Critical Analysis Of Modernism In Heart Of Gold

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ANALYSIS OF HEART OF GOLD
The film, Heart of Gold portrays the altered relationship people of Akim Abuakwa, a state in the Eastern Region of Ghana, had with gold. The film shows how the people of Akim Abuakwa saw gold to possess a spirit. This perception has changed over the years because gold is now a major source of wealth and it contributes to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Looking beyond the relationship the people of Akim Abuakwa had with gold, a critical analysis of the film reveals concepts such as griots, language and African literature, modernism and national consciousness which are discussed in this paper.
A profound analysis of the film revealed one of the key roles of griots. As an African, I can proudly say that Africa …show more content…

The modernist illustrates some major identifying features of modernism in a literature piece and one of these features is the language used. A text is considered a modern literature piece if it makes use of a national language such as the English Language (Hallen, 2011). Based on Hallen’s argument, the Heart of Gold is not a modern literature piece because it was predominantly in Akan.
Another identifying feature of a modern literature piece is industrialization. Hallen (2011) indicated that a modern literature piece portrays an industrial world. A scene in the Heart of Gold which involved a conversation between Kwasi and the blacksmith showed that gold was processed on the small scale when the blacksmith offered to turn the gold to jewelry for Kwasi. Again, this scene showed that the film is not a modern literature piece.
Also, the modernist believes in reason and rationale (Hallen, 2011). That is, every argument must be supported by scientific proof or a logical explanation. In the film, the ‘galamsay’ miners expressed a common belief; they believed in offering sacrifice before digging for gold because gold was perceived to possess a spirit. This belief cannot be explained scientifically thereby disqualifying the film from being a modern literature

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