La Noire is an adaptation of one of Sembene’s earliest written works. Black Girl is an exploration of a Senegalese woman who is transplanted to France to work as a maid for a French family. In the film, Diouna cannot accurately express herself in French, instead her thoughts are presented to the viewer through non-diegetic voiceovers. It is not expected that she would naturally think in a foreign language however, Sembene made such a cinematic choice to please his sponsors. She is stripped of her cultural identity and dissolved into a person of a lesser class whose sole function is to clean up after the household. Her disenchantment with her position leads to hopelessness. Diouana decides to take matters into her own hands and ends her life so she can emancipate herself from the environment of slave-like captivity.
When Diouana arrives in France she is dressed in high heels, a polka-dot dress and a necklace resembling pearls. Her natural hair is bundled underneath a conservative European wig. Diouana’s disillusionment is established in a later flashback sequence in the film when she is with her boyfriend in Dakar. In the original story, Sembene expresses Diouana’s illusions in a passage:
Already, without having left Africa, she could see herself on the quay, returning from France, a millionaire, with clothes for everyone. She dreamed of being free to go wherever she wanted without having to work like an animal. If Madame refused her, she would be sick.
Cinematically, her feelings are translated through blissful excitement as she sings a childish song, “I am going to France”, and dances on the steps of a monument. Her boyfriend scolds her for having no regard for the dead but innocence and mistaken identification with the monument is perhaps a representation of her misguided and disillusioned encounter with death. Upon hearing about the job, Diouana runs through her village shouting, “I’ve got a job with white folks!”
Her boyfriend attempts to discourage her from going to France because he thinks it is “domestic slavery,” but Diouana is only concerned with his anger rather than the validity of his statement. Her fantasy is illuminated in the next scene when she is lying on the bed fantasizing about being like one of the women in a French magazine, “Mon Chéri,” with her European wig. Her boyfriend is disappointed in her actions but Diouana interprets his response as jealousy. After truly experiencing France, her illusions are shattered and reality imprisons her spirit.
Once she arrives at the apartment she is immediately given orders to begin cleaning. Her lifestyle with the family in France is strikingly different from her experiences with them in Africa. In Dakar, Diouana dressed in her native clothing with her natural hair exposed and she only took care of the children whereas in France her role is more domesticated and she becomes a maid rather than a caretaker. Diouana has a view of Juan, Les, Nice and Cannes from her window, signifying her desires as well as the juxtaposition of her dreams and her reality.
Confused about her duties as the “help,”Diouana cleans the house in her nice clothes and high-heeled shoes. The Madame expresses disgust with Diouana for continuously wearing the same clothes and gives her an apron exclaiming, “You’ve dressed like that for three days! You are not going to a party!” The apron is a symbol of Diouana’s domestication and entrapment as an African woman who belongs to the proletariat class and is thus not allowed to enjoy the same lifestyle as the French bourgeoisie. When cleaning, Diouna is thinking, ” I came to take care of the children. Where are they? I am no cleaning woman.”
While initially looking for a job, Diouana passes by two Senegalese representatives leaving the National Assembly. Their conversation: “It is not an obstruction.” “It is in your own interest.” “It is in my district.” “Not so loud.” “Think of your family… Ease off a bit,”discloses their selfish ambitions as counsel men not concerned about the welfare of their native community. On her search, she runs into two little girls, one black and one white, who enjoy the same class privileges.
These two situations demonstrate that Diouana’s conflict is not merely a racial struggle but it transcends into the realms of economics and class. Diouana’s unhappiness with her social condition proves to be a result of the failure of her country’s elitist leaders “who could not provide her with a job but see themselves as constituting a social class that, in its alienation-at least, so their dress would indicate-defines itself in terms of Europe.” The tragedy of Diouana’s psychological confusion and idealism of France is perhaps an indicator of Sembene’s personal commentary about external “patriotism” and its drawbacks for the post-colonial African.
Through flashbacks we learn that Diouana’s boyfriend, familiar with both African and European traditions, is directly responsible for her connections with the French family. When she is initially looking for work he sends her to the “maid market,” a place in Dakar where people come to choose their help for hire. The maid market resembles a slave market because the women are not given autonomous control of their economic destinies.
They are demeaned and diminished by the gaze of the foreigner who has come to hire them for the grunge work they do not want to do as the privileged class. In the narration Diouana says, “I sat on the curb as I did everyday to wait for destiny.” This statement indicates that she took a pacified stance in relation to her destiny The relationship between the foreigner and the African is exploitative and estranged and does not aid in the emancipation of the Senegalese society because people like Diouana are taken away from their native land and not given a chance to become economically liberated in their own country. The notion that there is a need to escape Africa in order to make money to liberate the continent is contradictory and tragic in the presentation of Black Girl.
Diouana’s culture is subjugated in a scene where the Madame asks her to make rice because they are having guests over. She asks herself why they would want to eat rice when the maid never made rice in Dakar. “Diouana is requested to show her talents as a trained native and an exotic cook.” The French family ignorantly talks about their comfortable life in neo-colonial Dakar to express the difference in the cost of living that is obviously due to the economic exploitation of Africa. One of the guests requests to kiss Diouana: “Allow me to kiss you, miss, I have never kissed a nigger woman before.” She responds in a negative manner and the gentleman makes an insulting comment: “Since their independence, the niggers have lost a lot of their natural dispositions.” Another woman comments on the taste of the food saying that she hopes it is an “aphrodisiac,” while someone else assumes that Africans only eat rice.
Diouana is exhibited to the guests by the French family. As the Madame constantly rings a bell to request service, Diouana thinks to herself, “they eat like pigs and jabber away”. Her perception of the Europeans is informed by the hurt she experiences as a maid. The ignorant insults show the French people’s misconceptions of African culture. She is perceived as an exotic subject who needs proper training from the French in order to become refined and “cultured”according to European standards. In a conversation following this incident the family explains to their friends that Diouana does not speak French but she understands like an “animal.” Their perception of the maid is unfairly predicated on her lack of education and European social skills. Diouana’s illiteracy causes them to believe that she is incompetent and her only function in the world is to perform domesticated work.
After this incident Diouana becomes increasingly perturbed by her situation. Her apathy is heightened when the children return and she remains in the bed when she is supposed to be making breakfast. The Madame yells at her saying, “you will not eat if you do not take care of the children.” Diouna replies introspectively, “If I don’t eat, I won’t take care of the children.” She finally arises from bed and takes an exceedingly long time to get dressed. She does not put on her wig instead she combs out her afro and wears her heels in rebellion. Diouana thinks to herself, “Back in Dakar they must be saying Diouana must be happy in France. She has a good life…. But France for me is the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and my bedroom. Did the mistress bring me here to shut me in?” The mistress thinks that since she has given Diouana her old clothes and taken her out of poverty stricken Africa she should be more than thankful to clean for them and live in European luxury. The Madame throws a fit when she cannot get Diouana out of the bathroom and complains about having to make coffee by herself. The thought never crosses her mind that perhaps “the maid” needs a break from the house. At this point in the film Diouana has made up her mind to drastically change her situation.
After their disappointment in Diouana, the family decides to write a letter pretending to be her mother to make her feel bad about her actions. In response to the farce letter she thinks, “Its because I can’t write-If I could write I would tell all about my mistress’ ‘kindness’ and what a ‘lady’ she really is. I am a prisoner here. I know no one here. That is why I am their slave.” Diouana’s cynicism causes her to become depressed and hopeless as she searches for a way to escape domestication. She does not even accept her earnings from the Mister signifying that it is less important than her freedom. The Madame attempts to take the mask away from Diouana out of spite. The mistress’ jealousy and frustration with her is not only because she believes she is lazy but also because she perceives her to be a rival in her own house. Diouana is attractive and exotic.
The husband is quite fascinated by her beauty as is shown when he peers inside her bedroom and checks the living room to make sure his wife is not looking. His sympathy and communication with Diuoana is expressed through silent stares and his suggestions such as “maybe she should be allowed to go out.” Instead of responding positively to his propositions, the mistress places more restrictions on Diouana not allowing her to dress as she wishes because she is a “maid.” This scene depicts the essence of how the family has stripped the Black girl of her cultural identity, which gives Diouana character and human worth. At this point in the film, her spirit of excitement for living is dead.
Following this scene there is an internal dialogue in which she chants, “Never again will the mistress scold me. Never again will I be a slave. Never again will she tell me to do the dishes, wash the clothes, and cook the food.” Diouana puts on a white robe and exposes her natural hair as she packs her belongings exclaiming “The mistress lied. She always lied. Never again will she lie to me.” She proceeds to the bathroom and slits her wrist. Diouana’s suicide is paradoxically juxtaposed with scenes of French people enjoying leisure time on the beach. The family decides to return the mask, Diouana’s belongings, and the money back to Dakar to her family. Diouana’s mother does not accept the money and her little brother takes the mask and wears it throughout the village as a representation of homage to the dead.
The tragedy of this story is that Diouana’s depression and desperation made death appear to be the only solution for her freedom. Her idealistic views of France proved to be catastrophic and plagued with strife. Her pain is released when her spirit (the mask) is returned to Dakar. Diouana’s statement about the mistress lying to her is ironic because in actuality she lied to herself and transformed her mind to believe that France would offer her more freedom, economic stability, and growth than her own homeland. Diouana is one of the first female characters created by Sembene and though she meets tragedy to obtain emancipation she created a way out for herself through her own agency. Though she is illiterate, she is strong enough not to succumb to subjectivity at the expense of her own happiness and freedom.
Unlike Sembene’s later female characters in films such as Faat Kine and Xala, Diouana does not survive outside of Senegal and her character conflict is displaced from the cultural context of her native country. Despite the setting of the story, we are able to understand the effects of post-colonial thought, especially Western and European idealism by Africans. Though Diouana’s story is a tragedy, she is still as much of a heroine and revolutionary character as Faat Kine and the women of Xala. Since Black Girl is Sembene’s first feature film it is safe to say that his cinematic language and thematic presentation of post-colonial solutions through his female characters is not as developed as with his later films. Perhaps the film’s tragic ending is also a representation of the social climate of Senegal at the time. As a viewer, one wonders why Diouana chooses to end her life rather than return to Senegal?
Sembene’s realist filmmaking would suggest that neither post-colonial Africa, nor France is an enriching environment for an illiterate African woman. Thus, progressive and revolutionary rebuilding of the African nation through economy, education, and politics is imperative. Everyone is culpable for Diouana’s tragedy because she was not supported economically in her native land. The government counsel men, her boyfriend, and her own family are responsible for not encouraging her to stay in her own country to learn a craft that would empower her financially. Instead, African society should be held accountable for perpetuating ignorant colonial thought patterns and the idealism of foreign success over cultural development. Diouna is entrapped by everything from her environment to the living space in which she resides. Semebene explores more socially conscious female types in his later films as his exploration of cultural imperatives provides a deeper and unique understanding of post-colonial Africans and how to represent them in film.
Reference:
La Noire de…. Dir. Ousmane Sembene. Filmi Domireew/ Actualites Francaise (Senegal/France) 1968.
