Grant’s view on safari history
0 Comments | Sentinel, The; Stoke-on-Trent (UK), Apr 26, 2010 | by John Woodhouse
The History Of Safari With Richard E Grant BBC4, 9pm FOR almost 100 years, big game hunters from Theodore Roosevelt to the royal family came to British East Africa to bag the big five.
No, not the Roly Polys, but the lion, African elephant, cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros – chosen for the difficulty in hunting them, not for their size.
Thankfully, times have moved on. Tourists no longer visit the region to snare a novelty rug, but would rather simply capture the wildlife in photo form as luxury ‘ecosafaris’ drive the area’s economy. And we’ve also got Springwatch now. Here, actor Richard E Grant, who grew up in Swaziland, examines the history of the safari.
He explores how the beauty of the bush made Africa the white man’s playground, uncovering a world of danger and glamour.
Grant reveals how the safari was reinvented as explorers were replaced by white settlers, guns gave way to cameras, and British rule changed to independence.
He also discovers how safari became one of the central constructs through which British rule over East Africa was imposed, and how it was eventually transformed by the glamour of Hollywood, the power of the dollar, and the traveller’s desire for an ‘authentic African experience’.
