Genocide in Rwanda: Intersections between journalism, history and cinema

Abstract

To tell stories is a common exercise in Jornalism, History and also Cinema. However, the way these stories are told can be different according to the method used by the professionals and the fictional dose that one’s allowed to print in their reports. Either in Journalism or in History, the professionals must research and analyze their source in order to build a report with verisimilitude and credibility. Based on historical and journalistic theories and on analysis of the images of the Ruanda’s genocide on the book We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, it is possible to consider that beyond social denunciation, journalism can also be considered an historical document. On the movies, when talking about a true story, as it was the genocide’s case, it is necessary to attempt the way it is done, mainly since there is no need of verisimilitude and they are allowed to have fictional and sentimental appeal to reach the public and stimulate emotions. By the means of cinema theories and analysis of the movie Hotel Rwanda (2004), this article aims to identify the movie focus opposing it to the book, and identify cinema as a wide-ranging mean of social criticism and awareness.