The bottle is an object of western society, a society that forcibly tried to rid Africa of the traditional beliefs and customs that Xi holds and lives by. That evil, and the greed, worldly possession and selfishness that come along with it, are things that didn’t exist before the arrival of the bottle. Mythology intersects with the film’s historical context as well, since Xi’s goal is to rid his people of the ‘evil’ that came with the Coke bottle. Uys mines this effect through Xi’s belief that everything he encounters related to modern society is of divine origin, starting with the glass Coke bottle he perceives as a gift from the Gods, and continuing with Steyn and Kate, whom he perceives as actual Gods, their jeep, a man in the desert, a sheepherder’s flock… The film also uses a DavidĪttenborough-like narrator who creates a documentary-style atmosphere for the viewers, using language that is subtly condescending and referring to Xi almost as a young child learning the basic stepping stones of life. The film uses tropes similar to those of Hollywood films in their treatment of Native Americans, featuring the uncultured ‘savage’ being completely out of place in a ‘civilized’ society. The film’s humor comes through the counterpoint between modern African society in Africa and traditional tribal culture that hasn’t yet been touched by modernity. Uys taps into traditional African tribal culture to humorous effect with Xi and his belief that the Gods were responsible for sending his tribe an empty glass Coke bottle thrown from a plane. Both films are framed by mythical, cultural, gender-related, racial, and socio-political contexts, and integrate those in disparate ways to reflect their directors’ visions.Ī central theme of both The Gods Must Be Crazy and Dust Devil is the nexus of African mythology, culture, and politics. Dust Devil exists on the polar opposite side of the spectrum, assuming a dark and ominous tone, as a demon stalks the desert of Namibia killing those who already seek to end their lives.
The Gods Must Be Crazy takes a humorous tone in telling the story of how ancient tribal African culture blends with a modern African society heavily influenced by white western culture. The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980), directed by Jamie Uys and Dust Devil (1992), directed by Richard Stanley, are two films that, while similar in certain themes and settings, differ dramatically in approach.
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