11 Great Zimbabwe novels that should be turned into movies

 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

Book Review: March of the Titans by Arthur Kemp

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 abilities. Whites will create a social system that is unique to them. Blacks will create a civilisation that mirrors their culture. Asians will construct a civilisation that only they can build. Blacks will never build a white civilisation and whites will never build a Asian civilisation. Different races and groups evolved in different climates and have certain attributes that helped them survive in those environments. When Whites become a minority or disappear, the civilisation will reflect that. When blacks become a minority or disappear their society will go along with them. Which is why whites were able to build a European-like civilisation in Africa and why Africans built an African-like civilisation in the Caribbean.

Whites are too extroverted to form an ethnostate

Kemp mourns the fact that white civilisations get overrun by non-whites and eventually die off. But that is only because whites invite foreigners in. White civilisation follows a cycle. First they expand, then they assimilate non whites and finally they race mix into oblivion. The Greeks, Romans and Indo-Europeans were all expansionist and created multi-cultural empires. And multicultural empires inevitable lead to race mixing. The Chinese and Japanese nations tend to be more introverted. Historically, they have tried to close off their societies from foreigners. The Chinese built a massive wall to keep out the invaders and during the Tokugawa Shogunate the Japanese banned all foreigners. That time of introversion is impossible for whites who have a wanderlust that is a blessing and a curse. Ultimately, it does seem that Europeans will become a minority in their own countries. The fact that they do not have many children certainly does not help. 

The "White Man's Burden"

During the age of conquest, Europeans believed that they had to carry the "white man's burden" which meant it was the duty of white people to look after the uncivilised masses and bring them civilisation. It is true that white colonisation brough many benefits but colonisation was certainly not a charity event. Back then the 'white man's burden' was just an excuse to conquer and plunder the world. The "uncivilised" races did not beg whites to come and save them. Back then the Africans, native Americans and Australian Aborigines just wanted to be left alone. Today the coloniser has become the colonised. London looks like Kabul and Paris looks like Lagos. Europe is being quietly conquered by the children of those who demanded freedom from colonialism. 

With that said, today the white man's burden is a real thing. Millions flock to Europe and America to look for jobs and a better life. It is very clear that non-whites cannot take of themselves in a highly advanced technological world. Only the North East Asians are capable of maintaining a first world country. Now the white man must decide if he still wants to carry the burden or shut out the non-whites and leave them in the "shit hole" countries to languish.

Sloth and Lust

Sloth and lust have been described as deadly sins. And truly, lust and sloth will destroy civilisation. The need for slaves and cheap labour has been the death knell of many civilisations. If a people are too lazy to do their own menial labour and get slaves and cheap labourers to do it for them, in time the slaves will become a majority. And sooner or later the ruling elite will race mix with the slaves and everything will fall apart. That is where the lust comes in and people begin having sex for fun and not for child making. Homosexuality, porn and prostitution become prevalent and the population decreases. 

Ethnostates are the best societies

Multiculturalism does not work. The minority will always chafe and complain about oppression whether real or imagined. Multicultural empires are fragile and can only be held together by brute force and suppression like in Russia and China. On the other hand ethnostates such as Japan and South Korea tend to be relatively peaceful. One cannot be an empire and an ethnostate at the same time and Europeans and Americans are finding out the hard way.

A glimmer of hope?

Orania is an Afrikaner only town in South Africa. There are about 3000 white Afrikaners in Orania. They do their own labour. There are no black garderners and domestic workers there. The sad thing about Orania is that it should have been done sooner. If white South Africans had done their own labour from the get go, South Africa would look like Australia. If Europeans did their own work today the Caribbean islands would be like Europe. But alas, laziness and greedy have led Europe to its darkest hour. 

Europe has survived plagues, famines, world wars and violent invasions. But time will tell if they will survive their own misplaced altruism and their need to assimilate foreigners and turn them into English and French citizens. If history repeats itself it seems Europe will go the way of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. Today Egypt and Greece are a former shadow of themselves. The descendants have fallend from grace and are not as mighty as their ancestors. Spain and Portugal are no longer great empires. Was it because of race mixing or other complex reasons? If Arthur Kemp is right then it was interbreeding with non-whites that spelt doom for European civilisations. Time may prove him right or wrong. Is he a racist bigot or a realist prophet? Is he the voice in the wilderness that no one cares to listen to? Will Europeans disappear into the evolutionary dust bin like Neanderthals? Only time will tell.

If you are interest in learning more about Arthur Kemp, check out this video below.

I wasted 2 hours of my life watching The Northman

 

I had heard about The Northman movie many times from Youtubers and from the critics giving it raving reviews.  How The 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 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 years had passed, a mother would know her own son.

How did the Slavs and the Viking Scandinavians communicate? I thought they spoke different languages.

Where did the ravens come from that freed Amleth when he was tied up? I can't figure out where there is magic or not in the film and whether it's real or not.

How was one man Amleth able to kill all the men belonging to Fjolnir his uncle? Amleth is a one man army like Rambo who has plot armour until the very end.

The Positives

Though The Northman was a awful movie apparently it was an accurate description of life amongst the Vikings and Scandinavians. If The Northman is accurate then the Scandinavians must have been barbarians. All the human sacrificing, cutting heads of horses, raiding and killing show that the pre-Christian Scandinavians were savages. I can now understand and appreciate Christianity for civilising the Scandinavians. Today there are the most peaceful and civilised people in the world thanks to Christianity.

I loved the twist in the story when Amleth finds out his mother was involved in the plot to kill his father. I did not see it coming and it was exciting to watch.

But all in all The Northman took 2 hours of my life I will never get back. I wish I never watched it.

Book Review : Mugabe by Martin Meredith

 

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, sending millions of Zimbabweans into exile, becoming a thorn in the side of South African citizens. Mugabe is the man who did not hesitate to kill and imprison his political opponents. His one and only goal was a one party state with him as president for life. 

With that being said, Mugabe was to some people a freedom fighter, a revolutionary and a hero. That side of Mugabe is not talked about in Martin Meredith's book. To his disciples, Mugabe was a man who gave freedom, education and land to his people. He was a bulwark against imperialism and its running dogs. He was an eloquent speaker and orator. He was an educated man with multiple degrees. He was a teacher before becoming a politician. 

Most political careers end in failure and Mugabe is no exception. In the end he was an old tyrant betrayed by his protege in Mnangagwa. He is a man who spent his last days sulking and brooding about the coup that evicted him from office after 37 years of unbridled power. He died in a foreign country in luxury whilst his people starved. At the end of it all Mugabe won the world and yet lost his own soul.

Lessons from the book

1. Black leaders should write their own biographies

Though he portrayed himself as an intellectual, Mugabe did not pen his memoirs or write his own story. Unlike Mandela and Ian Smith we never got his side of the story. He died without telling us his secrets, his thoughts and his motivations. Thus, it is imperative that black people write their own stories or else white people and foreigners will set their narrative. Mugabe's name will be forever besmirched by his detractors. If he had written his own life story the future generations would get his side of the story. Perhaps behind the suits, degrees and fluent English Mugabe was just a political gangster, unruly, uncouth and uncultured. He was no different from the Idi Amins, Bokassas and Mobutus of the world. He was just your typical African dictator who can't let go of power. Mugabe proved Ian Smith right and affirmed the racist belief that no matter how educated black people are, they are culturally and biologically incapable of building and maintaining advanced civilisation

2. Great speakers don't always make great leaders

Democracy is a system that favours sweet talkers and politicians that can tell lies and make promises they can't keep. Demagogues like Hitler and Mussolini proved that being a good orator does not mean one will be a good leader. Gone are the days when a ruler had to prove himself on the battlefield to show he was a leader. In the pre-modern era, men and women had to personally lead troops into war to show their mettle. The Alexanders and Julius Caesars of the world were men of action and not smooth speaking politicians. Mugabe is one such a leader who gained popularity by his silver tongue. He did not hold a gun and fight on the front lines against Rhodesians. He was a speaker and orator, first as a teacher and as a politician. Mugabe had the power to dazzle audiences with his perfect English and humour. But at the end of the day, he was a terrible leader and all his speeches could not save the Zimbabwean economy or his political career.

3. Power is an illusion

In the series Game of Thrones Varys asks Tyrion a riddle about a sellsword in a room with a king, a priest and a rich man. Each great man bids the mercenary slay the other two. Who lives and who dies? Varys then says that power is a trick and it resides where men believe it resides. Thus a small man can cast a very large shadow. In the case of Mugabe this is true as well. For 37 years he cast a very large shadow. Through guile, threats and violence he was able to hold a grip on power. Via media and propaganda Mugabe was able to brainwash a whole country into following him. But at the end of his life, that trick could not fool the people any longer. Even his party comrades were tired of him and ushered him out. 

But what I take from the Varys quote is that power ultimately resides with the sellsword or mercenary. It is the soldier and the armed man that has power. Without the men of arms a rich man, king and priest are powerless. Such is the case with Mugabe. Without the support of the army he was no great man to be feared. Without his soldiers he was nothing more than an old senile man. And this is the case in every country all over the world. Power resides in weapons and the men who know how to wield them. Like Mao famously said, 'Political power comes out of the barrel of a gun.'

Final thoughts

It seems to me it was destiny for Mugabe to rule. I am not a man of faith but it does seem Mugabe survived death too many times that one could believe he was ordained to be president. Why didn't Ian Smith kill him when Chitepo and Leopold Takawira were assassinated? When Mugabe drove out white farmers and openly mocked USA and Europe, why was he not taken out like what happened to Gaddafi, Saddam, Lumumba and Sankara? Perhaps like they say, the good die young. And Mugabe being an evil yet intelligent man, was fated to live a long life that brought misery to many.

To his fans, Mugabe was a hero who gave Zimbabweans liberty, learning and land. To his critics he was a heel who brought death and destruction, misery and mayhem, poverty and pandemonium, hunger and havoc to his people. Whatever he was, Mugabe will be remembered and talked about for generations to come. Whether history damns him or vindicates him remains to be seen.