One of the films most important thematic oppositions is that a little girl, Sili, who is the main character is disadvantaged by a disability among other things. She is treated poorly by the boys in the village and in the case of the people of the village the main disadvantage they have is still being under the economic control of a Europe, as evidenced in the end of the film by the assertion that the CFA Franc has been eliminated from their culture.
Another would be the upbeat tone of the film. The film is about a suffering beggar who has chosen that against these economic and social odds she is going to take care of herself and her family. Even though she faced opposition in the form of police and the boys who taught and attacked her, she remains hopeful of her and her country’s situation. A third opposition would be the music in the film. A film where a feeling of sadness would be expected to be present and a non-diegetic dramatic score might be appropriate, the music in the film is mostly diegetic, coming from another disabled man’s radio. He is happy to collect a small amount of money for his radio plays and still rolls around town playing music for the villages to dance to. All these things, I believe, in an American made film would be made to make the audience feel sorry for our characters yet we feel good and hopeful for their situation.
Sili may be considered to have a disadvantage other than her disability because she is a girl, she is small in size, and she is a beggar. She is ultimately limited by these disadvantages because boys are the only ones allowed to sell papers and thus what she is doing is considered wrong by many. As a very small girl she is limited in her ability to fend off the boys who decide to attack her because she is selling papers. As a beggar she is presumed to have stolen the money she earned because the townsfolk and police know she is a beggar and even though she earned the money they would always assume she stole it.
The Sun is associated with the government and the proliferation of the CFA Franc as the currency in Senegal. They are expressed by words spoken in the film, as to why the Sud sells more than the Sun. Sili and her friend have a conversation about this, where it is expressed that the Sun is the government’s paper, possibly representing the government’s views and the Sud is the people’s paper which in turn may represent what the people view as issues in their nation. This is significant because the government’s paper doesn’t matter much as most of the things that happen to the economy in the area is decided by the European economy due to the use of the current currency in the area. The idea Sili has that selling the Sun will bring the government closer to the people doesn’t matter in the end as the country doesn’t really have sovereignty.
The film is issue oriented, taking a look at why so many see poverty in Senegal and is topical as it deals with journalism and the economy. I do not think it is very Africa indenting centric at all. It falls under a much broader category, as it looks to give all of those in poverty and poor situations hope. Hard work, dedication to family and the hope for something better is universal. The movie is not very preachy, there are no monologues telling the audience how bad it is in Senegal. What’s happening in the country is very subtly displayed through the actions and non actions of the characters. Morals are not openly on display here, as the main characters are far more than one dimensional and the audience takes more part in deciding the morals of the characters.
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