Contemporary film theory - Essay Example

Since the art of filmmaking is very big business in the United s, most movies are driven by either the star power that they possess or the idealized story that they tell. It is very rare when a film attempts to portray a situation as it actually is because, in most cases, the writers and directors have some sort of investment in the material. Third cinema is a type of filmmaking that explores the reality of the situation that is being presented, rather than an idealized version of the truth that people may find more acceptable to for viewing.

The film Black Girl, which was directed by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene is different from the typical Hollywood motion picture because the people in the movie are not stars, the story is not depicting any sort of popular or political beliefs, nor is it showing the world in a mythical fashion, where an unbelievable turn of events changes the outcome of the characters lives. This film shows what is happening in Africa with absolute realism, making Black Girl an excellent example of third cinema.

An important reason why Black Girl can be considered third cinema is because it depicts the third world in a realistic manner. This is the story of a young Senegalese woman who works for a French family in Dakar. Over the course of this film, this woman is constantly mistreated by the family that she works for, making her all too aware of the racial identity that she has been labelled with. She becomes caught up in the tension between the rich French people in the area and the African people who have been oppressed since colonial times.

She finds that she does not fit in with either world, leaving her alone. This film does not attempt to make any excuses for the treatment of the woman, but simply shows how large of a problem racism is within the country. In a Hollywood-style movie, there would be some sort of character growth, which would probably result in a happy ending, but this would not have been a realistic ending for this type of movie. This film is an example of “the cinema that recognises in that struggle the most gigantic cultural, scientific, and artistic manifestation of our time, the great possibility of constructing a liberated personality with each people as the starting point - in a word, the decolonisation of culture” (Solanas and Getino).

Third cinema films such as Black Girl are important because of the realism that they bring to the filmmaking world. They do not offer an idealized version of events, but rather strive to tell a story in the most realistic manner possible. While this realism is not something that always sits well with people, it is important because people deserve to know the truth. The harsh racial and cultural disparities that are shown in this film are not portrayed in many other films because those who make the money are attempting to protect their own way of life, rather than showing the world what the truth actually looks like.

Works CitedSolanas, Fernando and Getino, Octavio. “Towards a Third Cinema”. Viewed 14 April 2008. http://documentaryisneverneutral.com/words/camasgun.html