It is a film of politics and anger, and also a film of beauty, humor, and a deep affection for human nature. Discussion of themes and motifs in ousmane sembenes xala. Xala is a poorly made, amatureish film, but it accurately depicts west african big city life in the late 1960s and 1970s and reflects the themes common in african literature of the period. Interviews collects conversations from the mid1960s to 2005, and spans the breadth of his filmmaking career while also touching on his literary. Sembenes treatment of the theme of class oppression focuses upon the great disparities that exist between the wealthy, elite classes and the impoverished. This story, an increasingly taut psychodrama about an aging patron and his wives, follows a normative african storyline with. Ousmane sembene s xala revisited aaron mushengyezi in the film xala, ousmane sembene s interrogation of gender, african tradition, and modernity in postindependence africa is problematic in many ways. It is written last name first, which is common in french culture. The recurring themes of colonial injustice, a critique of. So begins xala, the newest and most disturbing film by the senegalese director ousmane sembene. It is set in three cities involved in the strike, bamako, thies and dakar, and like the railway, sembene travels between them to bring the people to. A black girl from senegal becomes a servant in france. It occurs constantly in his imaginary creations, a theme, or better still a.
Its also about the collaboration between an artist and an anthropologist, who have reacted in their different mediums to the. The old order has been replaced by the new, but its business as usual. The peoples revolution of african socialism begins as the black businessmen fill those empty seats, only to take enormous. Xala by sembene ousmane the end please note that sembene is the authors last name and ousmane is his first name. Through djibs character, ousmane demonstrates the hope and faith he has placed on the african women and youth to save the african continent sembene, 2000. But in a larger sense, sembene also is commenting on the failures of african. The peoples revolution of african socialism begins as the black businessmen fill those empty seats, only to take enormous bribes that ensure the whites will secretly remain in power. In the film xala, ousmane sembenes interrogation of gender, african tradition, and modernity in postindependence africa is problematic in many ways. Indeed, there are those radical feminist critics, especially euroamericans, who accuse african male novelists, among other things,of marginalising the africanwoman. Last year as i focused on reading books by women of color from around the globe, my books by men of color were lacking. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. This story by sembene ousmane is based in francophone africa, in dakar, senegal.
Films by ousmane sembene 1 borom sarret post independence. In 194748 the workers on the dakarniger railway staged a strike. Todays african filmmaking climate is very different. Oct 05, 2016 these documentary screenings are, in most of the cinemas, part of the bfisponsored minitour rebel with a camera. Xala pronounced, wolof for temporary sexual impotence is a 1975 senegalese film directed by ousmane sembene. Your browser doesnt seem to have a pdf viewer, please download the. The novel, the film, and their audiences josef gugler and oumar cherifdiop the artist must in many ways be the mouth and the ears ofhis people. But at moments in xala, he moves into a surreal register to make a pertinent point as to the instability of the postcolonial order.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The brief novel traces his rapid decline from affluence to total humiliation and ruin. The protagonist is stricken with xala impotencein a racous bedrroom scene with his new young wife. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading xala. Doc film analysis of ousmane sembenes black girlnoire. But xala is much richer than a simple political satire about erections. His story follows the decline and fall of one of the african businessmen, who sells rice on the black market to finance the addition of a third wife to his family. Senegal has finally won independence from france and the white members of the chamber of commerce have been thrown out. Ousmane sembene, who made this film when he was 81, must have lived enough, suffered. Sep 01, 2008 part 1 these notes are from an evening class at cornerhouse, manchester januaryfebruary 2008 sembene ousmane was a selftaught man who was born a fishermans son in southern senegal but who took manual jobs until he was recruited by the french army of west africa. The white members of the local chamber of commerce have been ordered out of office, and now african businessmen take their places. Looking back i think i read less than five, so reading more men of color is a goal of mine for 2018. The main theme in xala is the attitude of the new african leaders who, after ascending to.
Like borom sarret, black girl, the money order, and xala, ousmane sembene s latest release is another chapter in the writerdirectors lasersharp commentary of postindependence in senegal. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. As he goes through a series of cures including several tinged with witchcraft, his prestige in the communities dwindles along with his sense of manhood. Ousmane sembene, 1975, senegal the analysis of which i shall return to later all three instances of fetishism are equally explored and appear to be witnessed by the people in the everyday life in a town in senegal. On the wedding night he discovers that he is incapable of consummating the marriage. Description this book is in the cambria contemporary global performing arts series general editor. Mar 01, 2010 xala impotence from a novel by ousmane sembene. Black girl 1966 movie summary, analysis jotted lines. Xala study guide contains a biography of ousmane sembene, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
On his discharge in 1946 he became a railway worker. Jun 11, 2007 a film maker, novelist and radical from senegal in west africa, ousmane sembene consistently opposed imperialism. An african is now the head of the chamber of commerce and industry. The africans open the cases and nod solemnly, impressed by the neat stacks of bribe money inside. He studied at the school of ceramics at marsassoum and then moved to dakar, where he worked as a bricklayer. Its where your interests connect you with your people. The originality of ousmane sembene as a filmmaker lies in his having managedsuccessfullyto adaptfilm, aprimarilywesternmedium,totheneeds,pace,and rhythm ofafrican culture. In the novel as well as the movie, xala presented many themes such as the post colonialism, the bourgeois, negritude, integrity, and religion, and what most triggered me was the emphasis on the role of women. Xala is a 1973 frenchlanguage novel by senegalese writer ousmane sembene. He has not made many films, but at least two of them, xala and ceddo, deserve to be counted among the best.
The novel is set in preindependence senegal and follows the struggles of the african trainworkers in three cities as they go on strike against their french employers in an effort for equal benefits and compensation. While sembene reimages gender and tradition in contemporary africa, his vision is also surreal and romanticized. While nollywood, the nigerian film industry, is the second largest in the world, the quality or reach of african film does not match that of the milliondollar hollywood film industry. Project muse reimaging gender and african tradition. May 28, 2014 now, these themes would crop up throughout sembenes legendary career, and most notably in one of his greatest and most underrated works, the subtle drama mandabi. Film analysis of ousmane sembene s black girlnoire femme. With mbissine therese diop, annemarie jelinek, robert fontaine, momar nar sene.
Feb 05, 20 in the novel as well as the movie, xala presented many themes such as the post colonialism, the bourgeois, negritude, integrity, and religion, and what most triggered me was the emphasis on the role of women. Faat kine brings the viewer face to face with politically, economically, and morally corrupt social fabric. The nexus of sembenes literary and filmic work is generally a critique of the conflictual relationships. A corrupt politician is cursed with impotence on the night of his. Prc 2009 05 21 07 59 14 01,025,264 m supportsoft, inc. Known for urban themes and complex female protagonists, sembenes movies, both in french and in his native language wolof, are considered pioneering masterworks of african cinema. Role reversal in sembene ousmane s xala phoebe koch. With the exception of a few gems, the material being churned out is consistently finding new ways to. Both versions of xala remain within a naturalist genre. Download complete project seminar research material on utopianism and charaterisation in aminata sowfalls the beggers strike and sembene ousmane s xala.
In the novel as well as the movie, xala presented many themes such as the post colonialism, the bourgeois, negritude, integrity, and religion. Against this backdrop, faat kine stands out as the most hopeful, the most restorative, and the. In the modern sense, this corresponds to the role of the griot in traditional african culture. In terms of content, ousmane was a strong advocate against social injustice in africa and is known for writing arduously about a wide range of topics including the outcomes of colonialism as evidenced by the following brief summary.
And indeed, sembene has found within his own culture the essence and strategies. Through xala, director ousmane sembene attacks african neocolonialism on an allegorical level. Ousmane sembene ne le 1 janvier 1923 a ziguinchor, afriqueoccidentale francaise, mort le 9. After a disappointing wedding night, the businessman discovers that hes impotent. Films by ousmane sembene 1 borom sarret post independence themes portrays the from tws 21 at university of california, san diego. Utopianism and charaterisation in aminata sowfalls the. Often called the father of african film, sembene strongly believed that african films should be geared primarily toward educating the masses and making the philosophical quandaries and political. In this vivid, timeless novel, sembene ousmane envinces the color, passion, and tragedy of those formative years in the history of west africa. In xala, senegalese sembene ousmane, just like the kenyan ngugi wa thiongo in matigari, is concerned with employing the supernatural as a liberating tool for the oppressed and a punitive.
Because it was shot on location, on a documentary level the background setting is an accurate physical view of west african cities and city life at the time. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of xala by ousmane sembene. In this senegalese novel set in dakkar, xala is a curse of impotence. Usually films about controversial issues are tilted too far toward rage or tearjerking. Xala explores colonial corruption of natives the herald. This article analyzes sembene ousmane s and mariama bas novels in an attempt to determine whether or not the struggle of feminism in achieving its inherent objectives is gender based. It is a biting attack upon the newly risen bourgeois class that has ascended to power and wealth in senegal since. Like borom sarret, black girl, the money order, and xala, ousmane sembenes latest release is another chapter in the writerdirectors lasersharp commentary of postindependence in senegal.
But one of the whites returns to place attache cases in front of each seat. It is the dawn of senegals independence from france, but as the citizens celebrate in the streets we soon become aware that only the faces have changed. The film satirizes the corruption in african postindependence. It does, however, thanks largely to ousmane sembene, born in senegal in 1923. This book is about a story ousmane sembenes xala, about a time the aftermath of senegalese independence, and about a place dakar, the capital of senegal. A part xala, son dernier roman publie en 1973, huit ans apres vehi. Released just four years after girl in 1968 almost a decade prior to his third masterpiece, xala, mandabi is a picture near and dear to the intellectual heart of sembene. Though he asserts he did not take his religion seriously in his youth, his 1974 novel xala, made heavy use of serer themes and ideas. This is appropriate for his didactic aims sembene s filmmaking was always political and focused on notions of political enlightenment. Moolaade is the kind of film that can only be made by a director whose heart is in harmony with his mind. Needing a book starting with the letter x for an a to z title challenge, i selected ousmane sembene s xala. A few themes predominate in all his work hatred for the brutal way capitalist.
With regard to the effects of the authors respective upbringings on their later publications, conrads works bring a classical british imperialist sentiment to them, with heart of darkness being perhaps the. It is an adaptation of sembenes 1973 novel of the same name. Sembene ousmane s xala was written as a novel and made into a film in 1974. Jun 22, 2007 sembene once said that there can be no progress in africa if women are not included and nowhere is this more evident than in moolade, sembene s final film. Xala is a film of visual facades a satire of postcoloniality as a dominant conspiracy of global capitalism. After watching the movie xala that was also directed by ousmane sembene, i was able to capture the imagery. Sembene ousmane s novel xala examines the paradoxes which color an african world emerging from a history of french colonial rule. Xala samantha williams xala essay the symbolic presence of. Xala begins with a celebration, as businessmen thats how sembene puts it, too in senegal celebrate the election of an african to head the local chamber of commerce and industry, yet another step towards being able to exert control and diminish the influence of the former colonial powers.