La Noire de... (1966)

 Ousmane Sembene's "La Noire de..."

One of the more significant things I noticed about Ousmane Sembene's 1966 film "Black Girl" is that the English translation of the original title, "Le Noire de..." seems to omit one of its most important aspects. The French word 'de...' means 'of...' which literally translates the full title of "the black [girl] of..." The intentional omission of a location is the essential point the entire film is making. Thereby, the English translation of the original French title completely ignores the film's central themes. 

"La Noire de..." centers on a young Senegalese woman named Diouana who is taken to France by a wealthy white family to work as their maid. Her excitement to integrate into the French culture and explore a new country are soon vanished after realizing that she is trapped by her new employers and even resented by them. Diouana is confused about what she is supposed to be doing, treated poorly by the white Madame, and is alienated from even being considered a 'part' of the same community.

There are a lot of films that deal with colonialization, prejudice, and racism. However, "La Noire de..." does so on an extremely intimate and personal level. The economic, political, and social ramifications of systematic racism and colonialization can be extrapolated from the intimacy of a young girl's personal journey of exploitation and emotional abuse. Because of this, these thematic ideas are more personally felt and engaged with through experiential circumstances, rather than big-picture ruminations. 

Sembene achieves this alienation and subjugation through cinematic language, something he was newly fresh to. Starting out as a novelist, Sembene decided to transition to the world of cinema, believing that only 'cultural elites' concerned themselves with written works. After making a few short films, "La Noire de..." was his first feature length.

As we move through the story, we see Diouana's racial struggles through her visual environment, including the way she presents herself visually as well. She begins the film in a fancy dress in heels, believing that coming to France would open doors to economic prosperity. As she slowly realizes her suffocation, she begins to abandon her 'white' clothing in favor of her more naturally black aesthetic, even letting her hair be unkept or even braided. 

As she works in her white employers' homes, Sembene surrounds her visually around white walls. While this is analogous to her being surrounded by white people in generally, it is also a stark contrast to her naturally black skin. This visually imbues her with the concept of 'not fitting in' and 'sticking out' in her new environment. 

Because Diouana is also illiterate, she is unable to read or respond to her mother's letter. After reading the letter out loud, her white employer responds to her using his own dictation. This demonstrates that the white family has not only imprisoned their new maid and alienated her from society, they have also taken away her 'voice.' We can hear through Diouana's narration her displeasure, although we never see her raise her voice to them. Her silent suffering aids in this larger theme of the suppression of her identity and voice. 

Because our protagonist has been displaced from her home and doesn't seem to fit into her new 'home' either, her identity becomes suffocated. This is the precise reason why the French title is more apt than its English substitute. "La Noire de..." points to the very concern that Diouana is without a home, without a voice, and without an identity, erasing her very existence. This notion makes the film incredibly powerful and effective storytelling.