Frank Bieleu. The Big Banana. 2011. Cameroon. French, with English subtitles. 85 min. ArtMattan. $295.00

Abstract

Frank Bieleu. The Big Banana. 2011. Cameroon. French, with English subtitles. 85 min. ArtMattan. $295.00Frank Bieleu's The Big Banana critiques the human and environmental impact of banana plantations in Cameroon. The documentary's opening voice-over introduces the viewer to the Njombe-Penga community where the banana wealth goes to the multinational company, Plantation du Haut Penja (PHP), while most members of the community remain poor. We see PHP workers as they labor to cut down the bananas and transport them to the processing station amidst the voice-over's reminder that Cameroon is the highest producer of bananas and principal supplier to Europe, and that PHP's income for 2009 alone was $106 million. This profit, of course, comes at the expense of the workers, who are paid paltry wages in contrast to the high salaries and benefits of the expatriates. It is not surprising, then, that European consumers of the bananas are appalled upon hearing the actual wages of the laborers who produce the commodity. A consumer aptly calls the situation slave labor, while another expresses her disgust at the laborers' working conditions. These workers are not only underpaid; their health is at risk from exposure to toxic chemicals (pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, and other agro-chemicals). The film indicates that four out of five farmers suffer from eye problems due to PHB's toxic materials and features a former worker who has become blind. He was fired by PHP because of his disability and without adequate compensation.The health of members of the larger community is also endangered by PHP's operations, specifically, the aerial spray of chemicals, which is detrimental to humans, plants, animals, and bodies of water. One community member recalls having been sprayed and admitted to the hospital for some days; unsurprisingly, PHP refuses either to pay the hospital bill or compensate the victim. Another laments how the aerial spray contaminates their food. The banana processing system washes off the chemicals, but the soiled water is not disposed of properly and contaminates the people's water supply.Displacement of the people is another consequence of the plantation's procedures. As a multinational corporation, PHP succeeds in stifling competition from smaller companies. The company's low-cost production and export-friendly incentives enable it to crush the local farmers. While some of them are pressured to sell or lease their lands to PHP, the more resilient ones witness their lands being forcefully expropriated by government officials colluding with PHP. …