Thunder in Guyana

Infobox Film
name = Thunder in Guyana


caption =
director = Suzanne Wasserman
producer = Suzanne Wasserman
writer = Suzanne Wasserman
co-writer = Amanda Zinoman
executive producer = Deborah Shaffer
music = Basya Schechter
cinematography = Debra Granik
editing = Amanda Zinoman
distributor = Women Make Movies
released =
runtime = 50 min
country = Guyana/US
language = English
budget =
gross =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id =

"Thunder in Guyana" is a short film by Suzanne Wasserman released in 2003. It is a documentary about Janet Jagan ("née" Rosenberg), an American-born Jewish woman who moved to then-British Guiana and was later elected President. The film was shown on "Independent Lens", a series on PBS.

ummary

A Jewish girl from the middle-class suburbs of Chicago grew up to become president of Guyana; a South American nation. Janet Rosenberg Jagan, pegged "the Second Eva Peron", cite web
title = TV review: Thunder in Guyana: A Radical Journey From Chicago to Guyana
publisher =The New York Times
date = February 2005
url =http://movies.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/arts/television/22heff.html
access|date=July 2008] in an effort to explain how her typical Jewish upbringing led to her out-of-the-ordinary adult life pursuing service work and Marxist politics in Latin America.“I don’t know that people see White when they look at me,” Janet said in an interview, believing that her years in Guyana have allowed her to resemble the general population. “I’ve been around for a long time. Fifty-four years is a long time.”

"Thunder in Guyana" uncovers an atypical story of a woman who refused to allow her reservations or others opinions to prevent her from doing what she believed in. And through an account of Janet’s biography her intimately connected past with Guyana comes alive. Historic newsreel footage traces the British colony’s slow emancipation and assertion of independence, while discussions with Janet and her followers describe what the courageous female elected official did to organize and educate the country’s impoverished working class.

The days of her youth were relatively ordinary; nevertheless Janet was not an average youngster. Relatives and relations remember that, in her younger years, Janet was remarkably energetic and good-looking, and she was a stand out in all she undertook. As a matter of fact, she was so physically fit and strong-minded that she could took part in the Olympics games for swimming. However she could also be very defiant. In the film, Janet laughs recalling how enraged her mother and father were when they learned that, as a teen, took flying lessons!cite web
title = Not Your Typical Jewish Mother: A Review of Thunder in Guyana
publisher =InterFaithFamily.com
date = April 2007
url= http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/movies_theater_tv_and_music/Not_Your_Typical_Jewish_Mother_A_Review_of_Thunder_in_Guyana.shtml?rd=1
access|date=July 2008] With the monetary allowance they provided her with.

Being a rebellious woman was not the sole reason for Janet to make a journey to Guyana; it was love. This same love was the purpose that kept her in the country for the remainder of her life. While a student at university, a handsome Guyanese exchange student, Chetti Jagan, caught Janet’s eye. As a team they ventured into leftist politics, connecting through controversial ideas that excited them both and would serve as the bond to their relationship. When Janet traveled with Chetti back to his native country, her uncle believed she would return to the United States within one year. He was mistaken; Janet has lived the majority of her adult life in Guyana, working with the government and public sector.

It is the suggestion of the film that Janet’s Jewish background enabled her to connect to the poor black laborers of Guyana. Ms. Jagan grew up in an anti-Semitic, mostly-gentile community. Due to this fact, Janet experienced being made to feel lesser and subjugated. She recalls that her males relatives struggled to find employment, and she remembers that her school days friends would tell mean racially prejudiced stories that they didn’t completely understand. Possibly her push for civil rights in Guyana was her personal means of fighting in opposition to the discrimination that she had experience first hand.

These days, after devoting her time to fighting for a nation’s poor, Janet is seen as a self-sacrificing and relentless force, even into her mature years. “She’s been there from the very beginning. She’s put her neck out more than most Guyanese,” Janet daughter-in-law (who is Guyanese) exclaims. “She’s more Guyanese than most Guyanese you’ll meet,” she adds, “she’s more Guyanese than me!”

However, Janet was not constantly admired by all. At the beginning of her involvement with politics, Janet’s opponents spread bogus reports that she was a family member of the legendary Rosenbergs who were put to death for spying. Also during this time, an American journalist indicated that she was spreading propaganda to enlist communists.

Luckily, contentment isn’t dependent on how people regard you, or even ease of life. Ms. Jagan’s tale shows that an agreeable life is the result of confidence within one’s self and living according to one’s beliefs. She and Chetti were so focused on their cause that it didn’t matter what critics thought or said, and, if she could help the people, Janet didn’t mind living in an impoverished nation.

At eighty-two (at the time of filming), she’s still keeps an office, even now working for the Guyanese citizens, and happily doing so.

Notes

References

*cite web
title = In Radical Matrimony
publisher = TheNation.com
date = February 2005
url =http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050307/dreisinger
access|date=July 2008

*cite web
title = Thunder in Guyana (2003)
publisher = imdb.com
date = May 2003
url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439010/
access|date=July 2008

*cite web
title = MediaRights Film: Thunder in Guyana
publisher = MediaRights.org
date = September 2003
url =http://www.mediarights.org/film/thunder_in_guyana.php
access|date=July 2008

External links

* [http://www.guyanafilm.org/ Official site] .
* " [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/thunderinguyana/ Independent Lens] ": "Thunder in Guyana".
* [http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c614.shtml Thunder in Guyana] at the [http://www.wmm.com Women Make Movies Website]
* [http://tjctv.com/ "The Jewish Channel"]