Well-Known Movie

Chris Oliver

English ***

Extra credit based on “Half of a Yellow Sun”

Due 10.12.14

“Half of a Yellow Sun” is a movie based on a novel of the same name. The author is Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie. She is an author with a capital “A” because she is lauded in social circles and has enjoyed commercial success. Authorship with a capital “A” contrasts with authorship with a small “a” in that authorship with a small “a” is simply the producer of a body of work who is not well-known and has had minimal commercial success. The authorship function is very much alive in the movie. Adichie’s “fingerprints” can be seen throughout the movie. As with Foucault, in which some trace of the author lingers on the outside of the work, Adichie’s characters and the setting itself mirror, to an extent, her life. The movie setting is in her native country, Nigeria. One of the characters in the movie graduated summa cum laude from Yale. Adichie graduated from Eastern Connecticut State with a Bachelor’s degree in 2001 with the distinction of summa cum laude (Source: Wiki). Adichie also graduated from Yale with a Master of Arts degree in 2008 (Source:Wiki). So, authorship is very much alive and contrasts with Barthe’s philosophy of the death of the author. This philosophy indicates the author absents himself/herself, in this instance, herself from the writing. However, if the reader or viewer of the movie has no knowledge of Adichie’s background and is totally ignorant of who she is and what she looks like. Then, he or she would have an unbiased interpretation of the film. And, the authorship of the film would be dead according to Barthes.

The author function is to describe, via families, the turmoil that existed in Nigeria during the Nigerian civil war (1967-70). The movie documents a subculture that developed during wartime -for example, the guerillas that smashed the car windshield. And, it demonstrates the lawlessness that occurs- in the airport, several innocent civilians are shot dead. The author function also describes relationships between men and women, family relationships, and the culture they embrace. Nigerian culture and family culture are described in terms of language, clothing, vehicles, and mannerisms. In short and as with other cultures, Nigerian culture encompasses the whole way of life.

With respect to the signifier-words and signified-meaning, let us look at the title, Half of a Yellow Sun. Literally translated, half means half of something that is whole. Half means fifty percent of a whole. The word of is the beginning of a prepositional phrase and a is an article and Yellow is a adjective and Sun is a star about 93 million miles from earth.

Figurative translation however, could mean something entirely different. The half may mean the country is split in half because of the civil war. It could mean the family functions as half when adults commit infidelities as those committed during the film. It could refer to the lawlessness that occurs when a country is at war with itself. With respect to the yellow sun. Recall that yellow is a primary color and a yellow sun refers to the brightness, warmth and light it brings to plants, animals, and humanity. Figurative translation could mean that half these characteristics are missing when the aforementioned conflicts occur within family and country. Whatever the meaning, “Half of a Yellow Sun” is a movie well worth the viewer’s time to see and enjoy.