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Twist à Popenguine (1994)
Twist a Popenguine is a not-so-trendy look at African colonization and culture
Absa's movie Twist à Popenguine is based in Popenguine, Senegal. It's a movie that is, on the surface, about teenage angst and struggle-however it ends up being a tale of western colonization into Africa. It begins with two different gangs of teenagers one named the 'ins'(the inseparables) and the other named the 'kings'. Both of these groups gave each other American rock star nick names and lived in Popenguine. However the ins had the girls, school, and a ocean-side shack while the kings had a record player. The two groups constantly rivaled over trivial matters and they're fighting eventually broke into a fire and turmoil for all the residents of Popenguine.
The older generation in Popenguine sees they're westernized sons and daughters with a sense of hope for them, but disgrace for their culture. The rabbi is one of the leading examples of continuing African culture. He sees the young kids and teenagers of Popenguine as the almost death of African culture. It seems though that he doesn't know if this is a good or a bad thing because he makes friends with the children's french teacher.
Watching this movie, at first, seemed to be just another trendy teenage movie. But once you dig deeper you find the prominent struggle between African and western culture and can't help but to feel intrigued. I highly recommend this movie to anybody studying African history today.