2007年VOA标准英语-Senegal Prepares Ousmane Sembene Tribute

By Phuong Tran
Dakar, Senegal
13 August 2007
 
Ousmane Sembene, the Senegalese film director and novelist who died this past June at age 84, is widely known as the father of African cinema. But before he was recognized for films that protested colonization¹, sexism and social injustice², he was a manual laborer³. Sembene went on to make films about the struggles of the working poor. Since he passed away in June after a long illness, Sembene has been remembered in ceremonies around the world, but not yet in his home country. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade⁴ has asked cultural leaders to plan an homage⁵. Phuong Tran has more from Dakar.

Ousmane Sembene (2005 file)

Most people did not know how sick the filmmaker had become.

Clarence Delgado worked with him for 25 years at Sembene's production company, Filmi Doomireew. He says the artist suffered in silence for seven months.  "We protected his secret until the end. I wanted people to have a memory of how radiant he was, not how frail⁶ he became."

Sembene's office is filled with reminders⁷ of the more than one dozen films he produced, his novels, and numerous film festival awards.

"Sembene's experience with women, with colonization, with history-every film he made included a different part of his personal experience and philosophy," said Delgado.

In 1989, Sembene made the movie "Camp Thiaroye" about a French massacre⁸ of African soldiers who revolted to demand severance⁹ pay.

Delgado remembers the film as the most intense and emotional one he made with Sembene. "One day on the set, Sembene just screamed in anger and left. I followed him home. He told me that we had to finish the film as soon as possible. Then, we both cried. We just cried. It was all too much."

Sembene achieved many cinematic milestones¹⁰ during his career. In 1968, Sembene distributed his first film in color, "Le Mandat". It was also the first time a major film was made in Wolof, a widely spoken language in Senegal. The story followed the impact of colonialism on two different people.

Senegalese film critic Baba Diop has followed Sembene's career for more than two decades. He says "Le Mandat" proved it was possible to make a film in a local language.  "All the films up to that point were dubbed¹¹ in French. The mentality¹² was that a film had to be made in French. But Sembene was committed to promoting our national language."

"Sembene observed closely Senegalese society. His films have details,” Diop illustrated¹³, “like scenes from a barber shop, a shave, which is part of the common man's routine."

Cheikh Ba co-founded the Senegalese Filmmaker's Association with Sembene and is its current president. He says Sembene was like a vendor¹⁴ of used, forgotten and abused parts. "He collected these lost voices the way some gather stray artifacts, and brought them back to life. For the homage, we will bring together those voices-the different parts of Sembene."

Sembene once told art critic Diop that he distrusted fame and glory because they were short lived. Rather, Sembene said, he preferred to live forever and work among the people.

1 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

2 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

3 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

4 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

5 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

6 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

7 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

8 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

9 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

10 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

11 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

13 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

14 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。