Ousmane Sembene

 Ousmane Sembene



La Noire de.... (1966)



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1. La Noire de... (1966)


Before venturing into the world of film, Ousmane Sembene was a novelist. After coming to the notion that only cultural elites concerned themselves with his work, he tried his hand at filmmaking. His first great success was 1966's "La Noire de...." which tells the story of a young Senegalese girl who is taken to France to become a white family's maid. Her expectations of economic prosperity and cultural integration are dashed, however, after realizing that her white family resents her, treats her harshly, and alienates her from the culture she hoped to be accepted into. The economics, politics, and social implications of racism and colonization are rendered far more intimate and personal through the individual journey of our young protagonist. "La Noire de..." visually and emotionally demonstrates how displacement and diaspora can have an effect on not just society as a whole, but on single individuals, their mental state, and their emotional well-being. 

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