Black Girl

Ousmane Sembene's Black Girl makes an extremely radical statement on the state of race relations in Senegal in the 1960s. The film helps show how, even after Senegal had gained independence from France, the country was still riddled with racism and discrimination against low class blacks. The film portrays a young woman named Diouana who is chosen to work as a maid in the household of a wealthy white family in France. It is clear from the beginning that Diouana's employers do not have any regard for her happiness or well-being. They are only concerned with using Diouana to complete household tasks for which she was not equipped. After blindly obeying her employers for a period of time, Diouana finally becomes fed up with being mistreated and makes the decision to refuse to do any more work. She stays in bed all day and does not complete her daily chores. Finally, Diouana takes back the mask that she gave her employers as a gift. She stands up for herself and does not accept the money that her employers give her as a way to "shut her up". By taking back the African mask, and ultimately committing suicide, Diouana was making a statement that she would not take any more discrimination at the hands of wealthy whites. She is so determined to reject any and all white influence on her life that she feels committing suicide would be better than living as the servant of a white family.

Given the time in which this film was made, the radical nature of Diouana's rebellion would have been extremely provocative. I believe Ousmane Sembene was trying to make a statement against how Senegal was still under the thumb of wealthy whites, even though they had legally gained independence from the French. Just because the country was technically free does not mean that there was no longer any trace of racism or discrimination between whites and blacks. Sembene was trying to reclaim African pride and uplift African culture (as symbolized through the African mask in the film).