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‘Mandabi’
The second Sembene film that I watched was his second feature length film released in 1968, entitled Mandabi. The word ‘mandabi’ means money order, and that is what the film revolves around, what people will do and how they behave over money in a capitalist society. The main character of the film is a goofy middle aged Senegalese man named Ibrahim Dieng (Makhouredia Gueye). Dieng receives a money order from a family member in Paris, which he planned to keep a secret but once his wives spread the word that he received a money order he is exposed to the community which attempts to take complete advantage of him. Although Dieng is pestered and cheated within the film Sembene puts the viewer in quite the neutral positon by making Dieng pretty hard to root for as a character. As a result of Sembene’s neutralizing we as the viewer unbiasedly witness how money effects relationships, behaviors, and temperaments, and once again Sembene’s aueturism shines through a very neorealist lens. One of the major themes of the film is the idea of maintaining an image, which is most certainly connected to having a certain amount of money in a capitalist society. Within the film Dieng himself is accused of trying to maintain an image of riches that doesn’t exist, and once the community is aware that he received a money order Dieng is pressured to live up to something that is not real. Dieng is constantly badgered throughout the film by people begging him for money, and asking him to borrow some money; foolishly Dieng gives in to money request and continues to make purchases even before he cashes in the money order. Not only did Dieng’s friend’s and strangers behave differently but Dieng’s two wives also changed as a result of new money that was never received. Dieng’s wives not only spread the word about the money order but proceeded to make purchases on credit hoping the money order would cover all of them, and they even went on to tell a lie about Dieng being robbed of his money order in hopes of possibly relinquishing themselves of the money they owed. By the end of the film the roles are completely reversed, Dieng goes from a man criticizing beggars to in the end ultimately becoming a beggar himself who literally gets on his knees. Dieng had been unemployed for a long time so the money order seemingly changed everything, but not for the better. Sembene certainly maintained his auteur characteristics within this film with the filming techniques and the film content. For Mandabi Sembene is consistent in his decision to shoot on location utilizing the more developed and improved cameras that were more portable. Sembene also decided to dub in the sound of the film, and used a non-professional cast very similar to the Italian Neorealist film movement. Unique to himself and his principles Seembene delivered a very honest, and raw depiction of Africa and its culture as well as being the first director make an entire film in the Senegalese language. Once again Sembene created a feature length fiction film that feels like a documentary following the everyday occurences of an ordinary person’s life.
References
G. M. Perry, Patrick McGilligan and Ousmane Sembene Film Quarterly Vol. 26, No. 3 (Spring, 1973), pp. 36-42. Greenspun, Roger. “Film Festival: ‘Mandabi’:Sembene of Senegal Directs Comedy.��� New York Times. 30 September 1969. http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9807E6D91F3AEE34BC4850DFBF668382 679EDE Foreestcardamenis. “MANDABI (OUSMANE SEMBENE, 1968).” FORREST IN FOCUS: CRITICAL FILM REVIEWS. 24 January 2013. https://forrestinfocus.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/mandabi-ousmane-sembene-1968/ A. Obenson, Tambay. “The Shadow & Act Filmmaker Series Discussion: Ousmane Sembenes ‘Mandabi’.” Indie Wire. 28 March 2013. http://www.indiewire.com/2013/03/the-shadow-act-filmmaker-series-discussion-ousmane-sembenes-mandabi-136888/
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References
Françoise Pfaff Issue: A Journal of Opinion Vol. 20, No. 2 (Summer, 1992), pp. 31-37.
Scott, O.A. “Ousmane Sembene’s ‘Black Girl’ Turns 50.” New York Times. 17 May 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/movies/ousmane-sembenes-black-girl-turns-50.html?_r=0.
Hoffman, Jordan. “Black Girl review – Ousmane Sembene’s groundbreaking film dazzles 50 years on.” The Guardian. 18 May 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/18/black-girl-review-ousmene-sembene-groundbreaking.
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‘BLACK GIRL’
In 1966 Ousmanne Sembene released his first feature length film entitled “Black Girl” starring Mbissine Therese Diop. “Black Girl” provides a glimpse into the last days of a Senagalese woman named Gomis Diouana(Mbissine Therese Diop). The film is a perfect example of what makes Sembene an auteur. Through this film Sembene dives pretty deep into the effects of colonialism and the current state of Africa as well as the dynamic of black/African and white relations. The actual story of the film is based upon on a real news story which empowers the message of the film, and aids in driving home the statement Sembene is making through his art. Stylistically it is apparent that Sembene uses filming techniques similar to that of Italian Neorealism which resulted in a documentary like final product. “Black Girl” is a powerful sociopolitical statement grown out of Sembene’s auteur roots manifested in an Italian Neorealist aesthetic.
Sembene was very well known for depicting Africa in a manner that is far from dreamlike, Sembene embraced the duty to show Africa just as it was whether it may come off as beautiful or ugly. “Black Girl” as a movie was no exception to the rule as Africa is presented as a place struck with poverty and people just trying to survive the struggle, a struggle that bred desperation. The desperation is incredibly apparent in the first stage of displaying the sociopolitical dynamic amongst Africans and the French even after colonialism, when we see African women dreaming of being a maid. The dream of being a maid very much representative of a lack of currency, and hope. Throughout the film the French are depicted as the much more well off society who could single handedly be the answer to all the desperation that existed within the African people. The desperation is most apparent within Diouana and others when they are seated on the side of the street just begging to be chosen as a maid by a French man or woman. Just as great as the desperation to get a job that could pay well was the desperation to leave Africa and experience life in France. The desire to leave Africa is so strong that being a maid was far from concerning, we are even provided with a sequence of Diouana shouting and cheering with excitement because she got a job with white people. Diouana didn’t run home to announce to her mother that she got accepted to Harvard or Moorhouse or that she started her own business. Diouana excitedly ran home to announce to her mother that she was going to be a maid.
In displaying Diouana’s life as a maid Sembene provided a context to what was identified in the film as ‘domestic slavery’. Sembene throughout the movie place emphasis on the fact that despite chattel slavery ending Africans still felt the effects of colonialism which came with a lack of freedom, metaphorical shackles, and a grand glass ceiling. Unfortunately Diouana had to learn about her glass ceiling and metaphorical shackles the hard way with her life as a maid. Diouana had a complete misconception of what life as a maid would be, she was hit with the reality that Madame and Monsieur decided how long she worked, how long her break could be, what clothes she could wear, when or if she could leave the house, how long she can be in the bathroom, and how long she could sleep. Diouana served as the sole representative of every perception that the French had of Africa in instances in which she was told ‘get up lazybones we’re not in Africa ‘ and an instance in which she was compared to an Animal. Sembene also provides a glimpse at the historical fetishizing of African people by whites when a house guest interrupts dinner to kiss Diouana on the cheek claiming ‘I’ve never kissed a negress before’. Diouana ultimately slashes her own throat in a refusal to live anymore of her life as a ‘domestic slave’ or a hopeless ‘free’ African woman. The suicide committed by Diouana is another powerful historical statement reminiscent of slaves who revolted against their masters and purposefully jump ship to commit suicide.
The Italian Neorealism aesthetic is undeniable. The dialogue of Diouana is the greatest evidence of dubbed sound with many of her lines being a voiceover telling her inner thoughts not expressed to any characters in the film. There are also many shots in the film that simply display very mundane tasks that display Diouana’s everyday life.
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Post One References
Samba Gadjigo Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media Vol. 49, No. 1 (SPRING 2008), pp. 30-34.
Whitaker, Sheila. “Ousmane Sembene.” The Guardian. 11 June 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jun/12/guardianobituaries.obituaries.
Gadjigo, Samba. “OUSMANE SEMBENE: THE LIFE OF A REVOLUTIONARY ARTIST.” California Newsreel. http://newsreel.org/articles/ousmanesembene.htm.
Silver, Charles. “Two Films by Ousmane Sembene.” MoMA. 4 February 2014. https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2014/02/04/two-films-by-ousmane-sembene.
Scott, A.O. “Ousmane Sembene’s ‘Black Girl’ Turns 50.” New York Times. 17 May 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/movies/ousmane-sembenes-black-girl-turns-50.html?_r=0.
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Ousmane Sembene
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OUSMANE SEMBENE
Ousmane Sembene was born in 1923 in a village known as Ziguinchor, which is located in the province of Masmance South Senegal. Sembene prior to his film career was in the midst of WWII and post WWII madness; Sembene was classified as a citizen of French West Africa and in 1944 was called to active duty to free France of its German rivals. Following the war Sembene would eventually move to France to live in the Mediterranean city of Marseilles and enroll in the most powerful left wing worker’s union in France following the war. After breaking his back bone in 1951 Sembene was free to dive deeper into his passion for film, all kinds of literature, involvement in political movements and the study of political ideologies like Marxism.
While Sembene was evolving into a politically driven creative artist ultimately producing poems, books, and films, the film world was evolving as well. Following the war art cinema came about in the 1950s geared toward evading traditional Hollywood filmmaking. The art cinema was heavily fueled by the technological advancements that occurred within the film business. Manufacturers managed to make cameras much more portable giving directors the ability to make films without relying so heavily on a tripod, the cameras now included viewfinders, and the film stock required less light for reasonable exposure. As a result of such technological advances there was also many changes in filming techniques. The techniques that were popular during the 1960’s, which was Sembene’s introduction to film include the use of panning shots, close-ups, the development of shot-reverse-shot exchanges with long lenses, discontinuous editing, shooting on location, and the use of very long takes.
Sembene in response to his circumstances, living through WWII and its effects on Africa decided that creating for the sake of commercial success was not his goal. Through being driven by his political views of the world and a desire to bring about change Sembene has become widely recognized as the “father of African cinema”. Evident in Sembene’s work was his passionate stance on artists dedicating themselves to creating change which makes him stand out as an auteur, “Sembene told the Tunsian film critic Taha Cheria: ‘In this part of the world (Africa), there is one thing we must recognize: filmmakers carry a mission and, more generally, the artists the one who prepares a revolution, the one who incites it….Through his work of analysis, clarification, unmasking, and denunciation, the artist arouses in his people’s consciousness the clear conviction that revolution is necessary and possible’”. Sembene used cinema to explore themes such as colonialism, tradition, capitalism, patriarchy, religion, Africa finding its true identity, and abuses of power within society. Sembene was also recognized for many of his films focusing on female protagonists, Sembene was clearly a great supporter of feminism and creating positive progressive images of African women. Sembene quite importantly was the first African director to use African languages in his films including Wolof and Diola two Senegalese languages, and Bambara a language spoken in Eastern Senegal. Sembene was unafraid to cover the very tough controversial topics while straying away from the commercial Hollywood style of filmmaking, many of his film were censored and banned by former president Leopold Senghor’s regime.
In terms of techniques Sembene’s filming style can be mostly likened to Italian Neorealism. Sembene was not very concerned with making big time major commercial movies with Hollywood budgets. Sembene would make his films in a relatively cheap manner in comparison to the Hollywood market. Semebene similar to Neorealsim style was fond of shooting on location, using small nonprofessional cast, and dubbing in the sound for the films. As a result of multiple techniques similar to the Italian Neorealist films Smebene’s work has a very documentary style aesthetic even when it is a fiction work. Sembenes filmography includes work that is considered classic, especially in Africa. Sembene’s notable work includes “Black Girl” (1966), “Mandabi” (1968), and “Xala” (1975).
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