The God's Must Be Crazy

Having put in three and a half weeks of hard work at the translation principles course, I wanted to reward the Gmz candidates with a fun night. So, on the Tuesday of the final week, I told them to come extra early for dinner. For if we finished eating by 6:30pm, we would have enough time to watch a movie as old as I am, “The God’s Must Be Crazy.” In preparation, I had previewed the entire movie that morning, wanting to make sure that the comedy scenes would not be seen as discriminatory against the rural, tribal people (like the Gmz). On the contrary, I was impressed. Not only was the 1980 humor still just as funny today, but it was ingenious how they portrayed the clash of cultures and the problems that arise therein. Each culture had its background, its assumptions, its values, and each acted appropriately within them. Plus there was plenty of action and not a whole lot of the plot rested on the spoken words. It was perfect for the Gmz audience.

 

“Now, how can I gain some language data from it?” I thought that afternoon as my mind wandered from the topic of the workshop. I can’t pause it all the time and get a running summary of the action as that would take way too long and we’d never finish the movie. I can’t silence the sound and have them give a commentary on it because that would ruin the movie-watching experience and they would most likely miss the plot completely. Yet, how can I get some complete events, spoken in natural, full-sentenced Gmz?

 

Not long before they arrived for dinner, I had it. I scratched out a list of nine different scenes that were self-contained, action-packed, and often humorous. I would then pause the movie at the appropriate spot and ask for a volunteer to explain the next scene. Once the daring volunteer was chosen, we would resume the movie until a second pause cued the speaker to retell the scene into my digital recorder for later analysis.

 

The plan went perfectly. As I introduced the movie, I asked if anyone had ever seen it and Addisu got very excited, “I have never seen it but I have a T-shirt with that logo on it,” he said pointing to the title screen on my laptop. “The elders at my church say that I cannot wear it because it is sacrilegious.” I explained the very important difference in English between God and gods, and gave a brief background to the movie before launching in.

 

Each of the guys did exceptionally well in retelling the scenes I had chosen, giving me great data for studying down the road. But, it certainly wasn’t just a work-related night. All nine of them were really involved in the story and burst out laughing at just the right times. All-in-all, it was a great night for strengthening our relationships with one another and planting common memories for more laughs down the road.