About Talia Whyte

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Ousmane Sembene: Freedom Fighter For African Cinema

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Ousmane SembeneLast week I attended a special viewing of Ousmane Sembene’s classic film La Noire de… (The black girl of… or Black Girl). With the recent “snub” of Ava Duvernay’s Selma at the Academy Awards, seeing Black Girl reminds us that the African diaspora has struggled to have fair and balanced portrayals in film since the dawn of the medium.

I had the pleasure to ask at this viewing Samba Gadjigo, a French professor at Mount Holyoke College and the official biographer of Sembene, about Sembene’s legendary life and racism in the film industry.  He has spent the greater part of his academic career researching Francophone African cinema and in particular Sembene’s career.

“Sembene was a freedom fighter in African film,” Gadjigo said. “Black Girl was a gift to the world.  Before Sembene, there was a law against Senegalese taking up cameras.  Black Girl was pioneering and revolutionary, as it put Africa on the map.”

Gadjigo is referring to the “Laval Decree”, a 1934 French law that prohibited Francophone Africans from making films.  This was done to control the messaging about colonialism, while stifling free expression by Africans. Most films about Africans prior to independence were made by white filmmakers and were incredibly racist.

After independence, a new crop of young idealist African filmmakers came onto the forefront who saw the medium as a force for political change.  According to Gadjigo, Sembene decided to make films the day Patrice Lumumba was assassinated.  Black Girl is loosely based on a real story that happened in the 1950s and Sembene wrote about it in a short story before the film was made.

Black Girl tells the story of Diouana, a young Senegalese woman hired by a white couple as a maid in France.  Notice that Diouana is “voiceless.”  Her thoughts are only said through a voice over narration.  Sembene did this to show that Africans still didn’t have a voice in the post-colonial era.  Her white employers still had a colonial mentality, by treating Diouana as a slave that can only be appeased by money.

The use of the mask also represents the relationship between Diouana and her employers.  While the mask represents the culture and history of the colonized, the white employers only see it as wall decoration.

Black Girl is known today as the first film directed by a Sub-Saharan African to receive international acclaim.  However, Sembene had limits on the length of the film due to French regulations.  Black Girl was dubbed in French to “use the language of the master.”  The film was made on a shoestring budget, but that was done on purpose by Sembene.  He also preferred to hire unknown actors, or as Gadjigo said, “people off the street” because Sembene didn’t want to become part of Hollywood.  (By the way, you can read an awesome interview with Thérèse M’Bissine Diop, who played Diouana in the film.)

Sembene’s goals was to make films about Africans by Africans.  He was concerned that Senegalese were losing their culture.  French colonial education was limited to a select few, and African history was entirely left out of it. Wolof and many other native languages were banned in Senegal during colonialism.  Sembene saw film not only as a tool of liberation, but also as a way to preserve the oral histories of his people.

Gadjigo said he didn’t see a moving still until the age of 12, but he knew then the power of “hearing with your eyes and seeing with your ears.”  His political awakening came at aged 17 when he read Sembene’s book God’s Bits of Wood, a strong rebuke of colonialism.  Sembene’s literary and cinematic canon have had a strong influence in the post-colonial era to preserve African identity.

“It was important to tell those stories,” Gadjigo said.  “When you lose your language, you lose your history.”

How to Make Exercise Part of Your Daily Life

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Keep Calm and ExerciseWe are one month into 2015, and many of you may have already given up on your New Year’s resolution to hit the gym and lose weight.  Getting into the routine of physical activity can be difficult for many of us.  I have a family member who has finally started going to the gym regularly after many years of dragging his feet to make the better health commitment.

I only got serious myself about exercise after learning that diabetes runs in my family about 10 years ago.  At the time, I got a membership at my local YMCA, but I think I only went once a month.  I would walk for a while on the treadmill and maybe jump on the bike, but then went home feeling like I didn’t really accomplish much.

Then I spoke to one of the personal trainers at the gym who told me that I had to find an activity that I enjoyed doing; so it wouldn’t feel like it was work, but rather a fun activity.  He also said that when you feel good after that activity, then you have found the exercise that works for you.  “It will be hard to do, but you will know when you found that sweet spot,” he said.

I tried a variety of group exercise classes at the gym, from Zumba to spinning, and none of them appealed to me.

So then I tried running for 10 minutes outside in my neighborhood.  It was hard to do at first, but I actually felt good afterwards.  For the next few weeks, I ran for 20 minutes three times a week.  Over the course of the next year, I noticed I was losing weight and toning muscles.  So I ran longer distances, running up to 15 miles in a week.

About five years ago I wanted to diversify my exercise regimen, so I tried yoga.  I had read that yoga was a great compliment to running.  Again, it was hard to do the first class, especially downward facing dog and crow, but at the end of the class I did feel energized and willing to come to another class.  Since then I either go to a vinyasa yoga class or practice at home twice a week.

This summer I took up outdoor cycling again in earnest.  What sparked my interest after all these years? I wanted to try something different that I might enjoy.  And, yes, I did enjoy riding with my friends along the Charles River and just around my neighborhood.

So just to recap how I exercise during the week these days:

Running: I run about 5-7 miles a day, three times a week – regardless of weather – and after a meditation session.  Because of the dreadful New England weather, I have to run on a gym treadmill, but I long for outdoor running and nicer weather.  Running outdoors and indoors are two completely different experiences.  I also run first thing in the morning, like 4:30 or 5, because that is when the body has the most natural energy stored up for use.  Furthermore, I also feel like I have accomplished something before the day has really begun!

Yoga: I practice yoga for 30 minutes a day, twice a week, after a meditation sessions and also first thing in the morning.   And, yes, I can do a crow pose now without falling on my face!

Cycling: Since I don’t try to bike on top of all the snow we have been getting lately in Boston, I started taking spinning classes again at the Y.  Not sure I will keep doing this, since outdoor cycling is a way better experience.  But then again, I don’t have to worry about a car mowing me down on the street either, so I will see.

Also, exercising in the morning has worked best for my hectic work schedule.  I have become so used to exercising that I feel guilty when I don’t exercise on schedule.

Just to reiterate, exercise should be something that you enjoy doing, so running, yoga or cycling may not be your thing, and that’s okay.  That is how you make exercise part of your daily life.  Even if you don’t have time to participate in an exercise session, there are many ways to incorporate physical activity into your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking somewhere instead of driving a car.  What matters at the end of the day is that you are physically active and staying healthy.

The Benefits of Workforce Diversity in Today’s Economy

Multiethnic People with Startup Business Talking in a Cafe

Last week I discussed the importance of cultural competencies in our global economy.  But what about diversity within your organization?  Workforce diversity is not just a buzzword; it’s the norm for doing good business today.

Over at Global Wire Associates, we pride ourselves on making sure we hire the best and brightest from all walks of life.  Under each of our job openings, we list the following:

Global Wire Associates is an equal opportunity employer and committed to workforce diversity.  We encourage applications from qualified women, ethnic/racial minorities, people with disabilities and those from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as recognized by the United Nations.

Unfortunately, even in 2015, there are still many people who don’t get it.  So here are my reasons why you need to care about workforce diversity.

Diverse Employees, Diverse Perspectives – Studies back up that the more diverse your staff is, the more success you will have in business outcomes.  Bringing employees together from different life experiences can support innovation and more effective problem-solving.  The same is true about diversity in business ownership and management, as it helps to increase employment and economic outcomes.

Avoid Embarrassing Work Mistakes – Even today you still hear humiliating stories about how a high profile person, a newspaper or the marketing department at a company do something that is perceived as being offensive to a particular group of people, whether it is race, class, gender, sexual orientation or disability.  One of the benefits of having a diverse staff is that someone with cultural awareness is more likely to call out a potential faux pas before the world sees it and save the company from embarrassment.  In this situation, it might be time for the staff to have a diversity training session from the human resources department.

Other People Want To Do Business With You – Clients and vendors nowadays like to do business with other companies that value workforce diversity and understand that qualified workers come in every stripe.  Also, people are more likely to want to do business with companies that have staff that look like them too, since clients and vendors are also just as diverse.  With that being said…

A Globalized Workplace Matters Today – Technology has made the world a smaller place.  With one click, we can get services and products from anywhere on the planet.  So that means your customers could be any race, culture, religion or nationality.  It is also very important to not offend international clients, like making light of the serious deforestation crisis in Brazil or trivializing human rights abuses in Tibet.  In today’s economy, businesses are expected to have globally-minded employees that understand intercultural communication.

Better Intercultural Communication Is Doing Good Business

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Global Wire Associates has served thousands of clients in 55 countries since 2005

Technology has made the world a smaller place, especially in today’s global economy.  Now more than ever businesses have to interact with customers and vendors from all over the world and across different cultures, religions and languages.

Naturally if you want to do business internationally, you would think that all you would have to do is learn another language (or two).  I first started learning Spanish in high school, and today I am able to converse professionally en español.  Also, having worked in international development for over the last decade, I have also picked up some French and Arabic.

Learning another language is a great and valuable skill to have today, even if you are not fluent in that language.  In my experience, most people I have interacted with who don’t speak English appreciate it if you even make the effort to learn some keywords in their native language, like “Hello”, “Excuse Me” or “Thank You.”

However, I must say that while language skills are vital for international business, it is just as important, if not more important, to understand social intercultural communications.

What I mean by this is do you understand how to maneuver yourself in the culture where you are trying to do business.  For example, did you know that a business card isn’t just a business card in Japan?

Years ago, I started doing business with a new Japanese client.  Right after our first in-person meeting, we exchanged business cards, or meishi in Japanese.  While I put his business card immediately into my bag, the client held up my business card and looked at it like it was a piece of art.  He kept telling me how much he liked the minimalist design of the card and how I was able to put so much contact information on it.  At that point, I immediately took out his business card and tried to look at it with the same admiration.

It was then he said to me, “You don’t need to do that. I know you are American.”

Then I first felt puzzled and then embarrassed.  He then explained to me that business card exchange in Japan is actually a very formal one.  In fact, the card presenter judges how they will be treated by the card recipient based on how they receive the card.  (You can read more about meishi exchange here.)  After he schooled me on this tradition, we both laughed it off.  Luckily, he wasn’t offended by how I received his business card, and, yes, he is still a client today!.

But I refuse to let another cultural faux pas happen to me ever again.  Now when I have to do business internationally, I try to read up on customary business etiquette in that culture.  In many countries, there is a lot of value in the handshake or eye contact.  Sometimes you are expected to bring a gift for the client.

Email etiquette is a big deal.  I’ve learned to make sure that email messages don’t have poorly conceived jokes or double entendres, as they can be misunderstood or taken the wrong way by an international recipient.

I have also learned that in some countries like South Africa or Germany, it is not customary to discuss business during a business dinner, but rather discuss family or sports.  I make an effort to keep up with what is happening in the soccer world, such as popular athletes or specific games, as that generally becomes the topic of discussion at many business dinners.

Also, being aware of who you are in a different cultural context is very important and knowing how to overcome it.  Being an American businessperson, sometimes international clients might have a preconceived opinion of you based on what they already know about American culture, both the good and bad.

For instance, Americans are viewed as rude and arrogant among some French citizens.  Race plays a role in international business politics as well.  Being African-American in global business can be a double-edged sword.  I have met people outside of the United States who say to me that they admire black Americans for our culture and endurance for civil rights, and hold up Dr. Martin Luther King and President Obama as role models.  However, I have also experienced discrimination, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa of all places, because of this horrible stereotype that all African-Americans are violent criminals.

Gender politics are also viewed in variety of ways around the world.  For example, in Muslim countries, men don’t generally shake hands with women.  However, in some countries like Ghana, it is generally expected to wait for the woman to extend her hand first.  Sometimes I have potential international male clients who contact me about doing business with my company.  However, many times they think I am the secretary and not actually the business owner.  I had one guy actually ask me to transfer our phone call to the male owner of the business because they didn’t think I was the person in charge.  Needless to say, that guy did not become a GWA client.

The bottom line: doing good intercultural communication is doing good business.

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