Harry Conrad Bryant IV February 1, 2011 Black Girl History teaches us that, in certain circumstances, it is very easy for

the foreigner to impose his domination on a people. But it also teaches us that, whatever may be the material aspects of this domination, it can be maintained only by the permanent organized repression of the cultural life of the people concerned. It seems almost expected due to historical trends that as a culture expands and evolves, it will begin to impose its customs on another. This is very much relevant in colonial countries and religious conquests. Though the country receiving such imposition may accept the new customs, these customs will only impregnate themselves into the existing culture through repression. Sometimes people accept the new culture and allow it to exist in harmony alongside their original way of life. In many cases though, this is only a false idealization. In many cases, various aspects of the older culture is hidden and sometimes even lost. The movie, Black Girl by Ousmane Sembene, illustrates the deterioration of a persons preceding culture due to imposition by greater powers. As French colonial powers imposed their glamorous way of life and legendary beauty, the victim, a young Senegalese woman, lost her self. Throughout the movie she realized the crimes against her own person she committed. Her only escape was through a razor to the neck. The spilling blood that covered her lifeless body was composed of the pain she felt due to her mistakes.

In an African country, where the mental development is uneven, where the violent collision of two worlds has considerably shaken old traditions and thrown the universe of the perceptions out of focus, the impressionability and sensibility of the young Africans are at the mercy of the various assaults made upon them by the very nature of Western culture. In the grand scheme of Western development, many African sub-cultures are still young in their nature. This is relevant not so much in mental capabilities, but in their older more traditional way of life such as ceremonies, languages, and artifacts. Many African cultures, especially prior to the past several decades, still possess their tribal ways. They are unaware of the true nature of Western life. In many cases, the Western World may come off as a glorious legend; a fantastical fable of the perfect life. Having said that, Westerners can impose their culture almost effortlessly on many African persons. Black Girl exaggerates this idea through the story of French culture overtaking the mind of a young Senegalese woman. It shows how traditional aspects of Western culture are powerful tools of impression to people who only hears fairytales of that lifestyle. A perfect example is when a wealthy French woman observes the main African protagonist along with other native African ladies. The white woman wore sunglasses. Though they may have been cheap glasses from the general store to the white woman, the young African girl described how she could not see her eyes but the white woman could see them. They were more than sunglasses to the African woman; they were a trademark of a lifestyle poor Africans can only dream of. The white womans mere presence overly-imposed her culture.

Never again will the mistress scold me, force me to remove my shoes, tell me I am lazy. This was the breaking point in the movie Black Girl where the protagonist recognized not only the error of her ways, but the lifestyle these mistakes forced her into. No longer will she give that right to a self-declared master. In life, people oftentimes reach this point; the point of no return where a vicissitude is physically inevitable. The rage of emotions overtakes one and the mind succumbs to raw passion for change. The outcome can only be decided by the subconscious thoughts of the recipient. In that sense, no person in existence fully understands the outcomes of these actions until the end is reached. The movie Black Girl did well illustrating this powerful untempered emotion. No person could predict suicide and until the blade met her throat, the victim probably did not even realize her demise was near. The movie uses this moment as a tool to convey the protagonists reaction to the realization of how she was negatively affected by the imposition of colonial culture. Hardly ever is there a feeling of regret so massive it out-measures suicide.