America before Columbus - Film Critique Assignment

America Before Columbus is an informative history documentary that shows the life in Europe, prior to the European exploration, the Columbian exchange and its impact, and the conditions after the Columbian discovery of America. It does a wonderful job of putting basic factual information that is readily accessible in a different perspective. Usually, life prior to and after Columbus found America is told from the Native’s point of view but America Before Columbus tells us the same story from Europe’s standpoint which makes the audience see things in a new light. Directed by Cristina Trebbi, the main cast of this documentary includes Victor Garber and Hans Mittermuller as Narrators, Nathan English (Geochemist) as himself, Andrew C. Isenberg as Professor Isenberg, Callum Roberts as Professor Roberts and Joachim Radkau as Professor Radkau.

The documentary starts with a brief introduction of America as an undiscovered world and its natural wealth, diverse wildlife, verdant forests and rich resources. It then shifts focus to the living conditions in Europe, how Europe had limited land, animals, and resources, but still advanced in harnessing wind-based power and agriculture. Going back to life in America, it talks about America’s first explorers, Mesoamerica and how native americans lived and key civilizations like the Incas, Aztecs, native American Nomads, Puebloans/ Anasazi, etc. A large portion of this section centers around how these tribes started, their practices as an advanced society, the tools they created and utilized, their architecture, agriculture and staple crops, and how they came to end.

Then, it talks about Christopher Columbus and his men sailing west to find Asia and how instead he finds the paradise, America. This led to many other Europeans wanting to pursue this route to America. As the Spanish explorers came to America, they got the smallpox disease with them,killing many natives as the disease spread. After invading America’s resources and sending them back to Spain, England sent out people to defeat Spain in the 17th century.

The documentary concludes with a discussion about how America evolved into a country that could support a better life, religious freedom, blooming business (sugar production), and higher quality livestock.

There are a lot of things I enjoyed about the movie. Firstly, I liked the great video quality of the documentary. With the exceptional organization, explanations, and animations, the documentary made key ideas come to life. This helped me better understand concepts than studying it from a static textbook as I’m a visual learner and remember better with graphic presentation of information. Secondly, I really enjoyed the background score and soundtracks used in the documentary. The music director, Paul Rabiger, sets the mood in the starting of the documentary with powerful and lively music. Finally, I liked how the information was structured throughout the film as a form of a high quality and clear eyed documentary. It blends information about the history of civilizations, their lifestyle with the living conditions in Europe. Though it goes back and forth, it combines all the facts together to provide a concise explanation.

Despite all the positive aspects about the movie, there were a few aspects that could have been different or better. For instance, I felt the title of the movie gave me the wrong impression. When I first read the title of the movie, I thought it would be more about what happened in America until the Europeans got there but the movie’s main focus was from the European perspective with their influence of the US, native American civilizations, Columbian exchange and the colonization of the US. Also, the pacing of the movie was a little slow at times.

I would have appreciated the documentary more if it was shorter and provided information in more a crisp, exciting manner. In my opinion, this documentary would be a perfect resource for anyone taking/ teaching a history course because it provides a lot of information, almost worth two or three chapters, all in one video. Additionally, it brings up broader issues of the Columbian exchange and American colonization. In terms of information about civilizations, it provides an in depth account of the various native civilizations. With its amazing graphics and effects, this documentary can be viewed by a wide range of age groups. As a college student, this video provided me with an interesting insight. This video is also appropriate for younger children from elementary, middle, or high schools, while learning about US history. Additionally, it could be a useful resource for teachers as an overview or as a tool to help them while giving assignments, tests, and quizzes.

All in all, the educational movie is very informational and it helped me better understand America before 1492 from a European perspective. I really enjoyed the music, the use of animation, and the cinematography. It also helped me develop more interest and curiosity towards Pre-Columbian America. In my opinion, it would have been even better if there was a better fitting title. In addition, I felt the documentary did not need to put down the natives to get across its point. Apart from that, the movie was entertaining and thought-provoking.