Yesterday

Yesterday and Beauty in “Yesterday.”

The movie Yesterday is one of my favorite foreign films of all time. Movies like this though not entirely representative of the African lifestyle, help bring understanding to some of the things that have shaped Africa and Africans.

 After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. She confronts her husband who works in the mines of Johannesburg about the issue and he being in denial, responds by hitting her for the accusation which was based on her faithfulness.

Yesterday also has a little girl named Beauty, it becomes her only wish to see her daughter attend the first day of school before she dies is. Yesterday never got an education herself so she is determined to see her daughter go to school because she knows she will have a better future because of it. This is one of the reasons why education is highly esteemed in Africa, it represents a better life especially because the generations before were not afforded that opportunity of a good education.

The issue of HIV faced in this movie cannot be ignored. Because a lot of men were forced to leave their homes to work in the mines, a lot of them lived double lives. One at home with their families and one in the city with mostly prostitutes or mistresses. A lot of innocent women who had no idea the kinds of diseases their husbands were exposing themselves to were also infected.

Even though this movie is engulfed with countless tragedies as it begins, it is essentially a story about determination, hope, love and forgiveness.

A scene from the movie “Yesterday.”

On a lighter note, the movie also exposes some of the funniest English names Africans have. Names such as Yesterday, Privilege or Beauty. These are not made up names. These are actual common names. I can’t say I speak for all families that decide to give their children those kind of names, but names usually represent how the parents feel about the child or the situation the child was born in.

Other funny names I’ve encountered including my own cousins are Temptation, Tragedy, Pretty, Queen, Jealous, Friday, Innocent, Wisdom, Lucky and Promise. The list goes on and gets even more unbelievable.