The title Xala is socially and politically significant in which it serves as a symbol of Al Hadji's powerlessness. On the other hand, the title Yeleen is significant where it portrays Nianankoro's great destiny. The two films use allegory to express post-colonial issues. In Xala, El Hadji represents the powerless businessmen who are just middlemen to foreigners. Despite the end of the colonial era, Africans are still controlled by foreigners, both socially and economically. Yeleen serves as a symbol of Nianankoro's brightness in which his will is achieved even after death. The two movies show reversals in powers where African traditions are portrayed as strong. The titles of the films Xala and Yeleen use allegory to express the political and social concerns in Africa after the colonial era.
The title Xala is socially and politically significant in which it expresses the post-colonial issues. El Hadji is a successful businessman, and he marries a third wife to demonstrate his social status. However, he cannot consummate it because he becomes impotent. The impotence is an allegory where African governments are symbolized as powerless (Landy, and Sembene, 36). They are not useful even after gaining independence from colonialists. Additionally, the title symbolizes Hadji's social impotence, where he has little influence on his wives or children. He is only welcome in his home when he has money to offer. However, he is a famous businessman and socially recognized. Hence, it symbolizes the powerful image portrayed by African governments, but in the real sense, the colonizers still control Africans even after independence (Armes, 23). The title is an allegory where El Hadji's impotence symbolizes the powerlessness of the African governments. Therefore, the title of the film is allegory expressing social and political issues during the post-colonial period.
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The title of the film Yeleen is a symbol of the social and political status of African people. African traditions are portrayed as bright and strong. Soma tries to kill his son and stop him from using his powers to benefit other people. However, he is defeated and dies as a result of the magic that he tries to prevent his son from sharing. The film portrays post-colonial concerns where Africans continue to use magic and indigenous powers even after civilization (Murphy, 241). They continue with their old practices even during a war, such as the use of bees and fire to disperse enemies. They had the opportunity to fight with firearms, but they chose traditional methods. The film uses the title to address the brightness of indigenous traditions even after colonization. Magic is portrayed as bright, which is an allegory, and it shows the brightness of African indigenous cultures. Hence, Yeleen is an allegory where indigenous traditions are portrayed as bright.
Conclusively, the titles of the film Xala and Yeleen are an allegory of African communities after colonization. They have social and political significance where the main characters are used to show the African governments after the colonization era. The main character in Xala is impotent, which signifies the lack of power in African governments. On the other hand, Yeleen signifies the brightness of African traditions and governments. The film is politically and socially significant because the western governments did not change African cultures after bringing civilization to the land. Hence, both movies use allegory to express political and social post-colonial concerns.
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