First-year students; First-year students
An 84-year-old first-grade pupil, he studies in a rural primary school not far from Nairobi. His life experience is rich, and his schooling process is full of legends. This is the story of the film "First Grade Students" co-produced by Britain and Kenya. This story is based on a true story, and the oldest first-grade pupil in the world has also been selected into the Guinness Book of World Records. He just died a few years ago. Before his death, he went to the United Nations General Assembly to talk about the significance of education to world leaders.
Maruge is an anti-colonial veteran. As a member of He Miaomiao Party, he took part in the War of Independence and lost everything in it. His wife, children and his legs live alone and tenaciously. He could have died peacefully, but the announcement that the Kenyan government provided free education for all rekindled his ambition and determined to learn to write before he died. Long-term life experience tells him that all power is in the pen, and only knowledge can change the fate of individuals and countries. At the same time, he has a secret in his heart, and he wants to read a letter that is very important to him personally. To this end, he took various measures, that is, entering the primary school in the village. The difficulty of admission and his tenacity can also be compared with his past experience. The so-called small village is just a hut on the grass. It's full, barely enough to squeeze the children in the village. Where can such an old man be buried?
His admission process was quite interesting and touching. He touched the audience and the headmistress of the school. When he bought a school uniform from the street, modified it himself, and finally came to school with crutches and school uniforms like a boy scout, interacting with those children with yellow teeth jumping around and sitting in the classroom to learn ABC together, it really made people laugh and feel a kind of admiration. Of course, his reading also caused quite a storm, and in the end it was of course a very happy ending. This film doesn't use any technology. The director just told the story honestly, but the power of the story itself attracted the audience. From the movies, we can not only see the scenery of Kenya, but also know its history and get a glimpse of its reality. This is a democratic country, and the power of political power is supervised; This is an open country, and a small thing in the countryside can attract news organizations such as BBC and CNN. This is a country with traditions, and traditional customs still have considerable power among ordinary people; This is a country where modernity and poverty are mixed, with modern and beautiful skyscrapers and dusty and dilapidated streets.
In people's impression, Kenya is a relatively stable country, and the United Nations headquarters in Africa is in Nairobi. This country is located in East Africa and is the birthplace of mankind. Kilimanjaro and East Africa National Park are famous tourist attractions. The He Miaomiao Party, composed of Kikuyu, the largest local tribe, was once a British colony and finally gained independence. This history of fighting for independence is shown in the film through the memories of the old man. In fact, this history is also a big background of the story. Knowing that period of history and the feud between Kikuyu and Kalenjin people can better understand the psychology of the old people in the story. Kenya was in power for a long time after independence, and the multi-party system was implemented in the 1990s. The opposition party won the general election at the beginning of 2 1 century and introduced a series of reform measures, one of which was the implementation of free primary education for all. This is the background for the elderly to apply for admission.
Although the film was co-produced by Britain and Kenya, it was actually mainly shot by the BBC, and most of the directors and main actors were British. Interestingly, this film reflects the defeat of the British Empire and the war aimed at overthrowing British colonial rule, but it was shot from the perspective of Kenyans rather than British people, putting Kenyan tribes on the side of justice and courage. The courage of the British to reflect on history is still very thought-provoking. For historians, it is more important to dwell too much on the old accounts of history and argue about the right and wrong of history. For the government and ordinary people, it is enough to learn from history. Going out of history and facing the same future may be a more rational attitude. What is wrong in history is wrong, and frank admission does not damage Britain's great power style.
Although Kenya is a fairly developed country in Africa, it is still a poor country. About half of the people in the country are below the poverty line, and the illiteracy rate of the people is quite high. In such a poor country with poor national quality, it can still maintain national stability and economic development after 20 years of multi-party elections, which shows that democracy and poverty have nothing to do with quality. The government does not have to worry that ordinary people will not take care of themselves. As long as people are empowered, people will finally make good use of it. Fairness, justice and wisdom are in people's hearts. Another thing that makes people feel deeply is that in such a poor country, the government can realize the importance of education to the country and take out money from its meager financial resources to implement free primary education for all. Such a government is a truly visionary and enterprising government, which can only be achieved by a government elected by the people.
At the end of the film, 84-year-old Maruge learned to spell and read this important letter. It was a letter written by the President of Kenya, paying tribute to him and deciding that the state should compensate Maluge for his suffering in the anti-colonial struggle for so many years. We learned from the letter that Maruge was imprisoned four times and spent the whole 1950s in prison. And because he didn't give up his oath, he was treated inhumanely in prison. He graduated from primary school, but he still has ambitions to study veterinary medicine. He told the teacher that he wanted to learn to be a hundred years old until he entered the coffin. He firmly believes that children are the future of Kenya and they have their own writing ability. His behavior also encouraged more Kenyan children to enter the classroom.