Presenting the Senegalese tirailleurs to the cinema

an analysis of the opening sequence of Emitai¯ (Ousmane Sembène, 1971)

Abstract

During the Second World War (1939-1945), the African continent ceded thousands of its people to take part in the armies on both sides of the conflict. France conscripted thousands of Africans from all over the then-called French West Africa. They were called tirailleurs sénégalais, they took part in various battles, assisting in the liberation of France. They suffered racism, they were despised and did not get due compensation for their services as was promised, many were even forced to fight. Ousmane Sembène (1923-2007), Senegalese cineast and writer, known as the "father of the African cinema", amongst many cinematographic works, produced some focused on the theme of these African soldiers. Emitaï (1971) is the first featured film of his filmography to focus specifically on the theme. The sequence developed and analysed in this article is "of the tirailleurs", which is characteristic for having plenty of scenes connected to the representation of these colonial soldiers. It is the longest in the movie, but it is the most obvious, as the theme does not have the same emphasis later on - ending with the opening credit sequence. Given Sembène served in the colonial army, we aim to think the sequence as the opening of the film, but also of this theme in his filmography, more so, we present a technical read based on his cinematographic works. It is worth noting that the sequence is of extreme importance for the film and, not only is it connected to the cineast's past, it brings a representation of these people as a tribute of justice to these soldiers. With a simple and direct language, his highly political and decolonising vision is expressed.