Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Leadership
While watching Hotel Rwanda, I noticed that during times of distress, everyone tries to find somebody to lean on. In many cases, everyone leans on the same person. In Hotel Rwanda, everyone, both Tutsi and Hutu, are always looking to Paul for guidance. He is the one with the answers and the plan for how to hide and survive. Paul is also responsible for saving people from being victims of the genocide. The fact of the matter that annoys me is that no one ever thanks Paul. They feel like since he has the money and the power (he is running the hotel), his responsibility is to take care of everyone. I disagree with this phenomenon because I believe that Paul is no different mentally and emotionally than anyone else in this genocide.
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Some great points here-I especially like the bit about how no one ever seems to thank him. I agree wholeheartedly with the part about how everyone leans on him, and it is a testament to Paul's strength of character that he continues to keep his head high. In times of crisis, it is indeed the case that people look to a powerful commanding presence. In this highly unusual scenario, Paul was the only real authority figure availble, so it isn't particularly surprising that the unpleasant task of keeping everyone alive falls to him. It ought to be said that he is remarkably resourceful under pressure, such as when he bribes the Hutu officer for the lives of his family and friends. I could see Paul being a great leader someday.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that no one thanks him. Sometimes it isn't audible when you are given thanks. I never saw a hint of gratitude from the europeans, but all of the orphans who arrived, all the people from his neighborhood, when they look at him their eyes say the thanks that their mouths do not. When he tells people that it is okay if they can't pay their bills, they look at him with thanks. He is trying to maintain the environment of a five star hotel as well. Hotels are set up around service, and he probably would prefer that people do not bow down to him in thanks, that would be diminishing to the hotel's aura. Also, the movie shows only the most dramatic moments of the conflict, thus any moments where he receives thanks from the people he saved may be implied, and skipped over by the movie. In all, I bet that he was thanked, but he was probably too busy to have time to listen to long speeches, all he had time for was a thankful glance.
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