INFRENCES
What intrigues me at first about the film “Black Girl” is
the opening introduction when we are introduced to the main character traveling
to France. When I first saw her exiting the boat I thought that it could be
symbolic to a slave exiting a slave ship. Then when the husband picked her up
in his car their meeting did not seem friendly, and felt very much like a
business transaction. When they eventually arrived at the house, her
introduction with the wife felt just the same; and this feeling was justified
when she immediately put the girl to work after showing her her bed. The entire
scene seemed to represent her as a piece of property and I believe Ousmane
Sembene wrote it this way to present a modern image of the effects of white
imperialism and slavery on Africans. This style of utilizing the modern image
to represent aspects of black life reminded me of Roy Decaraca’s photographs
that often depicted scenes relevant to everyday black culture. And while very
tragic, I believe the image of slave labor in the intro is used to invoke shame
on white culture and show its heartless side as it depicts her daily struggle
as a “worker.”
As the movie progresses the white dominance remains present.
At the first dinner party the maid is treated like a spectacle and mocked by
the guests. She is continually ordered around the house and screamed at when
she does something wrong. However, in spite of this, the girl still yearns to
explore France and rebels from white authority in many ways. For example, for
many weeks the girl wears her original formal and festive dress as a way to
maintain her dignity and cultural pride (At least for a little while until the
wife forces her to wear maid clothes). This reminded me of Samuel Fosso and his
emphasis on being photographed in extravagant clothing as a symbol of pride. Furthermore,
throughout the entire movie the girl attempts to hold on to her cultural
identity despite being oppressed by white society. She frequently looks at
pictures of home, attempts to personalize her dress, and even stands up for
herself when the father attempts to write a return letter to her mother. To me,
this prideful rebellion to resist assumed white control seemed similar to the
works of many of the photographers we’ve studied year, especially Keita and Sedebe,
which hit at the reoccurring message of African pride in the face of white
oppression.
Despite the other messages present throughout the film, I
believe that the tragic ending provides the most powerful call to action. After
the girl takes what she believes to be the ultimate stand against her
oppressors and takes her own life, her family takes this stand to a new level.
Her mother rejects the husbands obligatory financial compensation and refuses
to speak with him about her daughter. Perhaps alluding to more themes of pride
and self-reliance. But as the husband is leaving the village, a small boy picks
up the tribal mask that the girl had hung in the French couple’s home and
fought to keep hers. A symbol of
her courage, he then puts it on and follows the husband out of town in what I
believe to be a call to push white influence out of Africa. Throughout the
entire film the characters seemed to accept the racially discriminatory society
they lived in, but the boy is the first person to proactively fight back.
The image of the boy following the husband with the mask on
appears to be a clear case of documentary photography. Clearly Sembene wanted
to say something with the way his movie ended, and it certainly wasn’t that
suicide is the only way out. Rather, I feel as though the boy forcing the arrogant
white man out sends a broader message of cultural independence that many
backgrounds of African people can relate to. The girl’s story unites them in
their struggle and the boy’s stand pushes them forward towards a defiant
resistance to oppression. And when Sembene has the boy reveal his mask, he
shows that neither he nor his people are afraid to make that stand: a true case
of documentary photography, capturing the moment and making a statement.
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