Showmax Classics: Ousmane Sembene’s devastating Black Girl

Showmax Classic is a monthly series where we pick a film from back in the day to discuss.

Ousmane Sembene often merged his admiration for black girls with his disdain for colonial oppression and patriarchy in his films. On Black Girl, his provocative debut, this intersection was fully alive.

Currently showing on Showmax, Black Girl follows Diouana, a young lady from Senegal who travels to France to work as a childminder for a young French couple. She had cared for their kids when they lived in Dakar and was excited when they invited her to France. But her excitement quickly wanes when she meets a different reality in France: she won’t only care for the kids, but clean, cook, wash and stand to be kissed by a white man who’s never kissed a black girl.

Her madame, friendly back in Dakar, complains at every turn. “Diouana, take those off, don’t forget you are a maid,” she complains about her outfit. Promises about showing her the country were not fulfilled. Instead, she is stuck in a tiny apartment far from the couple’s opulent home in Dakar. She dreams of the city and the countryside, but France was the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom for her. Her disillusion quickly turns depression, and worse.

Sembene’s film evokes strong emotions and poses questions about identity and colonial views about Africa. It’s also a simple tale about the famous saying: no place like home.

However, Sembene is anything but simple; his films are always layered, tackling several subjects woven together. Black Girl critiques anti-blackness and espouses intrinsic beliefs that white people are superior: the French couple lived lavishly in Dakar and were respected. Their home was spacious and comfortable; they had several maids for different things. In France, they live in a suffocating apartment and were mostly miserable; the patriarch was always drinking, and their marriage was on the brink. Every idea Diouana had of the family was somewhat a lie.

The most significant point in this story is the erasure of blackness, how Diouana’s madame expects her to be less of herself in France. They didn’t see her loneliness and sadness and reduced her to entertainment for guests, like an item from Africa. Sembene made this film over 50 years ago, but these views of Africa and black girls still abound in society.

Black Girl is currently available on Showmax.