Reviews for Father and Son emphasised that the film ‘contrasts the outlook of the old and young in Kenya’ (MFB, October 1946, 143) and provides a ‘battle between modern medicine and old magic, compass and chart as opposed to hoping for the best’ (DNL, 1946-1947, 9). Yet it is how the film represents this contrast between ‘the old and new generations in East Africa’ and indeed its narrative conclusion that are of most significance in understanding the British attitudes towards East Africa immediately after the War.

The film, in common with many instructional ethnographic pictures, features the local customs of the Africans and opens with a shot of a local, partially clothed African, shown carrying water. The man, with blackened teeth and white beard, is displayed in close-up, while the British commentary assumes the voice of the local Africans. The chief passes a schoolhouse, which the commentary describes as ‘a strange white building. Like all new things it disturbs him a little, yet he’s interested to know what curious rites are celebrated here’.The film, through the commentary – ‘strange’, ‘new things’, ‘curious’ – differentiates and subordinates the African. Later, on visiting the British doctor, the voiceover again speaks for the chief when stating ‘curiously he looked to see what witch craft the white man used’. The description of ‘the white man’ again sets up this clear sense of difference between the viewer and the African subject. 

The contrasts between the old and new are evident throughout and in many cases these divisions are indicated by costume. For example, the chief looks through the schoolhouse and sees an African in jacket and tie teaching. At a party to celebrate his son Kamal’s return there is dancing and music, but while the camera offers close-ups of the locals dancing without tops on, Kamal is depicted in his full naval uniform. This uniform serves not only to underline his detachment from the local traditional community, but also to illustrate the cause of this division between old and new – the War.

The impact of the War is emphasised within the commentary – ‘Petty Officer Kamal has seen much that is new’, and ‘He is proud of his knowledge and efficiency’. The film does show Kamal’s continued affinity to his home – ‘he is glad to return to the village’, ‘this is his home’ – but aligns the returning servicemen more closely with the British. This is most explicitly shown when Kamal chooses British medical aid over the local witch-doctor. The film does not depict any antagonism between the returning servicemen and the white settlers, but rather suggests that any dissatisfaction is a result of ‘the old fears and superstitions that still haunt his people’. In its representation of traditional Africa ‘where people live as they have for centuries’, Father and Sonprioritises the ‘modern’ Africans, and presents these ‘educated’ Africans as fully supportive of the British.

Visual Education criticised the film’s conclusion for not explicitly promoting the modern over the old, yet such criticisms overlook an important function of this narrative. The film, in emphasising the ‘gradualness of the processes of education’, implies the continued need for British involvement in Africa. Kamal serves as an example of the positive British influence over the local communities, but the failure of his father to change emphasises that this process – ultimately towards independence – is gradual and ongoing. 

Tom Rice (April 2008)