Jean-Pierre’s Journey for Rwanda

Throughout the mid ‘90s, the genocide in Rwanda was a hot topic to say the very least. Coverage of the event was a daily phenomenon on all the major cable news stations. At the same time, many people in the United States knew what was truly going on there.

Above all else, Deborah Scranton and Reid Carolin’s documentary “Earth Made of Glass” not only provides a history lesson into the war that plagued the area during that time, but also shows how the country continues to rebuild, from everyone from the President himself to the people that make up the country.

Excellently sourced, emotional and inspirational, Scranton and Carolin’s tale is a must see, mainly for it’s ability to make an extremely difficult topic both accessible and educational. While there are several moments that may induce tears or feelings of uneasiness, it’s all genuine, passionate and honest.

Jean Pierre Sagahutu is a Rwandan fixer. He repairs video equipment and escorts media personnel from all over the world who come to the area looking to report. He, aside from Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his aide Rose Kabuye are the main subjects of the documentary. With Kagame and Kabuye, you have the historical and governmental aspects of Rwanda put in a crystal clear perspective. With Sagahutu, you see what the average Rwandan must deal with every day. Just because the genocide and war is over, doesn’t mean the country isn’t still coping with its effects. Sagahutu was deeply affected by the genocide and through the course of the film, you’ll see just how much.

Educated beyond his years, Sagahutu vows to stop the cycle of war and prejudice in his family and be the end of the film, it’s obvious his mission will be a successful one. While Rwanda still has serious work ahead of itself to erase the years of death and violence, like Sagahutu, they are positive throughout and want only the best for their country and family.

To see this- the firsthand fight from the point of view of a country and a person stuck in the heart of the disaster- is what makes this documentary so solid. It pulls no punches and never tries to paint a pretty picture. It’s transparency and accuracy are apparent from the beginning of the film and are an indication of the type of work Scranton has done in the past for PBS and other news outlets across the world. In spite of everything she’s done before, this film could end up being the film she’s remembered for most by the end of her career. It’s also proof that Carolin is capable of much more than the dramas he’s produced over the years.

All in all, it’s a documentary that will put you in the shoes of its characters and make you question your own moral fiber. Would you make the same decisions as they? How would you deal with the same problems had they happened to you? By the end of the film, your answers probably won’t be any closer to you than they were when they first popped into your head. As a result, by the end of the film, you’ll admire and respect the people presented here for possessing the courage to act when it could have been easy enough to crumble.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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