FILM FORM IN WORLD CINEMA - Essay Example

?On delving into this of Latin American and African Movies as well as the theoretical threads that bind them, one can see a number of nuanceswhich leads to the discussion of the two genres of Cinema quite separately. It is common knowledge that both the Genres portray the Third World Cinema and are quite remarkable in their own spirit. Let us look at some of the motivations and actions that go into producing the Third Cinema. It is important to believe that both Latin American and African Cinema belong to the Third World not only because of the prior Colonisation of both the countries but also due to the fact that most of the cinema produced here is known to be dominated by economical, political, military and cultural factors. There are many articles and manifestoes that these films are based on. In short there is a lot of ‘History’ to cinema and is most of the time referred to as ‘imperfect cinema’. Let’s look at this quote by Frantz Fanon, a noted Third Cinema Film Maker and Theorist-: "Colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native's braid of all form and content. By a kind of perverted logic, it turns the past of the oppressed people, and distorts, disfigures and destroys it." The cinema in the 1950s represented the true spirit of Africans; it was at the same time that the West believed that Africa was a country with no history. Most of their histories were locked up in small museums in the Western World itself. Something of the same kind is going on today in countries like India, Iran and Iraq. The cinema that emerged in Africa was not just movies made out of passion but was culturally a strong factor to bring the entire history of Africa under one roof.in fact, Frantz Fanon’s work, On National Consciousness, includes the work a poem called ‘African Dawn’, that was later made into a film called ‘Camp D’Thiarove’, by Ousmane Sembe`ne. Then came ‘The Battle of Algiers’, which was made in 1965 which was a highly influential movie by an Italian Director, Gillo Pontecorvo, This was basically a movie about the Algerians who fought against the French in the attempt to break away from the Colonial Yolk in the 1950’s to 1962. African Movies were at the time influenced by both Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism since almost all art forms including Poetry, Paintings, Art Works and Songs were influenced by the indigenous culture. For once, art was influenced by the nationalistic spirit and it real function instead of mere western aesthetics. The cinema in Africa was known to be ‘militant fighting cinema’, and worked in opposing the dominant imperialistic rule (Pines, J. Willemen, Paul, 1989). The Cinema in Africa represents largely the definition of ‘Towards Third Cinema’, they represent their distinct style and form in almost all their works. It is quite a cinema of opposition as counterpoised to the lavish cinema of the First World. As mentioned earlier, the Third World Cinema has thus earned the name ‘An Imperfect Cinema’ (Roy Ames, 1987). Among the Latin American film makers, Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino; both Argentinean film-makers, were the key authors of creating the manifesto of ‘Towards a Third Cinema’ with their Cinema Liberacio`n movement.with time the growth of the manifesto was incredible. The talented duo then went on to make a three part, four hours documentary called, ‘'La Hora de los Hornos' [Hour of the Furnaces]. A lot of films got into severe censorship issues since Argentina was under the military dictatorship (M. T. Martin, 1997). This film exhibited major politico activities which exhibited many militant work that dominated the Latin American Scene. The manifesto majorly saw certain anti-colonial struggles of the third world people. These ideas were heavily borrowed by thinkers such as Marx, Fanon and Mao and were all connected to the populist leader of Argentina, General Per`on (Martin M. T. 1997). Moving back to the Cinema’s of Africa, the threads are quite similar to that of Latin American movies. Earlier Africans were representations of the West-a land without a history or culture-. Look at movies such as Tarzan and The African Queen; these were representations, and mostly poor representations of the African People. In fact, in some French Colonies, Africans were not allowed to shoot movies and make films on their own. Some of the Anti- Colonial films are: Les Statues Meurent Aussi y films makers like Chris Marker and Alain Resnais, which was based on the European Robbery about African Art. Hence, just like some of the Latin Move counterparts, Africans too had their own set of difficulties to bring about the best kind of cinema to represent the face of Africa that wanted to emerge out of the portrayal of ‘The Dark Continent’. To quote Julio Garcia Espinosa, (Michael Chanan, 1983) who was the member of the radical University Group, and was highly involved with the Neo-Realistic cinema that was made in Italy. He said: "The task currently at hand is to find out if the conditions which will enable spectators to transform themselves into agents – not merely more active spectators, but genuine co-authors – are beginning to exist." Realism was one other thread connecting the two countries, it worked as a gossamer thread, strong but invisible since both countries had suffered in the hands of the imperialistic west and after the revolution in both countries, although in different time zones, there came a idea of bringing an equally revolutionary Cinema. One of the first African Movies to win critical acclaim in the world was Ousmane Sembene's La Noire de..., translated as Black Girl. It basically portrayed the apathy of an African Woman who worked in France; this was one of the world genres of cinema that placed African Cinema on the Global Map. One can say that it was after this movie that the world began to define African Cinema to be inclining towards Social Causes as opposed to commercial interests. There was a certain friction that was noticed between the past tradition and the present modernism, this was quite evident. The Neo-colonial condition of Africa was revealed in these movies and the cinema stressed on solidarity and thus making African Movies a strong part of The Third Cinema. Let us view the two genres of Latin American Cinema and African Cinema by way of posing a few examples from each. We will first look into Ousmane Sembene’s, La Noire de…Translated as The Black Girl. Ousmane Sembene is known to be the father of African Film. He is also the most famous Senegalese writer who rose to filmdom in the early 1960s [Mbye Cham]. Ousmane Sembene’s movies we mostly based on issues such as colonialism, racism and post colonial identity. He also made films such as Barrom Sarret, translated as The Wagoner. He also made films like Niaye. His movies were mostly based on his own short stories and we catchy and still full of symbolism of the apathy of Africans. He demonstrated the history of colonialism, the failures of religion, the new African Bourgeoisie, and the rising strength of the African woman. The Black woman is based on the stories of one of Ousmane Sembene. It depicts, a black woman, as in, someone’s black woman, thus erasing her identity itself. The Black woman in this movie is made to go to France to work as a nanny, in hope of a better future. But on going there she realizes that she hardly is a nanny but more of a maid servant to the couple and is treated quite badly by the French couple. After a lot of struggle she commits suicide in the bathroom of the French villa. The stark comparison that is showed between the African woman’s apathy and the French luxurious backdrop is noteworthy. The idea of Alienation is noteworthy in this particular movie. The film was symbolic to review what African People thought and how they lived. Suicide, which is basically a very modern concept, was employed to devour the frustrations of the black woman who comes from a land considered Dark. The issues were symmetrical to the Latino, Argentinian movie that comes directly out of the Golden Ages of Argentinian Films which sought to symbolize, what was Argentina about.It brings a sense of the mystique that the Orient is so famous for. Camila was made in 1984 by Maria Luisa Bemberg, it’s based on the 19th-century Argentinian Socialite Camila O’Gorman. The movie was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, marking the second Argentinian movie tobe nominated for this award. The movie represents the dictators and the various implications of being a woman in the Argentinian society. Although the movie can be said to be a love story, it is a love story within the turmoil of the Argentinian Society, Camila O'Gorman who dreams of a husband who will respect her and love her, falls deeply in love with Father Ladislao Gutierrez who is a priest. Father Ladislao Gutierrez who against his own wishes is forced to surrender to Camila’s love sees her true love for him. Although Ladislao deeply loves Camila he is beckoned by his sense of love for God and he keeps having doubts about whether to renounce the God who had never given up on him. However, Camila’s family believes that she has disgraced the family and ready to outcast her from the family, especially, her father. They were later ordered to be shot by the Argentinian dictator who felt that such a consummation was not only illegal but also against the will of God. The two lovers were then brutally shot in public and left to be buried in the same coffin. The idea behind the two movies is apartheid, one being the apartheid of the body and then the apartheid of the mind. The brutal oppression no doubt comes from an outsider in ‘The Black Woman’, whereas, the oppressor is the own dictator of Argentina in the case of ‘Camila’. However, both the movies bring forth the traditionalism and modernism binary to the limelight. They seek to address similar issues that act as a melting pot in both the countries of origin. The two movies may be different but are Similar by way of addressing issues of oppression and rivalry from oneself. Non-acceptance of change is another issue that is addressed in both the movies. Citations 1. Pines, J. Willemen, Paul (1989). Questions from the Third World. (Archive Not known). 2. Ames, Roy (1987). Third World Film Making & The West. University of California Press. 3. Downing, John D. H. (1987). Film & Politics in the Third World. Autonomedia. 4. Martin, M. T. (1997). New Latin American Cinema. Wayne State University Press. 5. Cham, Mbye. (Date of Publishing not known). (Archive not known). Read More