Life 6 (review)

Life 6 is an educational series by Bullfrog Films that presents the viewers with the dilemmas faced by specific individuals in the sociohistorical and economic context of their communities in the midst of an increasingly globalized world. The series is a Bullfrog Films production that was in part funded by Oxfam-Novib, the European Union, the World Bank and the Open Society Institute, among other organizations.

One of Life 6's purported aims is to showcase the problems faced by individuals around the world in light of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A focus on the MDGs, however, is not what always comes through as the unifying thread in the episodes viewed by the Africa Peace and Conflict Network (APCN). Although some focus on education, gender equality, development, and the fight against poverty, the recurring theme of most of these episodes is the struggle for social justice, individual agency, the impact of globalization, and the protection and achievement of human rights. It is the focus on individual cases and personal perspectives in order to tell the local stories that deviates from an overview of the MDGs. Perhaps if the episodes would have started by addressing which goals they cover, reviewing their current status globally, and then moving on to the case studies, the connection between the MDGs and the episodes would have been more prominent and effective. Instead, the stories showcased are too rich in background information, and limiting their analysis to the MDGs undermines their straightforward, yet easily understood, complexity. Furthermore, it is difficult to frame the episodes exclusively in the context of the MDGs because these goals are rarely addressed individually; most likely, work on fulfilling specific MDGs in one region goes hand in hand with the struggle to achieve other goals simultaneously. The episodes of Life 6 do not showcase this interrelatedness of the goals.

The tremendous power of the brief twenty-to thirty-five-minute episodes that comprise this series lies in their ability to capture the complexity of the lives of those subjected to Western influence. Inextricably exposed to foreign values and customs, these individuals must reassert, defend, or challenge their local identities, cultures, governance, wealth distribution, and practices of achieving justice and reconciliation. Life 6 largely represents these issues objectively and analytically, inevitably leading viewers into discussion and debate about them both inside and outside the classroom.

For the average viewer, the price of the series might make it inaccessible, but academic institutions that have the means to make it available for screening by teachers either at a high school, college, or graduate institution will find Life 6 a valuable educational resource. The series contains eleven episodes with case studies from around the world, including Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe. The APCN was allowed to view the six episodes on Africa and they are the focus of this review.

Episode one, "Edge of Islam," examines the internal debates about the influence of Western culture—via globalization—on the local cultures and traditions of an East African community in Lamu, an island off the coast of Kenya. The questions of whether and to what degree such influence should be accepted are investigated through the dilemmas faced by Muslim high school students. The differences in their perspectives, from the conservative youngster to the one that dreams of having a Western girlfriend and becoming a soccer star, are contrasted with the views of an imam and other local people. The imam, for instance, offers the viewers insights as to how the community's values have changed over the last few decades with the opening of the local real estate market mainly to European buyers and tourists. His conciliatory tone explains to the audience how these two worlds can be compatible without disrupting the essence of one another, but it is also to a degree nostalgic, as religious leaders have been unable to stop behavioral influence (e.g., the way young men behave towards girls and views on dating) that challenges religious beliefs and attitudes.

In Episode four...