Quote by Ousmane Sembène: “If you don't know who you are, anyone can name you.”

Not knowing your own identity, history, or values leaves you vulnerable to being defined by others — often in ways that serve their interests, not yours. Knowing yourself is a form of protection. This is especially powerful for people whose histories have been distorted or erased by colonial powers.

Sembène said this in the context of his mid-1970s interviews and public talks, during a period when he was pushing African cinema to confront identity and neocolonialism directly. Many African states had been independent for over a decade but were still navigating cultural dependency on European models of thought, language, and education.

Senegalese filmmaker and novelist often called the father of African cinema. He began as a novelist — his 1960 novel God's Bits of Wood is a classic of African literature — and moved to film to reach audiences who could not read. His films, including Moolaadé and Xala, tackled colonial legacy, corruption, and women's rights.