminuka seems like a minor character. He appears in less than half of the book. Most of the novel is about other characters and their trials and tribulations. You finish the book without knowing or understanding who Chaminuka was. The writer does not delve into Chaminuka's thoughts and feelings. I did not get a sense of what Chaminuka's motivations were. He just appears on the page like a ghost or an otherworldly figure. Solomon Mutswairo simply writes what was already known about Chaminuka's life and does not really add anything new. My second criticism is that the writer stuffs a lot of politics and tribalism into the book. Prophet of Zimbabwe seems like an anti-whit

  Team America : World Police might seem like a silly comedy about puppets at first glance but it isn't. Team America is a movie that transcends comedy. It is a critic about Hollywood, politics and makes fun of everything American. I enjoyed the movie and implore anyone who hasn't watched it to give it a look. It is funny and while you are laughing the truth is injected into your subconscious.  The best part of the movie is about assholes, pussies and dicks. Dicks just want to fuck all the time. Pussies think everyone can get along. Assholes just want to shit all over everything. Sometimes the pussies get mad at dicks for fucking them but dicks also fuck assholes and if they didn't everyone would be covered in shit.  The final speech is also a goldmine. Gary explains how the pussies keep dicks in line but sometimes pussies are so full of shit they become assholes. It is an analogy that is apt and can be used to relate to everything from dealing with noisy neighbours to glo

 Animal Farm by George Orwell aka Eric Blair is one the greatest books ever written. It is a parable about farm animals driving off the farm owner and taking control of the farm. The pigs lead the animal revolution but soon turn on the animals and become the new oppressors. The book ends with the animals failing to see the difference between the pigs and the humans. Animal Farm was really a jab at the Soviet Union and their revolution. The Bolsheviks led the revolution against the Romanov dynasty then turned around and became the new oppressors who may have been worse than the old oppressor. But the theme of new boss same as the old boss is not only relevant to the Soviet Union and the Bolshevik revolution. The freedom fighter turning into an oppressor is a story as old as the hills. It happened when Napoleon became an emperor. It happened when the American founding fathers continued the slave trade and stealing land from the Native Americans. It happened when the Maccabeans became He

 This is a fantastic read that should be turned into a movie. It is about Mzilikazi son Mashobane, king of the Matabele nation. Mzilikazi is one of the handful of African warriors who emerge from the Mfecane wars of the early 1800s that saw the wars of Shaka cause havoc across pre-colonial South Africa. Mzilikazi is born to a small chiefdom and is caught between the conflict between Zwide of the Ndwandwe and Dingiswayo of the Mthetwa. Dingiswayo is beheaded and Mzilikazi picks a side and becomes a trusted friend and general of Shaka who later becomes king of the Zulu. For whatever reason, Mzilikazi rebels from Shaka's rule and heads north to create his own kingdom but he will have to fight against Boers, Griquas and Zulus as he journeys. Path of Blood is action packed and paints a picture of a highly intelligent, ambitious, brave and yet cruel African warrior and king. Peter Becker is a natural writer. Every sentence holds the reader captive and the mind does not wander as you tur