The Influence of Third World Filmmaking on Afrikan Cinema

The decolonization of Africa span over several decades leaving South Africa one of the last countries to gain its independence. African cinema reflected Third World ideologies by mimicking the opposition to colonial oppression through their films. However, African cinema sought to distinguish itself from other Third World countries (Asia and Latin America) by producing their own recognizable cultures and film language. In order to understand African cinema, one must identify the factors that contributed to it including the origins of Third World cinema.

Third cinema came from the liberation movements originating in Latin America in the late 1960s. This revolutionary film movement worked against neocolonialism, capitalism, and traditional film styles solely created for entertainment and money (Hollywood).

According to Valérie K. Orlando, “Third World film culture followed a path from domination to liberation” and “the postcolonial era would rely on writers, artists, and filmmakers to structure it” (42). Third World cinema focused on the political and social issues surrounding the working class within developing nations in order to analyze the institutions and persons in power behind them. These films helped influence African cinema by showing how film can be used as an ideological tool, and help audiences heal from the trauma of colonial brutality. African countries not only had to economically recover from colonial rule, but also reinvent themselves by developing a “consciousness of oneself”, a new culture, and religion (Orland, 42).

African filmmakers, similarly to other Third World countries, sought to provide “a more realistic image of Africa as opposed to the distorted artistic and ideological expressions the West projected on the continent, during and after the colonial era” (Orlando, 52). Ousmane Sembene, father of African filmmaking, believed “imported religions from elsewhere in the world would forever hold Africa hostage and deny Africans access to their own belief and value systems” (Orlando, 44). With that being said, African films were influenced by third world ideologies but strived to create their own cultures and experiment with new diverse styles in film including visuals and sounds.

Ousmane Sembene is considered the father of African filmmaking for his contributions as a Senegalese director, producer, and writer. One of his most influential films in African cinema is Black Girl. Black Girl is about a maid named Diouana from Dakar, Senegal who is hired by a French couple to work for. Diouana is hand selected by the wife since she was the most submissive out of the group of women on the curb looking for work.

Originally, Diouana watches over their kids in Dakar, but is later asked to move with the couple to France. Diouana dreams of her new life in France and believes she will be able to explore the streets. Diouana gives a mask from her village to the French couple as a gift for giving her work. Once in France, the French couple exploits Diouana for work and treats her as a slave. In the end, Diouana commits suicide in the family's home. The most important element in the film was the inclusion of the mask from Dakar. The mask had three meanings upon my analyze that helped convey Third World ideologies and express the cruelness of French colonial rule in Senegal. First, the mask represents Diouana and other African natives.

The mask is originally hung up on the wall with several others from different African countries in the French couple’s home in Senegal. The mask in this context represents Diouana surrounded by a familiar environment and the idea that the French had colonized all of these nations. Later on in the film, the mask is hung on a white wall alone in the French couple’s apartment in France. This represents Diouana being surrounded by only white people/French culture, and she is now in an unfamiliar environment. This also illustrates the French hegemony forcing African natives to migrate to Europe to find work. Second, the mask represents Senegal fighting for their independence. Diouana tries to take back her gift from the French couple, but gets into a struggle with the wife. The wife tries to rip the mask away from Diouana, but in the end fails to do so. This shows the struggle Senegal went through to gain their independence. Lastly, the mask represents the haunting memories the colonizers of Africa must live with.

After Diouana commits suicide, the husband returns her belongings and the mask to her family in Dakar. The little boy who sold her the mask follows the husband until he becomes scared and starts running away. The mask represents the cruel conditions Diouana went through at the hands of the French couple, which will forever haunt them. Overall, Black Girl captured third world ideologies and the essence of the postcolonial era in Senegal. Third World cinema influenced African cinema in several ways, but most importantly provided filmmakers with the goal to bring enlightenment to their own people.