Musical, textual and visual interplays in Moussa Sène Absa’s Tableau Ferraille and Madame Brouette

For Moussa Sène Absa, music does not merely complement a film’s narration; it is an integral part of it. A careful analysis of his feature length films Tableau Ferraille (1997) and Madame Brouette (2002) reveals his unique use of music to convey commentaries on the difficulties of constricted daily social life in postcolonial Senegalese urban society. Though both films tackle gritty social issues and denounce corruption and injustices, they are beautiful and melodious, built around bright colours and positive, vibrant and cheerful music. In this article, I examine in detail the links between the songs’ lyrics and the films’ narration and social messages. In particular, I demonstrate how the messages of the films appear through the emancipatory hopes of the two female protagonists.