In and Out of Africa is a documentary film that engages the viewers into an intelligent and perceptive overview of African art and culture. The documentary explores authenticity, racial politics with humor and irony, as well as emphasizes the role of transnational trade in shaping African art. The movie intertwines stories of Muslim traders, Western collectors, and African artists to render the streamlined account about Gabai Barre, including his adventures from rural Ivory Coast to Long Island, where the merchandiser is engaged in trade.
Through personal experiences, the film demonstrates how Barre contributes to economic value and alters the actual purpose of mediating and interpreting cultural values of Western buyers and African producers. For all African traders of artistic pieces, the animist symbols presented as “fetishes” do not constitute significant cultural and artistic value. These products are simply commodities that can be sold to Western consumers. However, Western collectors consider these products to be the authentic pieces of African Art.
The film is distinguished by perceptive subtitling, thematic integrity, and reflexive humor, which makes the entire film a masterpiece. The directors have managed to render its ethnographic humor and authenticity and provide an alternative, even unconventional view on art. The film uncovers the realities of open and closed communities and expands on the main essence of African traditions and spirituality through a description of sales relationships between African traders and Western buyers.
The varieties of African traditions and cultures that shape the basis of commercial relations outside the province and rise across the boundaries of other linguistic and ethnical grouping are considerable. The film, therefore, discusses the trade of artistic products in Africa and develops a new focus on African merchandisers and international dealers. This is of particular concern to Barre whose trading activities relate to the interpretation of the artistic products and commercial techniques.
Within this context, the concept of culture is embodied in social activities and is divided into aspects of material products with emphasis placed on symbolic systems. There is a tangible difference between aesthetic the community and the artistic value due to the constant exchange of symbolic meanings. The intangible value of art pieces is specifically shaped by purchases rather than by producers, which contributes to the contemporary image of African culture.
The role of economic background in the African community is significant as well because it adds to the symbolic realm of trade in local regions. Additionally, the film pays attention to the act of value exchange between culture, which signifies the emergence of new meanings and symbols. Such a form of value is alienable because these objects are separated from the genuine understanding of cultural and spiritual peculiarities accepted in the African community.
The aesthetics of commodities is closely intertwined with historical subjects and objects. At this point, In and Out of Africa rely on subject representation and emphasizes the act of producing and selling artistic objects. More importantly, the film explores how imaginary and symbolic exchange values acquire imparted meaning and turn into a set of physical objects. Through presenting commodities, African art becomes nothing more than objects that drive symbolic exchange, differing from their ritual and instrumental functions.
Due to the fact that the film gives a fresh insight into cultural life in African, my personal views on the roles, values, and meaning of artistic products have changed as well. Specifically, previously known art objects of African culture, the objects presented at the African market are nothing more than commodities that attract foreign buyers and collectors. These commodities contribute to the economic welfare of the nation rather than to its artistic and imaginary values.
Apart from meanings of the artistic products, I have also changed my attitude to African arts in terms of their authenticity because the purpose of most of the product lies in attracting buyers rather than in proliferating cultural and ritual meanings. In fact, the authenticity title was assigned by the Western collectors who needed to enrich their knowledge about African art. Although the products that are used in trade cannot be called genuine artistic pieces, the actual process of value exchange can be considered a part of African culture and tradition because it discovers the spirituality, habits, and patterns of communication between merchandisers and their clients.
In conclusion, the film can be regarded as a classic work that makes a great contribution to the anthropological and social studies of African culture and art. It features realities that African people face daily, as well as renders the meaning and purpose of establishing commercial relations between cultures. By offering artistic pieces, the African dealers perceive them are mere commodities, a means of earning money. The movie is also a valuable addition to exploring cultural anthropology, speaking to various disciplines in human sciences. Finally, the background of the film is also complementary because it provides the picture of daily routine in which African people are involved to survive and sustain their living. Artistic pieces acquire another meaning that deviates from the accepted stereotypes about them.