Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Ça Twiste à Popenguine offers its audience a bright, almost wholesome view of colonized life in Senegal. Moussa Sene Absa throws us into the world the youth in Popenguine live in, a picture-perfect melting pot of old traditions and new perspectives that the kids weave between seamlessly. The main conflict comes not from the conflict of cultures within the kids' lives, but rather from resistance against this change from older generations who fear that their children and grandchildren are becoming "too white," and thus too soft and complacent to continue their proud history.This battle is a very difficult one to navigate, especially given Absa's very conflicted views on it himself. On one hand, French and American culture are seen in an absolutely positive light, giving the youth their nicknames and identities and giving the adults a common language to debate and communicate peacefully in; on the other, we witness the kids committing arson in a fight over a record player and the infamous scene of "worshipping the television" is an obvious allegory to the inherent danger that comes with new technology. This only makes the movie all the more relevant today though, given our current obsession with having the newest, best, and most conveniently- located everything.Absa seems to be making two important points in Ça Twiste à Popenguine. The first is that no matter what "next best thing" comes to town, kids are going to be kids. They're still going to fight, they're still going to have parties, the boys are going to chase girls all day every day, and most importantly, they're going to do their very best to get themselves killed (in their case, by rowing a wrecked boat out to sea to impress some girls). The second and most important point is one that is slowly revealed through the whole film, and a large part of the reason I liked this movie so much. At first, Benoit feels like he's stuck between two cultures, like he doesn't fit in anywhere in the world. Likewise, all of the adults show disapproval and even scorn toward the rock n' roll culture that their children exhibit, wondering why the kids can't simply be like them. Then, after much fighting, some communication, and just a little selfless compassion, everyone clicks at the end of the movie. The final scene, where the entire village is dancing together to French music sung by a white guy with two American names with a black band, is the real message. Colonization only exists if one culture dominates the other. As long as everyone keeps an open heart and an open mind, any change can just be written off as progress.

Ça Twiste À Popenguine is a 90 minute film that is both funny and depressing. It is funny because the little boy Baac is very smart and he uses that to his advantage by playing the two gangs, the Kings and the Ins, against each other. Also, the way the villagers are dressed is funny. The boys wear bright colored bell bottoms with matching shirts, colors like orange and yellow. The depressing part comes from the fact that the children have been colonized. They want to be European or American singers and even have singers like Ray Charles and Eddy Mitchell as nicknames. It also doesn't help that in school the children are beat by a témoin, a stick, if they speak their native language of Wolof.The film's story line is like Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Condtions in that it is about being taken over by colonialism and whether that is a bad thing or not. In Nervous Conditions it wasn't such a bad thing because there were more advantages to becoming colonized then staying in one's traditional role. The same is true in this film. An example of this is the scene at the European resort. Everything at the resort is depicted as better. The building is stone compared to straw huts. There is a pool and black people have jobs.A scene that makes colonialism very poignant is when the school teacher, Mr. Benoîr, says to Jabeel that the children are the future. The children are learning to be European in school, in particular French; therefore, the future of Senegal is French.Ça Twiste À Popenguine is more of a documentary type film. The acting is not very good and the script was either poorly written or non-existent. However, once those small flaws are overlooked, the movie becomes an interesting take on colonialism in Africa and how people react to it. This movie is humorous and enjoyable, yet, when one looks beyond the surface of the story line one will see that there is more going one then it seems. This movie is for people who are interested in colonialism and its effects, but that doesn't mean other people cannot enjoy it too.

I found the film Ça Twiste à Poponguine to be a very enjoyable movie. Two aspects I greatly enjoyed were: the perspective on colonization the director, Mousa Sene Absa, choose to take and the fact that this film was purely African. Most movies about Africa tend to portray the people in a very poor and inaccurate way. Usually, Africans are shown as poor, sad, diseased, dying, and in need of help. True, the village of Poponguine was not the biggest or richest place with western houses, grassy yards, or carpeted living spaces. However, the people were happy and had what they needed. A western house, grassy yards, and carpet would not be very functional for their climate, nor would those things last very long. The story had a happy ending for the African people in Poponguine, unlike a usual tragedy in Western films about Africa.The other part of the film I enjoyed was Mousa Sene Absa's portrayal of colonization. According to many different African authors colonization is evil and destroys the traditions, culture, and people of Africa. Absa chooses to say that colonization is not that bad. Colonization is a very perplexing and complicated issue, so much so, that when discussing it one has to look deeper than the surface. Typically one would think of colonization as wiping out the traditions and customs of another culture. Absa says that it is possible to use colonization to mesh the good parts of two cultures. The people spoke two languages: French and Senegalese. Senegalese was spoken at home and within the village and French was spoken at home. African authors like Ngugi Wa Thiong'o have a problem with being forced to learn another language. Absa frequently references people who "got lost in the city," possibly referring to Paris or another city in France. If the common trend was to go to France for work, it would be necessary for the people to learn French.The main character and narrator of the film is a young orphan boy named Bacc. He says that he has been raised by the whole village and that he has many mothers and fathers. Bacc spends his time in school learning French and French history and running errands between two gangs, the In's (short for Inseparables) and the Kings. These gangs are made up of young teenagers, who are in competition for the most important thing, girls. To impress the girls they need music and a record player. In spite of having a record player, the Kings cannot seem to win the girls over. The In's have records, but they do not have a record player. They are willing to work hard to earn enough money to buy one for themselves.It seems that Absa is trying to point out that, colonization or not, their life is not really that different from anyone else's life, no matter the country. There are several different religions portrayed, as well as people from different walks of life. There are children who come from wealthier families; however, they are still friends with those from a lower economic status. There are parents with very differing ideas of what their children should and shouldn't do or be. These things are not affected by culture or colonization. I could identify my parents with one of the parents in the film and could see similarities to some of my friend's parents.Colonization is not that bad. It can be used as a means to better the African people, while still holding onto their traditional roots. One group of people does not need to become exact replicas of another culture to be happy and productive. These are the ides I have taken from this film.

Ca Twiste a Popenguine or Rocking Popenguine is a very interesting story. One of the main characters, Bacc, was a boy being raised by the community because he was an orphan. This shows how the culture pulls together to raise the children for the future. There are many different problems presented in the film. Colonialism was presented as a good and bad thing. The African way of life was being mixed with the American and French traditions and culture. In some areas of Africa this is still happening today. The youth of the community was thought in French and liked to learn about the French ways. The adults especially the elders had a problem with this when the young were learning nothing about African culture and history, but about French writers and there history. Another problem is that the teacher, Mr. Beniot, had a conflict within himself. He felt as if he was an alien to France, his home country, and to Africa. This represents how he battled the idea of where he felt he belonged liking things about both cultures.Absa answers Fanon's observation "the condition of native is a nervous condition" by these problems mentioned. The homeland culture is being changed to be more like others that are said to be better off. The problem is that some like the change, others don't, and some are stuck in the middle. It is nerve racking I am sure to know that everything your ancestors stood for is lost to another's, a nervous condition.In comparing to the novel by Dangarembga the acceptance of colonization is slightly different. In the novel there was a mix of those who liked the change. Men, mostly the oldest male, were the ones who got the most out of the new way. Women had problems with the men being in too much control over them for the cultural change. Children were the same as the adults. In the film the children, both boys and girls, the some of the adults did not see the significance in schooling about the French while others, like Mr. Beniot felt that it was necessary because of the way French culture was now entering into the lives of the Africans and the children are the future.The some of the characters of the film, mainly the children, had two names. They had the name they were born with and the French or American name they had chosen in school. They went by the names they had chosen more than their birth names, only the adults called them by their birth names. The other cultures have influenced the children greatly in their actions, words, and music. In different parts of the film there is significance to the type of music that is played. Some of the music was French pop which the "Ins" are influenced by. The "Kings" are influenced by American pop music. The names they choose went along with the music they liked creating the individuals to act more along the lines of that culture mixed with their own.Monsieur Beniot's crisis and healing all stemmed from his problem of not knowing where he belonged. He had been so confused that he got himself drunk. He normally drank some about every day, but he was unable to control his actions this particular night. He felt as though it was a good thing that the French was colonizing the African culture and not the other way around, but he seemed to enjoy the African culture when he was sober. This seems to conflict itself; not knowing where he fits in. The way the African people showed their appreciation to him was a good way of healing his hurt. He realized how much the people actually cared for him and wanted him to stay.At the end there was an irony that the producer presented the idea of the party. The singer was a French man singing an English song in French, performing for those who spoke Wolof. The end also showed more of a mix in culture happening willingly. Mr. Beniot was dancing with an African woman and the other white woman, who he seemed sweet on, Ginette, was dancing with an African as well.The film had a lot to do with the changing of culture. The Native liked and disliked the change, but were working together to figure what was right for them. The film was entertaining and good for the actors and actresses not being trained. There was a lot of comedy that was placed within the film that seemed to pull the whole film in as normal living for the community. It was a great story and would recommend it to be watched.