Customer Reviews

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai by Lisa Merton & Alan Dater [DVD] ISBN: 978-1-57448-237-9 [New Day Films]

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Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, considers the life work of the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts at educating rural women about ecology and self-empowerment. Their efforts to revitalize the local landscapes worked successfully against deforestation, poverty, ignorance, embedded economic interests, and violent political oppression.

Prior to watching this documentary I knew a little about Wangari Maathai, but only a little. I knew she was the leader of the Green Belt movement in Kenya, encouraging women to rejuvenate their deforested lands by learning to plant trees. What I didn't realize was that her vision was not merely aimed at ecological restoration, but at empowering people who had become accustomed under colonial rule to accept the status quo and the powers that be. She was no mere "tree hugging liberal" but literally put her life on the line to revitalize her country through education and example. The documentary tells the story of how Maathai grew up in a small village, was educated in the United States and returned with bold ideas only to find that opinionated women were not respected by the existing power structures in Kenya. She fought back in ways that initially didn't seem like fighting: by planting trees. Where there are trees, the earth doesn't erode as easily, and water stays in the ground. More importantly, while planting trees the women were empowered to realize they could make a difference. Eventually, the efforts to preserve land put them in conflict with entrenched political interests, and their successes led, directly and indirectly, to real political impact and change.

The film tells its story effectively. There's nothing very novel in the actual telling, it is a fairly standard PBS-style documentary; the footage is accomplished but not very interesting, and images are edited mostly as illustrations for the plentiful talking heads and voice-overs. Still, it conveys an important story, that is both inspiring and shocking. To realize that all this happened within my lifetime was quite sobering. A very important documentary that should be seen by anyone who wants to create change, or by anyone who fears that they are too small or isolated to make a real difference.