post-colonialism

1

Black Girl (Senegal) – One of Africa’s Must Watch Films

Black Girl Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Do you want to see one of Africa’s best films from the 20th Century? Set aside 55 minutes to watch Black Girl below (please comment if the video is not working). Don’t let film scholars be the only ones to have seen this incredible film as this should be seen by everyone.

Why Watch Black Girl?
  • It’s short: it will only take 55 minutes of your time!
  • It features a strong female character
  • The best pieces of art are completed quickly. Black Girl was made in 20 days
  • Examine the legacy of colonialism
The Breakdown

Ousmane Sembene’s Black Girl starts with a big passenger ship arriving at a port in France. A finely dressed black woman, Diouana, leaves the boat wondering if anyone will be there to pick her up. Sure enough a white man greets her, takes her bags, and drives her off. After a few jump cuts in the car ride (a style made famous in Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard) she arrives at a house on the French Riviera.

The opening suggests Diouana is here to meet her friends. Because of her nice dress and the white driver meeting her, it initially appears that she shares equal status with the white French people. However, as soon as she enters the apartment, it becomes clear that she does not share the same freedoms as her employers. She is kept in the apartment all day, every day to clean and cook and never ventures out because she never gets paid and is never introduced to anyone (which is always helpful when you don’t speak the language). As a result, she is almost a slave.

What’s the significance of the African mask?

To get to know the film a little better, look out for the African mask. It first appears in the film when Diouana buys it from a small boy from her neighbourhood in Senegal. She then gifts it to her employer who first question it’s authenticity (‘it looks like the real thing’) and then hang it on one of their blank white walls in their apartment in France.

Firstly, the mask initially signifies equality between Diouana and her employer. The act of gifting implies that you share an equal standing with the person you give to. Initially, because of the gifting, Diouana is equal to her employer. However, when her employers dismiss the mask as a fake, they imply that Diouana cannot afford a real mask and therefore she is not on the same level as them.

Secondly, the mask is a metaphor for Diouana’s isolation in France. Like the mask hanging in the middle of a blank wall, she is alone and out of place in French society.

Lastly, the mask is a symbol of the misappropriation of African culture. In Africa the mask is alive as the young boy is shot playing with it and wearing it. However, in France, the mask is dead. In France, the mask has been reduced to an ‘exotic’ artifact which sits on a wall as a trophy of Diouana’s employer’s exoticism. It allows her employers to temporarily ‘play’ their ‘connection’ to African ‘exoticism’ without experiencing any of the discrimination they perpetrate. Just like a fancy dress that they can take off whenever they want.

Narration as a symbol of post-colonialism

When watching Black Girl you’ll notice that whilst Diouana doesn’t speak French, all her thoughts are narrated in French. Her consciousness has been taken over by a language that isn’t her own. She can’t physically speak French and therefore become equal to the French speakers in France, but she can think in French. In fact, French is the only language she actually thinks in via the narration.

This is symbolic of the legacy of French colonialism in Africa (in this case, Senegal). Although Senegal achieved it’s independence from France a few years before this film was made, by restricting Diouana’s consciousness to French Sembene emphasises the parasitic legacy of colonialism. The colonisers colonised Senegal and replaced it’s native culture with it’s own and disrupted Senegalese consciousness in the process.

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Conclusion

There’s so much more to say! Simply put, Sembene’s Black Girl packs a lot into just under an hour. If it’s not being studied at schools across the world, it should be. Everyone needs to watch this film!

If you haven’t seen it, you’re in luck. Watch it here on YouTube!

2

Wan Pipel (Suriname) – Pride and Love in Post-Colonial Suriname

Wan Pipel Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you don’t know anything about Suriname, you should watch Wan Pipel! First and foremost it’s an ode to the beauty of Suriname, from the diversity of Paramaribo to the Amazon rain forest. Secondly, it’s also a commentary on prejudice, marriage rites, and post-colonialism. Check out the full film below (via YouTube)!

Why Watch Wan Pipel?
  • To see Suriname! You’ll visit the capital, Paramaribo, the Amazon jungle, and get a glimpse of Suriname’s diversity
  • It’s got a love triangle! But luckily this one is not clichéd
  • Witness some of the effects of Colonialism
  • To learn that you often need to leave home in order to appreciate it
The Breakdown

It’s the late 1970s. Suriname is now an independent republic after 300 years of Dutch colonialism. In Paramaribo (Suriname’s capital) a dying mother sends her eldest son Roy a telegram to come home from Amsterdam (where he is studying) to see her before she passes away.

Her son comes home to find his home country completely different to how he remembered it. In contrast to the stuffy Dutch society he is surrounded with in Amsterdam, returning to a vibrant Paramaribo reveals just how much he has missed his home country.

This is obvious in the tone of the film. In Amsterdam, he mingles with his white girlfriend’s family who crack bad jokes about Surinamese people as if he wasn’t Surinamese. However, in contrast, the mood changes right after his mother’s funeral when he is at home in Suriname. At this point, upbeat music starts playing and Roy gorges on all the street food Paramaribo has to offer. He even changes his shirt in the street, donning a  top with the Surinamese flag branded on the front. It’s obvious he is loving being back in his home country.

So there’s a love triangle that isn’t clichéd?

Yup. You’ve probably seen many cheesy love triangles in films such as Twilight, The Notebook, and Pearl Harbour, but luckily for you, Wan Pipel is different. The love triangle actually adds to the film.

  1. Firstly, on a superficial level, Roy’s relationship with Rubia, a Hindu Surinamese nurse, represents the diversity of the people of Suriname.
  2. Secondly, Roy’s relationship with Rubia highlights the prejudice in Suriname. Roy’s dad is incensed that Roy comes home and goes off every night with an Indian girl instead of staying true to his white Dutch girlfriend at home in Amsterdam. Roy’s dads loyalty to his son’s Dutch girlfriend is a sign that the colonial mentality has not disappeared with Surinamese independence.
  3. Thirdly, and perhaps most interestingly, the love triangle is an allegory for the unshackling of Suriname from Dutch colonialism. Roy’s relationship with the Dutch Karina represents Suriname’s attachment to it’s colonisers. It’s a relationship which he is forced to use to sponsor his ticket back to Suriname to see his dying mother. In contrast, his relationship with Rubia represents pride in Suriname’s diversity and it’s independence from Colonialism. She is Hindu, he is Black, and their success vs. Karina represents a triumph for Surinamese independence.
Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Wan Pipel is definitely worth a watch. You’ll feel Surinamese pride flowing in this film and all the effects of the country’s troubled history. Plus, it’s all available to watch for free right here.

If you are looking for more films featuring a rediscovery of how much someone loves their roots, check out Wallay. It features a mischievous boy who is taken and left in Burkina Faso with his Burkinabe family to work back the money he stole from his dad.

If you are looking for another post-colonial film, check out Cuba’s Lucia, which follows three characters called Lucia across different eras of Cuba’s history.

Or, if you’re looking for another good love film, here are a few great options we recommend:

 

 

 

3

Manila – Welcome to the Dark Side of the City

Scene from Manila by Rays Martin

Manila Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

If you’re looking for a dark portrayal of life in Manila, you’ve come to the right place. In Manila there’s social problems, political corruption, and injustice hidden behind the tropes of the Hollywood noir genre. You’ll meet a few characters of the city, but the focus is always on the city of Manila and its sounds, sights, and life.

From: Philippines, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Prime, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: From What is Before, Miles Ahead, Manila by Night
Continue reading “Manila – Welcome to the Dark Side of the City”
4

Sleepwalking Land (Mozambique) – A Classic Novel on the Big Screen

Sleepwalking Land Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Have you read Mia Couto’s brilliant post-colonial novel Sleepwalking Land? If you haven’t and you love reading, you should check it out now. If you haven’t got time to read, you can watch the film which does a great job at translating the novel onto the big screen. Check out the film here (Amazon).

Why Watch Sleepwalking Land?
  • It’s quicker than reading the book (although I recommend you read it if you have time)
  • If you like post-apocalyptic style stories
  • To learn about the effect of colonialism and war on Mozambique
  • If you like magical realism (made famous by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
The Breakdown

Sleepwalking Land starts with an old man (Tuahir) and a young boy (Muidinga) walking down a desolate dirt track. We are not told who they are or where they are going, but we can tell they are in danger. Not because, they are being targeted, but because they are roaming a war-torn country. They hide in the bushes as a gang of men bragging about killing people walk past and then reemerge to find a burned-out bus full of dead bodies. They decide to remove the bodies and call it their temporary home.

If you’re ever read or seen Cormac McCarthy’s The Road you might recognise this environment. In both The Road and Sleepwalking Land there’s an old man and a young boy roaming a desolate land trying to survive. But contrary to The Road where we know the two protagonists are father and son, the connection between the protagonists in Sleepwalking Land is never made clear.

However, we get a clue to their past lives from a journal that Muidinga finds by the burned-out bus belonging to a man named Kindzu. Each day, they read an extra chapter of the journal and immerse themselves in Kindzu’s story. For Tuahir, Kindzu’s life probably reminds him of his past life, which he has blocked from his memory. For Muidinga, Kindzu’s life gives him a possible explanation to his past which amnesia has prevented him from remembering.

Conclusion & What to Watch Next?

Teresa Prata’s adaptation of Mia Couto’s film is a worthy of your time. The main problem it faces is cutting the novel into 90mins, so if you’ve read the book you might think that the film crams in too much in too little time.

If you want to watch more films like this with characters wandering through desolate landscapes check out the post-apocalyptic The Road, which is good but bleak. You should also check out the art-house film Mimosas following wanderers from different centuries through the Moroccan mountains and deserts.

Or if it’s great African films you’re after, check out Abouna from Chad, a story about two sons searching for their lost Dad. There’s also Timbuktu, an Academy Award nominee from Mali where you’ll see the effect of the growing influence of Islamic fundamentalism on the Malian town.

5

A Taste of Our Land – Pan African Film Festival 2020

A Taste of Our Land is the first narrative feature I’ve seen that speaks to the rising Chinese influence in African countries. It’s inspired by the director’s experience working in a Chinese mine in Rwanda, where he saw a colleague beaten so badly he was hospitalized. His crime? To ask for his pay.

A Taste of Our Land features a similarly brutal Chinese-run mine in Uganda. It’s operated by a Chinese convict named Cheng that brutally beats his employees for any acts of dissent. He works for a Chinese company that don’t appear in the film. We only hear them on the other end of Cheng’s phone, emphasizing their disregard for Africa and it’s people. They’re extracting Africa’s wealth from abroad with the help of a criminal. It paints a surprisingly blunt picture of the exploitative motivations of China in Africa

The victim of this film is an older African man called Yohani who struggles to provide for his pregnant wife. He tries to get compensation for the Chinese mine which was built on his land without permission. However, because the local authorities he appeals to have already been paid off, there’s nothing he can do. The African authorities have sold him out for temporary wealth.

When Yohani discovers a nugget of gold on his land, he becomes an obvious allegory of the world’s exploitation of Africa. Three protagonists are after his new found wealth, and each one of them representatives a different world power.

  1. The first is the China, represented in the Chinese mine built on Yohani’s land without his permission. It reaps the fruit of the land without sharing it with the African people. They’re the new colonizers.
  2. The second is Britain, represented in a British immigrant named Donald that walks around wearing a colonial era helmet. The British used to hold power over Africa, but their power has waned in the last 50 years or so, represented by Donald’s asthma inhaler. Donald can’t even tell China what to do, as shown by his inability to convince Cheng to look for gold. However, his colonial era hat symbolizes that Britain still tries to cling onto its’ former power and still exploits the continent.
  3. The third is the Catholic church, represented in a European priest that Yohani looks to for protection. Instead of sheltering Yohani, the priest tries to steal his gold; they’re just another institution that exploits the African people.

Credit is due to the filmmakers for avoiding the conventional African film tropes of war, HIV, and witchcraft to focus on the growing Chinese influence in Africa. It’s rare to see an African film implicating other national powers and religious institutions so blatantly in its demise. However, A Taste of Our Land’s bad acting makes the allegories a bit too obvious. It highlights the heavy handedness of the script and lack of production quality of the film (it’s made on a spartan $12,000 budget). As a result, what could be a subtle implication of religious and national powers in Africa’s exploitation comparable to Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan, ends up feeling a bit stereotypically comical.

Head to our Pan African Film Festival Hub for more reviews from PAFF 2020.