Black Girl (1966 film)

Plot

The plot continually shifts back and forth between Diouana's present life in France where she works a domestic servant, and flashbacks of her previous life in Senegal. During flashbacks of Diouana's life in Senegal, the reader learns that she comes from a very poor village outside of Dakar. Most people in the village cannot read or write. Every day Diouana would walk into Dakar to look for work. One day, Madame came to the square, looking for a servant. She selected Diouana from the crowd of unemployed women because she was submissive, and did not crowd forward eagerly demanding a job. She hired Diouana to care for her three children in Dakar. As a gift, Diouana gave her new employers a traditional mask that she had bought from a small boy for 50 guineas. The employers display it in their home. When Dionana is not working for Monsieur and Madame she spends time with her boyfriend, going for walks. It isn't long before Monsieur and Madame offer Diouana a job working for them in France. Diouana is thrilled, and immediately begins dreaming of her new life in France. But in France Diouana is overworked, cooking and cleaning for the rich French couple and their friends. The couple treats her harshly and doesn't allow her to rest. Diouana is confused as to her role in their household. She thought that she would be caring for children, as she did in Senegal. She thought that she would be able to go outside and see something of France. But she is always inside, cooking and cleaning the house. When she works she wears a fancy dress and heels. The mistress of the house tells her to remove them, telling her "don't forget that you are a maid." One night at a dinner party, one of Madame and Monsieur's friends kisses Diouana without her consent, explaining "I've never kissed a negress before!" Diouana receives a letter from her mother in the mail, which Monsieur reads to her. In the letter, Diouana's mother asks why she hasn't heard from her daughter, and pleads for some money. Diouana rips the letter up. Madame refuses to let Diouana sleep, and yells at her to get to work. Diouana attempts to take back the mask she gave to Madame, and a struggle ensues. Madame tells Diouana that if she does not work, she cannot eat. Diouana refuses to work. Then, in an unexpected plot twist that is the climax of the film, Diouana commits suicide by slitting her wrists in the bathtub of the family's home. The film ends with Monsieur journeying to Senegal to return Diouana's suitcase and mask to her family. He offers Diouana's mother money, but she is insulted and refuses to take it. The film ends with Monsieur leaving the village, being followed by the little boy with the mask, who runs along behind him symbolizing how Monsieur is haunted by his own memories.

Cast

Themes

This film addresses the effects of colonialism, racism and post-colonial identity in Africa and Europe. These themes are highlighted through the recurring appearance of the African mask Diouana gives to her employers on her first day of work at the house. The mask is hung on the wall in the French couple's Senegalese apartment, along with other pieces of African art.

Significance

In his 1997 book Movies as Politics, Jonathan Rosenbaum makes a case for Black Girl as the symbolic genesis of sub-Saharan African filmmaking, at least to the extent that the authorship belonged to a born and bred African.

Awards