This documentary consists of three episodes in which Professor Diamond from UCLA is trying to find answers to some of the most interesting questions of today’s civilization, its causes and roots. The suggested answer is a simple one and as we go through the documentary we realize its truthiness. He gives obvious answers, but simple at the same time. I strongly recommend everyone to watch this movie so that he/she could go into an epic and historic journey and acquire better understanding of the past and series of events that lead to where we are today.
The name of the first episode is Out of Eden. In this part the sentence that carries the biggest question and a search for answer is the question asked by a native from Papa New Guinea: Why you white people have so much cargo and we do not have? The author explores the reason of appearance of the first civilizations. He uses the parallel with the native people from New Guinea because they live in the same way as they have lived thousands years ago. He assumes that people from all over the world lived in the same way; they were nomads moving from one place to the other in search for food. However, after the ice age, the first settlements appeared in the Middle East. Why was that so? The answer is easy- thanks to the geography and mild climate. All of ancient civilizations have something in common: good organization, technology and large population. Farming was the turning point is human history. When people found ways to keep, store and reproduce food, they started forming settlements and producing more food that they can eat, so they could feed people who were in charge in the community for other things (engineers, handymen). Another breakthrough was also the process of animal domestication. At the beginning they used animals only for their meat, but later they discovered that they can also use their milk, hair, skin, force. The invention of plow increased food productivity. In general, people who lived where the climate was mild and protein food could be produced were able to develop the greatest civilizations in the world (ancient Egypt, Greek, Mayas) On the other hand, people from New Guinea have lived in the same way, producing only low-protein food, and the only animal that was brought from Asia was a pig.
The second episode of this documentary is about Spanish conquest of ancient Inca and it is called The Conquest. Turning point and collision of New and Old world occurred in 1532, and the question that professor Diamond is trying to answer is: How did the Spanish conquistadors won and overcome such a powerful civilization of Incas? The answer also lies in the geography. The Spanish had germs, steel and guns, while the Incas had none of the above. Even though the Incas were large and well organized society the only domestic animal that they had was the lama and that is why their immunity was not prepared to fight the disease such as smallpox and viruses. Europeans have been living with domestic animals for thousands of years and their immunity became resistant to these germs. They also had a horse, which was used for transportation and battles. Some of the best swords were manufactured in the town Toledo in Spain and they had good technique for their manufacturing. That was enough to scare and intimidate Incas, so even their army was large, they were defeated by the 160 Spanish Conquistadors.
In the third part of this documentary, Professor James Diamond explores the effect of guns, germs and steel on the Africa. He is trying to find answers to the same questions: why did the Europeans conquered so much, are they better or more intelligent that others, what do they have that other civilizations didn’t? In this episode he is exploring the tropical areas in Africa. Before the arrival of Europeans, natives lived scattered across this vast continent in high cottages, prepared and immune from the most devastating disease in Africa-malaria. Europeans first came to the south of Africa where the climate was similar to the Europe, brought their animals and farming with them. When they started to move towards the tropicals they encountered a silent killer-malaria. Even though they had all of the main attributes on their side-guns, germs and steel, germs started to work against them. Thousands of people and animals died. This was an unknown territory for them. They noticed that the seasons were different that from the seasons in the Cape, and the crops didn’t succeed. Then, they noticed other resources that could be explored-rich resources of gold and other metals. They built railroads that enabled them to exploit and transport goods to Europe, and they had free work force-Africans. Nowadays, professor Diamond witnesses a malaria death toll in Zimbabwe. Malaria is killing so many youngsters. The main reason lies in the abandonment of the old lifestyle in Africa. On the other hand, Malaysia and Singapore share the same tropical climate but are one of the most developed countries. Why is that so? They spotted the threat from malaria and fought against it. So, they are an example that wealth and good life can be obtained in this part of the world.
This movie emphasizes inequality of wealth throughout the word and its causes in an understandable and reasonable way. The author follows a pattern that establishes the cause of the creation of ancient civilizations- geography. It may sound as a bit unfair answer for people from poor parts of the world, but this should not discourage them, because who knows what will the future bring? The author tries to encourage people to learn from the past and the best possible way to do so is to understand history.
References:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/guns-germs-and-steel/episode Out of Eden
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/guns-germs-and-steel/episode Conquest
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/guns-germs-and-steel/episode Tropics
