The portrayal of whiteness in this movie is so interesting, especially in the role of the white woman, Madeline, who is often a passive vehicle for possession and power. When she is zombified (i just made that a verb), becomes a living dead, symbolizing that she is the physical state of powerless and passive possession/enslavement over an other human being. Charles being aware of enslavement becomes consciously more aware of the power/authority relationship that exists, specifically through his desire of this white woman. This raises the question of his overall role of being a plantation owner in the context of the island, Haiti. Charles can only comprehend enslavement and its power dynamics only through the lens of whiteness. However, this lens is so narrow because it doesn't fathom how it exists institutionally through racial hierarchies especially in the island of Haiti.

It's also interesting that in the context of Haiti how there exists an appropriation of power from Vodou, or Haitian witchcraft from White characters in this film. Bela Lugosi's character is a personification of power hungry control of a vampire, sucking the lives out of those around them and enslaving them. One of stories he mentions about his servants, involves his mentor of his witchcraft, who he tortured to find the secrets of his power. His appropriation of power of Vodou in Haiti, is a vampiric device is often violent and upholds white supremacist values of domination over other groups to fulfill his mission of control.

This immediately caught my attention, in regards to the role of the Christian religion in regards to colonialism in U.S, Africa, and Latin America. In the book, "Stamped from the Beginning," by Ibram X. Kendi. He mentions that Cotton Mather in order to brainwash and continue white supremacy to continue slavery and to win Christian converts, "Cotton Mather preached racial inequality in the body while insisting that the dark souls of enslaved Africans would become White when they became Christians.

It reminds me of when in "Murambi," when Siméon is talking to Cornelius about the arrival of the first Europeans and when the missionaries assimilated Mwami into traditional western Christian. I was thinking about the use of oral word and memory to tell this story that was told to Simeon's in his childhood as a form of factual evidence that is credible, especially as it was told by a Rwandan and not from a European account.

The presence of this object is haunting because of it's forceful implications of Christianity upon Rwanda, it revives and is a symbol and trace of colonialism. Then it's interesting to realize how ironic that Western powers were clearly uninterested and not involved in ending the Genocide in Rwanda. But instead they almost stood by and watched. Not caring because it was happening on the other side of the world, so it didn't effect them. Exactly what Michel said in the beginning of the novel, "In my heart of hearts I knew I was wrong. The World Cup was about to begin in the United States. The planet was interested in nothing else. And in any case, whatever happened in Rwanda, it would always be the same old story of blacks beating up on each other. "

This object demonstrates the traces of colonial past that geared towards power and domination. Also about the U.S and Europe as being world powers, from colonial roots, however, they not being accountable for their colonial pasts and the institutionalization of racial hierarchies. Especially it's effect on the present day and their nonexistent roles during the Rwandan genocide.