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Watching A Film About Identity And Slavery (Sankofa) In A Harlem Renaissance Class?

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1) Why are we watching a film about identity and slavery (Sankofa) in a Harlem Renaissance class?

The purpose of watching a film such a Sankofa is depicted in the title itself which means “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.” Another translations expounds in even greater detail saying “We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today.” Therefore, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Harlem Renaissance it's important to for us to understand past events that led up to such a pivotal point in history.

2) What challenges does Mona (the protagonist) face in her struggle with identity? Is her struggle similar to many of ours in regards to race and ethnicity? …show more content…

For instance, doing one point in the film she's following the tourist into the underground dungeon where she began to see numerous African in chains coming from everyone. In order to escape she runs toward the door only to find herself being dragged back into the dungeon by white men. As they're pulling her back into this slave dwelling you can hear her screaming “I'm not African, I'm American.
Her struggle is similar to many African American who have only a vague or no knowledge of the history of slavery. Many view slavery as a thing of the past but if we clearly understood the past then we would have a better understanding how it affected an entire culture and how it stills has a subtle element that remains

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