The Sun

Senegal is poor. Unemployment is at 48%, literacy 39%, and the median age is just under 19 years old (CIA world factbook). When I started reading articles about Senegal it seemed like two different places were being talked about. There was a reformist Senegal with an emerging private sector, low inflation, steadily increasing GDP, and a stable democracy. This Senegal was the envy of Sub-Saharan Africa. The other Senegal I read about was the one Mambety showed. I think “The Little Girl who sold the Sun” is an allegory on the reform Senegal needs to go through in order to obtain true independence.
It isn’t an accident that Mambety had a disabled illiterate girl as the central character. Sili Laam symbolizes the path the government needs to take to reform itself. She represents change. Throughout the movie Sili does things that a reforming government needs to do; she combats police corruption and releases the innocent from imprisonment, she invested her money to provide assistance to the poor and elderly (giving away coins and providing a shade for her mother), and withstood destruction by self interested factions (when her crutch was stolen). Though the literacy rate is at 50 percent, it is even worse for women who read at only 29%, and Sili is an example of that large group.
The scene where she is walking down the street with her friend, her yelling,“De Soleil” and him yelling the name of the competing paper shows, I think, shows how real independence can be achieved. Her friend doesn’t understand why she wastes her time selling a paper that isn’t as profitable. It is the government paper and only the rich business man or wealthy tourists seem to buy it. She says, “I’ll stay with the Soliel, so it is closer to the people.” In the short term it is against Sili’s self interest to work for the system which does practically nothing for her in return. For example, I read that in the past 11 years the GDP of Senegal has increased at a rate of 5 % a year(7-13-07, “Things not quite right in Senegal”, by Greg Mills) , but that is nowhere near the amount of capital Senegal could be making if their currency wasn’t drastically decreased by the CFA reevaluation. Sili knows that the government is working against her, and even still she persists. I am not sure why she decided to sell 13 papers again only when she made such a large profit the day before. It could be that this is a metaphor for the balance between the wealthy business people and the rest of the population. That short term profit by free enterprise is okay, but self restraint is needed in order to have more financial equality.
When Sili has her crutch taken away by the mob of paper boys she is unable to walk. Her friend picks her up and in the sudden uncertainty of what to do next she says, “We continue.” Sili seems to be symbolizing Senegal’s bumpy, but necessary, path to recovery.

On a different point, this movie was shot amazingly. It took me longer than it probably should have to figure out that it wasn’t an actual documentary. Some of the time it seemed like he just placed the camera in one location and leaves it there for 5 minutes and it never became boring.
Also I found this website that has 13 documentary films by Senegalese people. I watched about Senegalese immigrants living in New York, and also about the country’s hip hop community.
http://www.africanunderground.com/