Faat Kine!

The California Newreel calls Faat Kine the "everyday heroism of African women." "Sembene has said: "Africa's society and economy are held together today by women. But how can women have these responsibilities and yet be denied the same privileges as men?" and I agree that this movie shows how women do so much better than men but still are treated as objects to them. This movie challenges the dominant ideology because the women do the opposite of what they are supposed to do in the African culture. They speak up for themselves, they are loud and independent, the say what they want in and out of the bedroom as well, they are fine being by themselves and having those kind of relationships; which definitely is against the Muslim religion as well.

Faat Kine was a great movie! Although it was not the first African movie I've seen it was definitely the best one. It didn't focus primarily on the negative aspects, but also the positive. To me it seemed like the theme revolved around breaking stereotypes and surpassing peoples' expectations of what you will become in life. For example, Faat Kine refuses to be held down by the stigma of being an unwed mother and she climbs to success and wealth. It also shows the generation difference between the children and the elders which to me signifies progress and independence. A great exampleof colonialism and neo-colonialism.

Throughout the film, it becomes clear that traditional roles between males and females, parents and children, no longer apply. For example, Mammy describes herself as the "daughter" of her daughter, Faat Kine; Djib recalls he always thought of his mother as his sister and he denies that his father has any right to call him his son; Faat Kine's father disowns her for her indiscretion. It shows the contrast between Kine's days and her childrens' days. For example, Kine knows her daughter is no longer a virgin but from the flash backs we can see that her father would not tolerate that under his roof.

The only part I didn't like about this movie was the fact that the subtitles were white and sometimes hard to see. Other than that, this was a very good movie to me. It went against tradition and kept you guessing, apart from the fact that it was really funny. I related to this more than I thought I would because it shows the same familiar message that many people are aware of; progress and preserverance.