La Noire de- Jeremy Brinson

With all the hidden meanings in La Noir de…, it’s tough to find everything in each shot. However, for my grade’s sake, I will give it a try. The photos juxtaposed in pair C have one main message. In the first picture is a close framed shot of Diouana and her boyfriend, shows there unity in wanting of a deeper relationship. The two are reading a magazine article on family life. The blocking has the pair laying side by side with heads leaning towards one another, on a bed with both holding the magazine open in the air with one arm and intertwine their other arm. This positioning illustrates their love for one another and their joint view on where they see their relationship going. Also, you can tell that attention is supposed to be drawn to the magazine because the camera is focused on the picture of the woman holding a baby in the magazine. Moving on to the next photo, there is a drastic contrast in meaning. In this open framed shot, we have Diouana’s boyfriend standing of to a side of the room with a curtain depicting the political leader of Senegal with the word uhuru, which is African for freedom, written throughout. The narrative behind this scene is that Diouana is thrilled to be going to France, but her lover doesn’t approve because he doesn’t want to be separated from her and he fears that she will be subjected to slavery. The prop placement for this shot is perfect. Without words, the beliefs of the man are clearly shown by the curtain and also by his demeanor, which is distance and concern. The decision to make this an open frame shot highlights his indecision on the subject and on his stance in their relationship. While he wants to pursue a life with Diouana, he doesn’t know if he will stay in it with her if she changes when she leaves for France. Though the hints are subtle, I feel they speak the most about the couple than I the rest of the film. The shots are practically back to back in the film, which strengthens the contrast between them.