Black Girl (1966)

Black Girl breaks down colonial power structures and shatters the polite veneer of civilized society, portraying Diouana’s domestic subjugation akin to a modern slavery. At times, the film is lavishly coated in symbolism, such as the cultural mask she later takes back by force. The mask serves different purposes throughout the film: to show the mistress’ family’s superficial regard for the Senegalese culture, to portray Diouana’s escalating rebellion against the mistress’ innate racism, and to haunt the mistress’ husband when he ventures over. Over time, the politeness once showed by the mistress decays into utter cruelty; she subjects Diouana to a meandering, menial existence. Diouana is taunted with the France she idealizes from her bedroom, and yet, she is never permitted to leave the home. Her idealism, born out of a desire to seek a better situation abroad like many expats, crumbles into dust. Her enthusiasm transforms into listlessness, and then morphs into a quiet rage. Her suicide is the final defiance of this power dynamic, a shocking and bloody jolt to disrupt the domestic tidiness wanted by the family. Yet, this jolt sadly does not register strongly in the minds of the family. We see their utter carelessness when the mistress removes the reminder of that strong action: the robe that had been hung on the coat hanger where she committed suicide.