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Agathe Cléry: The Changing Face of Racism!
Written by Andy Collins   
Monday, 23 March 2009 20:57
In the early 80’s I saw a film called ‘Watermelon man’. The film from 1970 was a comedy drama directed by Melvin Van Peebles, which tells the story of a typical 1960s, somewhat bigoted white insurance salesman named Jeff Gerber who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black.

You can watch a clip from Watermelon Man below and the full film can be found in parts on youtube.com.




I laughed at the time but I was also sad because of the main characters fear of suddenly having the same skin colour as myself.

Agathe CleryBut the winds of change are here and a great way to represent the changing face of racism is through a comedy film. The good thing about a comedy film is that you will get to enjoy the laughs and the message will subtly embed deeper into your conscience making the impact far more powerful.

Such is the impact of Agathe Cléry, a film that deals with the several facets of human emotion. The most important aspect of this distinctive film with great comical timing is that the story of how the protagonist who is a white Parisian woman turns into a black woman. The effects on her life are comical and sad at the same time.

Watch the trailer below:



Of course, how can such a film not be the eye of the storm?

From the diplomatic corridors of the Parisian administration and Parliament to the delightful communities across the River Seine, Agathe Cléry has received tremendous acceptance as well as critical comments.

In fact, the pre and post promotion of the film has even been pushed by the First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

The wide acceptance of the film stresses one thing: the perception of black men and women in society is changing rapidly, which is great news!

Agathe Cléry stars Valérie Lemercier, who is one of the most popular French comic actresses. The story of the film glides smoothly with Lemercier doing justice to the role.

She is playing the role of a racist cosmetics company executive who is affected by a rare skin ailment called Addison’s disease causing her skin to become black.

As in the film Watermelon Man, Agathe loses her job due to this sudden transition, which is undoubtedly the turning point of the movie.

The question is: what is the morality concept that the film is trying to harness?

It is obviously not about a disease that changes white people black overnight. The message is about equality issues in France where the constitution proclaims “all citizens are equal” and yet racism has been quite predominant in all forms of society. Can the same be said here in Sweden?

The film has some comic scenes that have been well enacted especially when Lemercier’s doctor tells her that she doesn’t have to worry and can easily lead a normal life.

It’s ironic because so far the whites have been living a normal life and the black have lived a below-normal life.

So how can a white woman who has suddenly become black live a normal life?

Her doctor made a comment in the film that says that the famous former American president John F Kennedy had a mild form of the disease but he still got assassinated.

In the film, Lemercier has to live with the fact that she has not only lost her job but also her boyfriend and is facing eviction from her flat. That’s the irony and that is what the entire film is balanced upon.

Across the Atlantic, America has elected their first black president Barack Obama, which is definitely going to address the issue of racism but is France and the rest of Europe ready for a black leader and reforms?

The answer doesn’t lie in the film; it lies in our own hearts.

At the time of writing we are unsure of Agathe Cléry release date here in Sweden but we’ll keep you updated and strongly recommend that you see it.

But what do you think?

If you changed skin colour, how do you think it would affect you life, positively and negatively?


Discuss below or in the Urbanlife Forum.


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