University/Organization
English and Modern Languages Department
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, Florida
Title
Social Inequality in the Works of Ousmane Sembène
Synopsis
Ousmane Sembène, the father of African cinema, is noted for his thought provoking in-depth analysis of the human condition in both his novels and films. Political, social, economic and women’s rights issues are foremost in these portrayals. Sembène’s body of work was dedicated in demonstrating the plight of the underclass, the poor and the disfranchised. This paper focuses on three of his works that underscore social inequality in African society: Xala (1973), Le Mandat (The Money Order) written in 1966 and La Noire de (Black Girl), found in his collection of short stories, Voltaïque (Tribal Scars), published in 1962.