Sunday, March 14, 2004
There's a scene in ""Les Triplettes de Belleville" that induces a lot of headscratching. The film starts off with an early to mid 20th Century revue (probably 1920/1930). There's a big band playing, show stopping numbers, the crowd grows wild etc. Needless to say it's a big production number. Near the end of the production a black female dancer comes out looking rather exotic (she's the only person of colour in the production and the film itself, she's scantily clad, and wearing bananas all around her waist). She dances upright for a while and then proceeds to dance on all fours. The crowd goes wild and they hoot and holler. Then the men in the audience transform into monkeys spring on to the stage and start devouring the bananas that hang from her waist.
It doesn't make much sense. I'm really not sure what the commentary is suppose to be. Is it a commentary on the way we exoticize the other? Is it a commentary on the way things use to be in revues? Sort of like a "I can't believe how ignorant they use to be" commentary? Or is it not a commentary at all and it's just very odd, very questionable imagery.
It's a hard image to ignore and since it comes at the very beginning of the film it has a way of staying in your head and affecting everything that's to come.
What did y'all think?
It doesn't make much sense. I'm really not sure what the commentary is suppose to be. Is it a commentary on the way we exoticize the other? Is it a commentary on the way things use to be in revues? Sort of like a "I can't believe how ignorant they use to be" commentary? Or is it not a commentary at all and it's just very odd, very questionable imagery.
It's a hard image to ignore and since it comes at the very beginning of the film it has a way of staying in your head and affecting everything that's to come.
What did y'all think?
