Vénus Noire by Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche takes viewers back to 19th century France and England. This is a new theater where a renaissance of scientific advances fills academia with knowledge about people of all races. Even though this new science appeals to the wealthy, white elite, the reality is that these discoveries are nothing more than Social Darwinism hidden behind solid, methodical conclusions. Saartjie, the "Hottentot Venus", is the example that the French naturalist Georges Cuvier presents to his public. But it is only as the film continues that the story of the capture of the Hottentot Venus begins to take shape. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay We are transported five years before Cuvier's lecture in Paris to a circus in London. One of the main attractions is that Saartjie plays the role of a prim fool and then engages the audience by letting them touch his butt at the end of the show. She can no longer endure the emotional abuse caused by Caezar's exposure, and some government officials have begun to question whether this exposure is slavery in disguise. Yet Saartjie denies all accusations against Caezar out of fear of his future without his financial support. However, before the situation becomes too risky, Caezar trades money with Reaux, a suspicious bear tamer, for Saartjie's employment. But before Saartjie has a chance to consider her future, she is already performing in the same degrading shows, but this time in French salons with Reaux. She begins to rebel and is later used as a prostitute who ends up falling victim to a fatal venereal disease. Saartjie is then sold to French scientists who share and preserve parts of her body, while her body shape is preserved in a plaster model. From there it comes full circle as we approach the Georges Cuvier lecture scene we saw at the start of the film, more familiar this time with the struggle to procure such a fine specimen. Vénus Noire, however, retains a certain dose of humor. morbid, among these painful routines that Saartjie endures. For example, Caezar is true to his name through his tyrannical treatment of Saartjie. His maneuvers to maintain control over it are an embodiment of European nations' attempts to fight to colonize Africa in order to gain the upper hand in the status quo. In a later performance eerily reminiscent of Orwell's Brave New World, Reaux invites the French salon audience to touch Saartjie's genitals, thereby giving the one-sided impression that "everyone [belongs] to everyone." Since her debut as an actress, the masses have consumed her artistry; As a scientific model, French intellectuals learned from Saartjie's physical characteristics, transforming them into rationalizations of dialogues about racial hierarchy. Overall, this emphasis on the vulgar consumption of Saartjie from start to finish is not simply about devouring material that begs to be spit out. Instead, this excess gluttony speaks to a cycle of consumer goods that are digested and then broken down at every stage. Black Venus pushes its viewers to the periphery, giving us a new perspective on the story. As an audience, we are therefore forced to look sideways at each scene. During scenes set in London, this actually makes us witness the spectacle which presents Saartjie as a creature tamed by Caezar; in Paris, we doalso part of the French salon which participates in the desecration of Saartjie's genitals; finally, we watch in horror as Saartjie is reduced to a career in the world's oldest profession and dies for lack of effective medical care. By then we are exhausted and numbed by these traumatic images. However, Saartjie's body is not at rest. Rather, it is preserved for the purposes of scientific investigation. By using these scenes, Kechiche forcefully exerts his direction on Black Venus, leaving the spectators mentally imprinted – perhaps even bruised. Through such scenes, Kechiche divides Saartjie's character into four quarters: his career in London, then in Paris, his fall into prostitution, and his eventual position as a scientific curiosity. With the number of disasters and abuse Saartjie has to endure, Kechiche makes his bias very clear to the viewers: This is truly how life could be made ugly; Being a passive spectator is not at all, and should not be, a comfortable option. Although Kechiche takes no prisoners, it would be difficult to argue that Black Venus does not explicitly and effectively present a case study in the twisted history of European colonialism. Still, the direction Kechiche is taking with Black Venus is not at all immune to scrutiny. First of all, the length of the film is excessive. After nearly three hours of viewing, the film drags on, turning into an exhausting marathon that dissolves the audience's patience. However, the way Kechiche guided us through some of Saartjie's life story was not exhaustive. Variety Reviews raises an interesting point that Venus Noire presents the British in a more favorable light than the French, making it seem like British law was trying to protect Saartjie and the French who were abusing her. This is unfair, because the British were no less guilty of the notion of colonialism. One of the curious aspects of Saartjie was his near-silence. Although an unorthodox protagonist, Saartjie's role as a quiet character presents her as more passive, perhaps helpless. This leaves the audience with much less, if any, insight into the inner workings of Saartjie's decision-making and emotions. Although such situations are realistic, this distanced relationship between the character and his audience consequently leaves viewers without the satisfaction of a concrete moral prize to remember once the film is over. To defend her character, Yahima Torres, the actress who plays Saartjie, replied that her character is most often found in an environment where she does not speak Afrikaans. Torres added that Saartjie could find solitude in his silence. Unfortunately, this argument falls flat. During her time with Caezar, Saartjie is just the talkative individual that Torres supports when she is pushed beyond her emotional means. Otherwise, even in an Afrikaans-friendly environment, she mostly remains silent. Like Saartjie's suffering in London and Paris, a disturbing element of the telling of his story is the complete absence of context even before his arrival in Europe. Although Venus Noire shows that Saartjie is often not in control of where she performs, Kechiche completely neglected to tell the audience what conditions forced her to go to Europe. This is disconcerting because Venus Noire already portrays Saartjie as an oppressed character with little chance to express his emotions and thoughts. Thus, this unknown exacerbates the dissonance of Saartjie’s place as the film’s protagonist. This is a shocking position for two reasons: it defies the conventions of stories requiring loyal protagonists and, for the previous reason, it.