Sembene in Senegal 1963-1977
Subtitle: radical art in neocolonial society
By: by Fírinne Ní Chréacháin.
Publisher: University of Birmingham
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Birmingham
Language: eng
Subjects: Sembène, Ousmane, -- 1923-
Description: This study asks whether it is possible to produce revolutionary art in the neo-colonial context. It defines revolutionary art in terms of its ability to expose the exploitative structures of neocolonialism in a language accessible to the masses and to inspire the exploited to fight back. It takes as a case study the films of Ousmane Sembene produced during the first two decades of neo-colonalism in Senegal. The study first examines Senegal and Sembene prior to 1960, confirming that France's continuing grip on Senegal is the result  of a high level of hegemonic control. Sembene emerges as a complex product of the contradictions of French colonialism in its specific Senegalese form. The production of the films is looked at as concretely as possible, taking into account the ideological conditioning of Sembene himself, the contradictions of the medium and the mode of production, the direct and indirect intervention of the state, and the ideological and cultural obstacles to communication between the artist and the masses. The study concludes that it is possible to see Sembene's work as stretching to the maximum the margin of manoeuvre provided by the contradictions of neo-colonialism in Senegal, or as an example of the power of hegemonic forces to incorporate even the most radical artist such a society can produce.
Notes: Thesis (Ph.D) - University of Birmingham, Centre of West African Studies, 1997.
Table of contents: pagenum: 217
title: Mandabi - Has the elephant given birth to a mouse?
class: chapter
label: five; pagenum: 347
title: Ceddo - the fish is caught because it opens its mouth
class: chapter
label: eight