Excerpt from his Wikipedia page:
Ousmane Sembène (French: [usman sɑ̃bɛn]; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane which he seemed to favor as a way to underscore the "colonial imposition" of this naming ritual and subvert it, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The Los Angeles Times considered him one of the greatest authors of Africa and he has often been called the "father of African film". Descended from a Serer family through his mother from the line of Matar Sène, Ousmane Sembène was particularly drawn to Serer religious festivals especially the Tuur festival.
Early life
The son of a fisherman, Ousmane Sembène was born in Ziguinchor in Casamance to a Lebou family. From childhood he was exposed to the Serer religion especially the Tuur festival, in which he was made "cult servant". Although the Tuur demands offerings of curdled milk to the ancestral spirits (Pangool), Sembène did not take his responsibility as cult servant seriously and was known for drinking the offerings made to the ancestors. Some of his adult work draws on Serer themes. His maternal grandmother reared him and greatly influenced him. Women play a major role in his works.
Sembène's knowledge of French and basic Arabic besides Wolof, his mother tongue, followed his attendance at a madrasa, as was common for many Muslim boys, and a French school until 1936, when he clashed with the principal. Sembène worked with his father—he was prone to seasickness—until 1938, then moved to Dakar, where he worked a variety of manual labour jobs. In 1944, Sembène was drafted into the Senegalese Tirailleurs (a corps of the French Army).[6] His later World War II service was with the Free French Forces. After the war, he returned to his home country and in 1947 participated in a long railroad strike, on which he later based his seminal novel God's Bits of Wood (1960).
Late in 1947, he stowed away to France, where he worked at a Citroën factory in Paris and then on the docks at Marseille, becoming active in the French trade union movement. He joined the communist-led CGT and the Communist party, helping lead a strike to hinder the shipment of weapons for the French colonial war in Vietnam. During this time, he discovered the Harlem Renaissance writer Claude McKay and the Haitian Marxist writer Jacques Roumain.
Film
As an author concerned with social change, Sembène wished to touch a wide audience. He realized that his written works would reach only the cultural elites, but that films were "the people's night school" and could reach a much broader African audience.
In 1963, Sembène produced his first film, a short called Barom Sarret (The Wagoner). In 1964 he made another short entitled Niaye. In 1966 he produced his first feature film, La Noire de..., based on one of his own short stories; it was the first feature film ever released by a sub-Saharan African director. Though only 60 minutes long, the French-language film won the Prix Jean Vigo, bringing immediate international attention to both African film generally and Sembène specifically. Sembène followed this success with the 1968 Mandabi, achieving his dream of producing a film in his native Wolof language.
Later Wolof-language films include Xala (1975, based on his own novel), Ceddo (1977), Camp de Thiaroye (1987), and Guelwaar (1992). The Senegalese release of Ceddo was heavily censored, ostensibly for a problem with Sembène's paperwork, though some critics suggest that this censorship had more to do with what could be interpreted as anti-Muslim content in the film. However, Sembène distributed fliers at theaters describing the censored scenes and released the film uncut for the international market. In 1971, Sembène also made a film in French and Diola entitled Emitaï, which was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won a Silver Prize. It was also banned throughout French West Africa. His 1975 film Xala was entered into the 9th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1977 his film Ceddo was entered into the 10th Moscow International Film Festival. In the same year he was a member of the jury at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival. At the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979, he was awarded with the Honorable Prize for the contribution to cinema.
Recurrent themes of Sembène's films are the history of colonialism, the failings of religion, the critique of the new African bourgeoisie, and the strength of African women.
His final film, the 2004 feature Moolaadé, won awards at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival[18] and the FESPACO Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The film, set in a small African village in Burkina Faso, explored the controversial subject of female genital mutilation.
He is the subject of the 2015 documentary film, Sembene!
Sembène often makes a cameo appearance in his films. For example, in Mandabi he plays the letter writer at the post office. (Hexaflexagon note: no wonder Scorsese decided to restore one of his films)
Some retrospectives:
https://harvardfilmarchive.org/programs/ousmane-sembene-cinematic-revolutionary-2
https://theconversation.com/ousmane-sembene-at-100-a-tribute-to-senegals-father-of-african-cinema-197421
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/movies/ousmane-sembene-film-retrospective.html
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/ousmane-sembene-may-be-revered-but-his-films-are-still-underappreciated
Criterion collection essay about his movie, Black Girl
Criterion collection essay about his movie, Mandabi
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No current struggle session discussion here on the new general megathread, i will ban you from the comm and remove your comment, have a good day/night :meow-coffee:
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Getting on a bus where the driver is crying uncontrollably vibes for 2024
You're here already. Make peace with it fast and make the best of it when you can and make it better yesterday
- Show
God i felt this. My mom came down on my sister HARD after she kicked me out and she coped much worse than me. She still thinks mom "changed". But no sis, you just werent the focus yet.
I cant shake this feeling now of. What if i hadnt failed? What if i had been the man my mom wanted me to be? Would my sister have been safe?
I know its not rational but its hitting me hard now. Can someone talk me out of it ?
You didn't. That was an impossible goal where the goalposts would be moved each time. And no. You'd just be worse off. All of this is predicated on your mom being right and she's clearly wrong
Its sorta like survivors guilt my friend said.
And thanks.
I have good folks and people I was friends with growing up, and well still most of my friends didn't but as a kid my folks could help out. I think I've heard almost exactly what you said for the first.time around age 12, it's not a unusual way to feel. I've for sure got a lot of what different things could I have done as an adult, a LOT of my friends have died in the last few years, it's never not a thing.
Is that an Ariel avatar?
Also, I get this. Us Autistics especially take a lot of shit.
I just found her comment on someone's big post so idk anything about her.
Oh, I made a reference to Akira Toriyama's original manga (before the Dragon Ball series).
Light from death note being a "prodigy" and responding with the power of murder by murdering solely petty criminals in an attempt to fix the world is an unintentional very harsh commentary on the authors views.
I mean come on, not a single political figure or multinational CEO? Not even ONE?
Tipsy white girl (who I met this night and do not know) was rlly supportive when I casually mentioned I'm looking for a new, genderneutral, name, and she started suggesting ones and damn she mentioned one that I really like
Thank you god for drunk white women 🙏
Thank you god for drunk white women 🙏
now you're speaking my language, Obama
women rock
Fixing up the tiny greenhouse behind my home was a better decision than i thought. Having fresh herbs and veggies on hand any time of the year rocks.
Based. Gardening and Cooking pilled. Fresh herbs make any meal 10% better.
The reason israeli satire is so bad is their official government accounts are too funny
What the fuck I was planning on matriculating in the fall for my PhD in terrorism now what am I supposed to do
You can make a tender love story between Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse and sell it for profit
Only if the mouse is a steamboat operator as his side hustle.
Pro-tip; develop steam boat willy in to a cool new ip about a talking rat and his anti-semitic friends who run shoddy amusement parks where people get killed by the rides all the time but the rat bought the county so no one says anything.
The second image has a little arrow pointing to the DPRK flag in that user's name
Same here, it was that jalapeño pizza i was talking about earlier
just saw this heading:
The Hexbears’ support for the queer community, as I’m sure you’re aware (I’m saying this to promote general awareness), is superficial at best and in reality is a major part of their recruitment machine. They operate just like extreme right wing orgs: they target a specific disenfranchised group with the claim that they hear them, support them, and will fight for their rights, but in practice they take advantage of their already-present anger by funneling it towards a specific political target…in this case, the “liberal western world.” The Hexbear ethos tells them that western values are the reason why they are being oppressed, and in the process they (somewhat ironically) become radicalized instruments of hate.
It’s fucked up and really sad, and it’s hard to get through to people just how dangerous this group is. A common defense is that the Hexbears are harmless because they think the Hexbear trolling approach is funny and that Hexbears don’t come right out and say they are pro-Russia or deny genocide is happening in the world… it can be real difficult to get people to think critically and see past the manipulation tactics. But it’s there, plain as day, it is a hate group.
was this because of posting?
They operate just like extreme right wing orgs: they target a specific disenfranchised group with the claim that they hear them, support them, and will fight for their rights, but in practice they take advantage of their already-present anger
Cheese, beans, rice, and a bit of whatever random meat you got
thats basically my go-to improv meal
why cheese, mozzarella is my jam. Its also cheap AF. What spices would you add?
Depending on the mood and what I've got, stock or bouillon, cayenne, pepper, chili, garlic, onion, and/or tomato. Just whatever I've got to make it as sort of arroz rosso thing if I'm feeling that way. Or I could go stock/boullion, pepper, tummeric, cardamon, cloves, curry powder, chili, and/ cinnamon. Just whatever combination there to make it sort of pseudo-indian.
You can always add parsley no matter what you're doing (it's not a racist stereotype when I'm doing it), and if all you've got is parsley and rice you're halfway to making tahdig anyway. Honestly try adding yogurt instead of cheese to make tahdig, it's really good.
If you want to be really lazy you can add (cooked) beans to a rice cooker and prepare it all together. Use the liquid from the can of beans + can/jar of salsa instead of water and you're all set.
It's no culinary masterpiece but it's efficient
hmmmm
streamlining the streamlined meal even further
Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
And he's calling a cab
Now I'm calling a cab