"Karmen Gei"

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes "Karmen Gei", a film directed by Joseph Gai Ramaka about women's sexuality in Islamic and Wolof culture, set in urban and rural Senegal. The paper highlights the film's main character, Karmen, who is the embodiment of the new woman, unafraid of her sexuality or her power over others. The paper then attempts to contextualize the film within Senegalese society, in which the topic of women and sexuality is particularly contentious. It emphasizes the issues raised by the film, which include the emancipation of women and the positive changes that are occurring on the one hand, and the negative political climate, which hinders these changes, on the other hand.

From the Paper:

"Karmen Gei was seen as a danger to Islamic and Senegalese society when it first came out because it completely undermined the existing Muslim beliefs of a women's role in society, especially as it pertained to their duty towards men. Everything about Karmen's character undermines the role of men, making them almost obsolete. Her success both sexually and financially is self-made and though she may need men in the process, she is the one in control and who holds the power. She is the leader of the smuggling ring and the only female. The men obey and respect her precisely because she is a woman who knows her own power and who uses it successfully to her advantage. If she were a man, there would likely be more conflicts within the group. Another instance, which demonstrates that men are superfluous in her life, is her bisexuality and her relationship with Angelique, the female prison guard. Phil Powrie cites the opening scene when Karmen is dancing overtly sexually among a group of other female prisoners. The perspective that we view this from would seem to be from a man's perspective because of our western biases of the purpose of this type of dancing. Instead, the camera shows Angelique, whose perspective we were unknowingly looking through the entire time. Powrie writes that, "This turns the potentially male gaze into a female gaze. That the male gaze is intended is made clear at the end of this opening sequence in a Foucauldian moment when the camera cuts to a high-angle shot to reveal the prison walls with male guards looking down onto the women below...in addition, the prison context, which emphasizes Angelique's hold over Karmen, ironizes the failing male gaze, the patriarchal panopticon fissured by a desiring same-sex gaze" (Powrie, 287). To imply that Karmen does not even need men for sex or to feel desired is a complete biological contradiction for many Muslims, making her far too independent in her role as a woman."

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