#3 - Strengthen

[jessicamorehead]

I do not understand this question at all. I understand the claim we are trying to strengthen is "Binary opposition is related to African oral story telling more than to the Marxist components of his ideology." However, the answer choices are really throwing me off. Can someone go through them and help me understand why A is right and why B, C, D, and E are all wrong?

[AthenaDalton]

Hi Jessica,

I'm happy to help! Let's start with the correct answer choice, (A).

We know from line 54 that the binary oppositions in Sembene's films (good vs evil, poverty vs wealth, etc) have been criticized as a component of his Marxist ideology. However, answer choice (A) tells us that other West African artists who are not Marxists have used the same themes. If that's the case, it makes it more likely that the use of these binaries really is a West African cultural tradition, and not a component of Sembene's Marxist beliefs.

Answer choice (B) fails to strengthen the argument that the use of binary oppositions is a result of Sembene's African cultural roots, because it tells us that binary oppositions are used in cultures worldwide. If every culture uses this structure, we really can't argue that Sembene's use of them stems from his African heritage.

Answer choice (C) actually hurts the argument that Sembene's use of binary oppositions was not a result of his Marxist beliefs. In (C), we are told more about Sembene's training in Moscow where he worked to infuse Marxist ideas into West African storytelling structures. If Sembene set out to make Marxist films, his critics are proved right -- his films really are the result of Marxist ideology.

Answer choice (D) fails to strengthen the argument since it only tells us about the use of binary oppositions in American and Europe, not Africa. Again, the argument we're trying to bolster is that Sembene's use of binary oppositions stems from his African cultural heritage. If we learn that Americans and Europeans don't use binary oppositions in their films, this has no impact on whether this technique is commonly used in Africa.

Answer choice (E) also doesn't strengthen the argument that Sembene's use of binary oppositions comes from his African heritage and not his Marxist beliefs. Here we are told that 'some' Marxist filmmakers don't use binary oppositions in their films. This doesn't rule out the possibility that many Marxist filmmakers use the technique, or that Sembene decided to use the technique because of his Marxist beliefs. It doesn't help make Sembene's case, and we can rule it out.

I hope this helps clear things up. Good luck studying!

Athena Dalton