dsk vs. the maid: who would the jury have believed? // chimamanda adichie
12/20/2011
"On television, she was familiar: the skin tone that suggested cheap bleaching creams, the ambitious hair weave, the melodrama. An American friend of mine thought her interview too theatrical and therefore unbelievable. Instead, I saw a woman speaking a non-native language, and so compensating with gestures...Diallo comes from a place where melodrama is not unusual, and often suggests truth as much as lies."
it would be appropo to mention here that i am in pre-production on a short film, called the people v. aissatou ba, about an african immigrant woman moving on with her life while the man who assaulted her walks free. it is inspired by the dsk case and asks the question: what price does aissatou pay for telling the truth?
i'm not sure who the jury would have believed. i'd like to say that there is a part of each of us that recognizes the truth, our shared humanity, but i've learned over time that this idea is often a self-satisfying delusion.
visit my indiegogo page to learn more about my film and contribute--every dollar helps! --AL.
0 comments