When I heard that there was a new film out on Sudan, The Four Feathers, being set as it was in the dramatic time of the British Expeditiary Force of 1884 to 1885 when General Charles Gordon was being besieged in Khartoum, I was most eager to see it.
I’ve travelled and ministered throughout Sudan, and have intensively researched the history of Sudan, writing extensively on it. There most certainly is a great need for films to be made of this dramatic and vital period of history. A tremendous amount of heroism was displayed by British forces in the Sudan, as the film so effectively shows.
However, despite many positive features of this spectacular redemptive film, I was most disappointed at The Four Feathers. The film had much promise, it presented a powerful, personal drama and romance story, but it was fatally flawed by missing the main point of the military expedition. The central focus of the film is that there was no reason for the British forces to go to what the lead character, Harry, calls “a God-forsaken desert,” except for “her majesty the Queen” and for the glory and honour of the Empire.
That is just not true. Far from being “God-forsaken”, Sudan has the oldest community of Christians in Africa, dating all the way back to AD37 and Acts chapter 8. For a thousand years, Christianity was the majority religion of Northern Sudan. For nine centuries these Christians of the Kingdoms of Nubia, Alwa and Dotawa resisted the Southward expansion of Islam, defeating the Muslim armies and sending them retreating back to Egypt. There are numerous Scriptures (Isaiah 18, Psalm 68:31, Zephaniah 3:10, etc.) which confirm that God has a plan for Sudan. It is most certainly not “God-forsaken”!
General Charles Gordon, the Governor-General of Sudan, was a dedicated evangelical Christian who had gone to Sudan to eradicate the slave trade. After succeeding in setting many slaves free and eradicating the slave trade, he was faced with a great rebellion by Muslim slave traders, led by the Mahdi.
The Four Feathers suggests that the British forces went to Sudan for “the Empire.” However, Sudan never was part of the British Empire. Sudan later became a British protectorate. The primary reason for British involvement in the Sudan was to eradicate the slave trade there. The capital city, Khartoum, was built upon the twin evils of the slavery and ivory trade. By the time General Gordon went to Sudan, seven out of every eight Black people in Sudan were slaves. The Nile River was being used as a highway of slavery. Villages throughout Equatoria were being pillaged by slave raiders and since William Wilberforce had led the British Parliament to outlawing the slave trade, the British government had dedicated their Navy and military to the eradicating of the slave trade worldwide.
The British Military expedition to the Sudan in 1884 was to relieve General Charles Gordon, who was trapped in Khartoum on a mission to end the slave trade in Sudan. However, The Four Feathers makes no mention of the Islamic slave trade or of the primary British objective of the establishment of justice and freedom for the Sudanese.
The film does portray the tremendous public enthusiasm and support for the relief column, but does not explain that this came from the overwhelming evangelical support for the anti-slavery work of General Charles Gordon.
Another fatal flaw of The Four Feathers is how they depicted the British victory at Abu Klea as a British defeat. The Battle of Abu Klea, on 17 January 1885, was an overwhelming victory for the British. A small British relief column, made up largely of the Camel Corps, smashed the Mahdi’s force of 10 000 Dervishes.
There was also no garrison of British forces wiped out. The only two British soldiers in Sudan were General Charles Gordon and his adjutant, Colonel Stewart. They were commanding Egyptian and Sudanese soldiers.
Nor was the Officer Commanding the British Camel Corps killed in action at Abu Klea. The British forces did not flee. If they did, they would have been completely annihilated. Vastly outnumbered, far behind enemy lines, facing a numerically overwhelming enemy, sounding the retreat was not an option, nor was it considered.
In fact, no British regiment was ever wiped out in Sudan. (Could the film makers have confused Abu Klea with the Battle of Isandlwana in South Africa (1879) where the Zulus wiped out a British regiment who stood firm and fought to the last man? (Zulu Dawn depicts this battle.) Nor is there any record of the Mahdi’s dervishes putting on British uniforms, either at the Battle of Abu Klea or anywhere else, nor would it have deceived the Camel Corps at Abu Klea, as they knew that they were the only British forces in the entire region.
It was also most strange that The Four Feathers would depict the Black Sudanese hero, Abou, who assisted Harry, as a Muslim! If he was a Muslim, why did he oppose the Mahdi? It is outrageous that The Four Feathers found it impossible to portray the dynamic Christian faith of the Black Christians in Sudan, and chose rather to restrict religious devotion to the Muslims. The Evangelical fervour of the British soldiers of that time is also ignored.
The Four Feathers effectively portrays the severe dangers in Sudan at that time, and the courage and dedication of many of the British forces there. However, it is not credible to me that Harry could pass off as an Arab, especially in appearance and language. It is also highly unlikely that a mere Lieutenant would be sent back to Britain for a public relations meeting during the expedition. Nor that he would leave the sniper’s rifle on the ground in the market place and simply walk away. Also, the British army separated the camel forces from the cavalry on horseback and from the infantry. They also wore different uniforms. Yet, the central characters seemed to vary from riding camels to riding on horseback to commanding infantry. This would not be possible. There was also absolutely no warning before the assault on the British forces at Abu Klea, it was a complete surprise attack. Yet it was completely repelled by the vigilant British forces. (The Battle of Abu Klea was more accurately portrayed in Charlton Heston’s film Khartoum.)
The Four Feathers had much promise, but it is fatally flawed by missing the main point of the British expedition and by portraying a major British victory as a total defeat. The film is wrong, not in peripheral areas, but in the central focus and facts.
When I was doing the research for my book Faith Under Fire in Sudan, which also focuses on General Charles Gordon, his eradication of the slave trade and war with the Mahdi, I was most impressed by the dynamic Christian faith of so many Black Christians in Sudan. I think it is most sad that this Hollywood production ignores the courage and resilience of these Black Christians, and chooses instead to portray one of their victims as a Muslim himself. This is a distortion of both the history and the present reality of Sudan - where Christians continue to fight, an island of Christianity in a sea of Islam, fighting for survival and for their faith.
For historical review of Sudan and the achievements of General Charles Gordon, obtain Faith Under Fire In Sudan by Peter Hammond.
Human Cloning, by virtue of its achievement in the field of Medico-Science, has sparked a big controversy across the globe. In the contemporary world, being a global village, no one can claim to be untouched by it. It won't take much time to succeed in its attempt to creep into human society as the other discoveries and inventions have done in the past. Nevertheless, Religion has never left Science all alone to move on as it wished to make its way into the human society. Religion being the core of human society has always checked such developments, some time due to her vital role in the society and sometimes due to her legal doctrines that never allow her to think otherwise.
The objective of this Book is to scrutinize the development in the field of Human Cloning in the light of its intentions and implications on marriage, family and the larger society. The Author has attempted to compare the first mother called `Edenic Eve' from Christian literature, with that of `Clonaid Eve', the first claimed Human Clone from the field of Science. Also, a critical analysis of different paradigms of ethical discourses leading to a fair criticism of Human Cloning has been provided thus befitting it to be a study in the field of Christian Ethics, for Libraries, Researchers & Students alike.
Mr. Lephen Thank Kumar works as the Associate Director - Administration, of Bharat Susamachar Samiti, a Christian Philanthropic and Educational Organization which runs schools, child development projects and a reputed theological seminary. Besides his administrative responsibilities at BSS, he lectures at the New Theological College. Prior to holding this responsibility, he was the Principal of Mount Carmel Christian Academy, a high school duly affiliated with the ICSE, India.
His area of learning and teaching has been Christian Ethics and Organizational Leadership & Management. Besides holding a Bachelor of Divinity, he also holds a Bachelor of Education, MA in Sociology, a MBA in Education Management. He resides in Dehradun, India, with his wife Lydia and two children, Sambhav and Saakshiyah.
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The last few days, I have been feeling kinda crappy on and off. I thought maybe it was just the long meetings. Actually, I kinda thought it was a migraine threatening to strike, or possibly this new medication I've been taking.
Today, however, I woke up and felt awful (nothing new-- waking up at 6am usually does feel awful!), and as the morning progressed, and it continually hurt to be alive (coughing, achy-everything, crazy stomach, drained of all life...), I decided it was time to go back to bed.
I didn't get up again until 1:30! I don't think I even slept until 1:30 in college! I have little memory of life between 1:30 and now except that I talked to my mom on the phone for a long time (does everyone call their mom when they are sick, or is it just me?), and that I was dying of thirst. They turned off our water today to fix some plumbing problem, and I had that cotton-mouth, sick, thirsty feeling. Yuck! Luckily, I seem to always leave half empty (half-full?) glasses of water laying around the house, so I was able to make it until 4 when our water came back on. Whew!
My husband and I work for a non-profit that helps college students find spirituality in everyday life. We have the privilege of raising two fantastic little boys in a city that we love, surrounded by people that we love.
Trying to live a life of authenticity, love, generosity and faithfulness. Trying to grow in the person I was created to be... and having the grace to accept who I am now.
This last week, I watched (for the first time) two of those classic movies that kind of define American film: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Rebel Without a Cause.
I was so impressed with both movies! So often, I watch classic films and think "That was so good, for it's time", or I have to suspend my criticism or hold my giggles and tell myself, "This movie was made 60 years ago-- of course it's going to seem a bit cheesy or overdone."
But these movies were nothing like that. Both were deep, honest, insightful, and had amazing acting. They were both really entertaining and left me guessing through the whole movie ("Where is this going?"), without disappointing me at the end.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest dealt with life in an insane asylum-- both for those who are insane, and those who have a grasp on reality. The lines get blurred back an forth, and the result is so funny and sweet and saddening all at the same time. Plus, you get to see Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd all with hair. It's awesome =)
Rebel Without a Cause was even better. It was so honest in the way it dealt with broken suburban families in the 50's (much more American Beauty than Leave it to Beaver), and despite how raw and open it was, it managed to be sweet and innocent with a real sense of truth. I thought it would be glamorizing the tough-guy image (a-la Grease), but it was all about becoming a man and standing up for what's right (not what's cool), as well as coming alongside the lonely & broken. It was really, really good.
**Side Note: One really interesting extra at the end of the DVD was an interview with James Dean where he almost prophesied his own death. It was pretty surreal. I did a little research on each of the main actors in the movie, and they all died young in pretty tragic ways. Very sad.
Next on our Netflix list of classics: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Some Like it Hot (Marylin Monroe and Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon dressed in drag? Sign me up).