Black Girl is a pioneering work of African Cinema, produced just at the moment when African countries like Senegal were asserting their political and cultural independence from their colonial occupiers such as France. Despite the fact that Senegal is an independent nation in this film, old colonial mindsets, both of the colonizer and colonized, persist. How does the film show these stereotypes, biases, and hypocrisies in the film? What is the film saying about the relationship between traditional African culture and Western modernity?
Black Girl highlights various attitudes of Senegalese and French people towards each other. Although France is shown in the film to be in the position of the colonizer and Senegal in the position of the colonized, the views held by the French and Senegalese in the film are not always what one might expect. However, there are of course examples of views held by characters that one would expect. For example, the Diouana’s female employer is the stereotypical colonizer. She treats Diouana like a tool rather than a human. She gives orders curtly and with a slightly aggressive undertone, and she never even lets Diouana out of her home. Additionally, when she has guests over, she tells them that Diouana cannot speak French, even though it is clear throughout the film that she can. She does this most likely to show her friends that Diouana is not “civilized” or intelligent like her and the Westerners of France. Her friends display a similar attitude, as after it is explained that Diouana does not speak French but understands it instinctively, one of friends chimes in: “Like an animal”. The female employer and her friends are shown as the typical colonizer, being racist and not seeing Senegalese people or blacks as humans. After Diouana kills herself, her fellow villagers display an anti-colonial attitude that one might expect of a colonized people. When the male employer goes to Senegal to return Diouana’s belongings and pay her mother, her mother rejects the money, and it is clear that everyone in the village views the male employer with disdain. However, interestingly, this attitude is only created after Diouana’s employers have severely wronged her and indirectly caused her death. At the beginning of the story, Diouana is shown actually to be excited about being with whites and Westerners. When she receives her job, she dances around her village telling everyone that she has found a job “with the whites”. When she arrives in France, she is eager to immerse herself in French culture and see the city she is living in. However, after she realizes the true intentions of her employers, she retreats back to her Senegalese roots and rejects French culture. This is represented when she takes back the Senegalese mask she had gifted to her employers. The mask, being a cultural artifact, is a symbol of Diouana’s connection to Senegal and Senegalese culture in the film. The broader conclusion that can be drawn is that citizens of colonized countries like Senegal are originally open to and interested in the cultures of their Western colonizers, but they repudiate these cultures and retreat instead to their home cultures when they realize that their Western colonizers do not respect them as equals. One final attitude of the French people towards Senegalese people, and perhaps the most interesting one, shown in the film is that of the male employer. He is clearly far more accepting of Diouana than his wife, but he does not actually end up doing much to help Diouana. When his wife shouts at Diouana and complains about her supposed laziness, he does not seem interested and does not seem to share his wife’s opinion of Diouana’s behavior. Also, when Diouana gets into a tussle with her female employer over who can keep the mask, he intervenes and tells his wife to let Diouana keep it. Finally, when he returns to Senegal after Diouana’s death, he offers to pay Diouana’s mother but does not realize that money could never compensate Diouana’s death. It seems that he also recognizes the cultural significance of the mask, as when the child runs after him at the end of the film with the mask over his face, he looks back several times and seems a bit fearful. Perhaps it is a haunting experience for him because the mask reminds of Diouana and his wife’s awful treatment of her.
ReplyDeleteHe seems to understand that what he and his wife did was wrong, but it is clear throughout the film that he either does not understand how to help Diouana and her family or does not care enough about the injustices suffered by Diouana to do anything substantive to counteract the injustices. (added as reply because I reached the character count limit)
DeleteBlack Girl repetitively utilizes the mask as imagery and symbolism to describe the relationship between a colonist and its colony. When Diouana accepts the job as an au pair, she gifts her employers a mask made in Senegal. Diouana’s male employer, referred to as monsieur, places the gift on a bench before the film splices several shots of numerous additional masks. The plethora of masks represents France’s act of co-opting its colonies’ cultures. It’s unclear whether these masks belonged to previous au pairs from Senegal, or another French colony or if they were simply purchased. However, what matters is that they serve as trophies of France’s colonial conquests. As it becomes evident throughout the film, the employers serve as a depiction of French colonial aggression, while Diouana is a representation of Senegal. To Diouana the mask isn’t a gift from a gift shop, it is a taste of her country’s culture. However, to the couple, it is solely a meaningless piece of art that would look great on the wall. If the couple truly cared about Senegalese culture, they wouldn’t treat a Senegalese au pair as a second-class citizen while exploiting her labor. In truth, France and other imperialist nations don’t value their colonies for their cultural and historical richness, but rather the exports and economic opportunity. This is clearly portrayed by Diouana, as her underpaid labor is exploited. The employer’s treatment of the mask is the viewers first glimpse into what life for Diouana will be like. Additionally, the mask is used to portray sentiment felt amongst the colonized when Diouana takes her mask back. There is a heated moment in the film, when Diouana is unhappy with her life and employers, and wishes to leave. Diouna and the female employer each grab the mask and begin tugging, trying to gain control over it. This is representative of the struggle that colonized nations face in preserving their culture. Imperialist conquest is almost always followed by forced assimilation of native populations. The French empire was no exception. Here, Diouana fights for the symbol of home in an attempt to rid her French employers of any claim to Senegal and Senegalese culture. Lastly, the use of the mask in the final moments sums up the emotions of those who’ve been subjected to violent imperialist conquest. One of the more heart-turning scenes in the film shows a young boy, wearing this same mask, chasing monsieur as the town is outraged over the couple’s poor conditions that led to Diouana’s suicide. As monsieur leaves Senegal, the young boy, who is Diouana’s brother, removes the mask. While it may be expected for a young brother to be mournful and sorrowful after the suicide of a family member, his facial expression is neutral. It isn’t that the brother lacks empathy, rather that he has become desensitized by colonial aggression. France’s detrimental effects on Senegalese society have been felt by even the youngest members. To the young boy, this is just another example of France destroying his life, and it is no cause for emotion as it has become commonplace. The mask is used to represent the façade of cultural unity needed to drive colonizers out, however what is behind the mask is more truthful: the empty eyes and defeated souls of the victims of the French colonial empire.
ReplyDeleteThe film Black Girl includes a lot of symbolism that expresses French peoples' ongoing tendency to hegemonize African people and the African peoples' resistance. In the beginning of the movie, Diouana gifts her employer a mask as a sign of kindness and coexistence. However, the employer puts it on a bench along with various other masks. They look like a collection, and the placement of the masks in a French house on a bench shows that the employer does not actually care about learning about African culture, but rather sees it as an interest that can be used for her own benefit. France's attitude of colonization is shown in a different way than usual, as instead of going to Africa and taking over, they bring a Black girl to France and belittle her in a place where she doesn't have allies. Another concept that is shown in the film is that of France being like a "mother country" for African colonies previously occupied by the French. In the beginning of the film, when Diouana leaves her home to work in France, she seems to be very excited about exploring the new luxuries she would find, especially since her employer makes it sound like a good deal. She even dresses in European clothing and looks forward to shopping. However, her employer never lets her leave the house. When Diouana gets upset, they find a letter (which may have been forged) supposedly from her mother, that Diouana disregards. The employer's husband begins to write back for what he believes to be her own good. The husband acts like a "white savior" throughout the movie, as the end scene epitomizes when he attempts to give Diouana's mother money after she committed suicide. When the brother chases him with the mask, it is a haunting scene. The mask represents the value of African culture to the people. At first, Diouana doesn't realize that by giving up her mask, she is letting go of a part of her culture. Later, after facing mistreatment and racism at her work, she realizes that she doesn't want to be like a slave to the French people, including the people that came over to the house who thought she couldn't speak English. They treat her as if she is a toy and are entertained by her, even though she thinks she doesn't want to be treated like that at all. This is shown by the voiceovers of her thoughts. She repeatedly thinks about how she came to France to take care of children and not to do housework. Her labor that is already underpaid is piled with more labor that is not part of her job. Her distress at the hands of the French social power eventually leads to her suicide because she doesn't want to lose her African roots.
ReplyDeleteBlack Girl demonstrates stereotypes stemming from periods of colonialization. Much like seen in this film, during colonialization the black population was valued as less than the white population. The conditions Diouana worked under were a lot like indentured servitude, where she wasn’t completely controlled, however she could not do what she pleased. Diouana worked for the madame for zero wage. The madame controlled her movement by not letting her leave the apartment, making Diouana feel like less than a human being. This control shows the obvious portrayal of the madame as the colonizer. Being controlled and taken advantage of, Diouana was representative of the colonized. Diuoana was open and accepting of the madame, however as time progressed, the madame and her family ruined her life. While trying to give her a job, the madame reverts to believing that she should be in power. There is also a theme that touches on the white savior trope within Black Girl. Nearing the end of the run time of the film, when Diuoana was taking back her mask, the madam exclaimed “after all I’ve done for you.” This shows that colonizers believed they were blessing people of color with their presence and assistance. However, their presence was detrimental the entire time. The conflict with the mask presents the idea that the colonizers claimed the colonized culture, and presumed it to be their own. However, this was never the case, since the colonized was merely sharing a bit of their culture with the colonizers.
ReplyDeleteThe film Black Girl uses various characters’ treatment of Diouana to illustrate the disconnected relationship between traditional African culture and Western modernity.
ReplyDeleteWhen Diouana is initially employed by the Madam, she believes that she is going to live freely in France with her employers and take care of children. However, she soon learns that the Madam intends to keep her confined within their house and force her to serve as a maid that takes care of all the household chores. Diouana even admits, “I spend my life between the kitchen and my bedroom. Is that living in France?” (Sembène). Diouana’s feelings of appreciation toward her employers turn to disdain, and she slowly works less and less. When the Madam sees Diouana avoid her duties out of resistance, she lectures Diouana and calls her ungrateful instead of empathizing with her like a human being. Diouana believes that she came to France to start a better life, but the Madam believes she can treat Diouana as an object; their different expectations illustrate the detached relationship between traditional African culture and Western modernity.
Another example illustrating the difference in expectations between the French people and the Senegalese is when the Madam’s friend at the dinner party asks to kiss Diouana. Without asking for her consent, the man states, “I've never kissed a black girl before!" and kisses Diouana (Sembène). While Diouana believes that she and the Senegalese people are no longer under the clutches of colonization by the French, they are still objectified and treated as subhuman by the French people. While the times have changed between France and Senegal, the opinions, and biases of the French people against the Senegalese have remained.
Finally, viewers of the film may argue that the Madam’s husband was much better to Diouana and represents how western modernity and traditional African Culture can come together. However, while the Madam’s husband is kinder to Diouana and empathetic of her situation, he fails to truly understand her and do anything for her. Additionally, he believes money will solve Diouana’s problems when the issue lies in the stereotypes, mindset, and restrictions placed on Diouana. His inability to understand Diouana’s true plight demonstrates the divide between traditional African culture and Western modernity.
Black Girl expresses various stereotypes stemming from periods of colonization in America. During the colonialization period, people with an African-American descent were valued far less important than people with “pure blood”. The conditions Diouana worked under resembled indentured servitude, she wasn’t completely controlled, however she could not do what she pleased, mainly because of her race. Diouana worked for the madame for zero wage. The madam controlled her every move by not letting her leave the apartment, making Diouana feel like less than a human being. This control shows the obvious portrayal of the madame as the colonizer. This shows that Diouana was representative of the colonized. Diuoana was open and accepting of the madam, however as time progressed, the madame and her family ruined her life. While trying to give her a job, the madame reverts to oppressing her believing that she should be in power because she is white. There is also a theme that touches on the white savior trope within Black Girl. Nearing the end of the run time of the film, when Diuoana was taking back her mask, the madam exclaimed “after all I’ve done for you.” This shows that colonizers believed they were blessing people of color with their presence and assistance. However, their presence was detrimental the entire time. The conflict with the mask presents the idea that the colonizers claimed the colonized culture, and presumed it to be their own. However, this was never the case, since the colonized was merely sharing a bit of their culture with the colonizers.
ReplyDelete