Writing An Analytical Essay: Blood Diamond

Analytical Essay: Blood Diamond
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Institution
Analytical Essay: Blood Diamond
What economic issues are presented in the film, and what are their consequences? What roles do transnational corporations play in these issues? Are they responsible for the political and ethical dilemmas that relate with their businesses? Why?
From 1991 to 2002, Sierra Leone was involved in one of the bloodiest civil wars in history. From the conflict, the country’s infrastructure was severely damaged, creation of refugee camps holding more than two million refugee, and the mutilation of more than 100,000 people. The scenes were bad and the whole world was drawn to the atrocities. During the war, no one was spared. Women were raped, villages were burned down, children were killed, young boys were recruited into the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and thousands of men were killed. The country was in chaos and everything could be tied to the vast diamond resources the country had. Initially, the RUF fought for the people and was simply trying to air their views against a corrupt government that was using diamond to enrich a few people. However, greed got in the way of reason and soon the RUF turned the country into a bloodbath. But questions began to emerge, is the consumer of the diamonds the main culprit in this story or the blood thirsty groups like RUF. Blood diamonds or conflict diamonds as they are called funded the RUF’s activities but should light be cast on the consumers or the transnational corporations which seem to making millions of dollars off these wars? In retrospect, one would argue that these corporations fund the wars because they are the ones that keep groups such as RUF alive. The film Blood Diamond directed by Edward Zwick and released in 2006 seems to ask a few questions over who is to blame when such wars are to blame. Is it the blood thirsty groups like RUF or the money-hungry transnational corporations? By carefully analyzing and breaking down the above question, this article seeks to elucidate on how the consumer can also often become the culprit and use their position to knowingly or unknowingly cause political and economic sabotage.
One of the issues presented in the film is obviously the notion that consumers can also be in the wrong. While in most occasions the buyers often come under fire for their actions, it is indeed essential to also start shedding light on the actions of the consumers. Corporations led by money-hungry individuals often consider the numbers and the profitability of their businesses. Most of them do not care about the lives of the people in the war-torn countries but only that they make profits at the end of the financial year. The repercussions of their actions are that enough money is generated to fund the war and promote heinous atrocities in some areas. “Current estimates are that conflict stones account for only 15 percent of the market. But in a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry, that means hundreds of millions of dollars are available for weapons in these conflict zones” (Blood Diamond, 7:55-8:06). While on paper the blood thirty groups like RUF look like they were running things in Sierra Leone, the real culprit here was the consumer who agreed to purcha...