Wlos: The Mosquito Coast

The Mosquito Coast is a 1986 film (based off of the novel of the same title) about imperialism.  The movie develops a creative outlook on the topic and utilizes representation to formulate images of imperialism’s undertakings.  Some such activities are slavery and the use of lies to maintain control.  Both deeds are episodes that have been commonly observed in history when imperialism and colonization have taken place.  When this representative aspect of the film is observed it can be seen that The Mosquito Coast is very much a movie about the inherent flaws of such activities, no matter what context they are used in.

            Slavery is illustrated in The Mosquito Coast in the scene that features Allie fostering the native people’s energy to build his cherished ice machine.  The way in which the director stages this scene can be noted as a direct allusion to slavery because of the fact that the scene features the natives pulling large objects up a hill in the exact same manner that slaves constructed the Great Pyramids of Egypt.  Such a reference to slavery is subtle, one must not only have knowledge of how the pyramids were built but also possess pattern identification skills strong enough to make the connection if they are to notice it.  But such a reference is nonetheless a direct citation of slave labor and is therefore the number one reference of slavery within the film.  Notions of slave labor can be conjured by viewing other parts of the movie, but no other moment is as thoroughly direct as the construction of the ice machine.

            Lying to maintain control is another tactic that has been displayed by leadership individuals throughout history who have found themselves in situations of colonization and imperialism.  It should therefore, not be surprising that such a device, or gimmick for that matter, was employed by Allie, most notably in the scene of the film that features him telling his family that America has been destroyed.  An important part of this illustration is not only the fact that Allie is lying to maintain control, but also the fact that the repercussions of such an action are also outlined by the movie when Allie’s sons lose all respect for him as a leader when they learn the false nature of his claims.  Because The Mosquito Coast not only features a lie for control maintenance, but also an exemplification of such an action’s repercussions, it should be noted that the film seeks an accurate depiction of such an action.

            It is unquestionable that the film The Mosquito Coast looks to accurately represent colonization and imperialism.  And it becomes apparent that the movie pursues a negative outlook upon these activates by the way in which it becomes a tragedy.  Therefore, it can be inferred that the creative depictions of imperialism’s concepts that is observable in the film are engineered to provide an indication of the inherent flaws of such schemes.  In a film like The Mosquito Coast, it can be difficult to comprehend the artistic agenda of the piece, “It’s a very complicated and ambitious piece,” said Harrison Ford of the film (Pfeiffer 159), but the consistent display of imperialism representations and their tragic natures makes its purpose clear.

Andrew Wlos