Alex Cressan as the slave Tamango
I have always enjoyed movies that feature slaves or slavery. No doubt, this is because of my own slave inclinations and over the years, I have viewed countless movies which deal with slavery - a subject very dear to my heart.
I especially liked the older movies about slavery even though I now know they were sanitised to conform to the rules of the times in which they were made. In retrospect, I believe they lack authenticity unlike today when we have more freedom to portray realism.
One movie I remember from my youth was a 1958 movie called "Tamango" which featured a Dutch ship's captain and slaver played by Curt Jurgens who has on board his vessel a cargo of slaves from West Africa bound for Cuba.
Among the cargo was a young, male slave called Tamango who gave his name to the movie. In life, he was Alex Cressan, a young actor from Martinique, and he certainly made a fine slave as seen in the above picture. And I loved his tattered loincloth. As some would know, I am very partial to slaves who wear loincloths. To me they epitomise the very essence of slavery. Although, I now know that in reality, Tamango and his fellow slaves would have been stark naked on the long voyage to Cuba.
As far as I can ascertain, Alex Cressan only made this one film and he disappeared from our screens.
A great pity about that!
Chris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteas an eager enthusiastic lover like you of "slaves & slavery" in movies and in literature (even if from the point-of-view of a "master") I confess that I was never able to watch this very interesting 1958 movie TAMANGO. Thanks for pointing out it and also for posting this picture of the gorgeous Alex Cressan.
By the way, having been born in Martinique, certainly his ancestors had been REALLY slaves "imported" and sold there.
The idea of some ancestor of Alex, as gorgeous as his descendant, and really sold as a slave in Martinique e.g. about two hundreds years ago ....... tickles my sadistic imagination !
Karel
P.S. I fully agree with your observation about slaves wearing loincloths ...... especially if tight and scanty ones. In most cases these garments were really the "signal" of the slave's abjection and "sub-humanity".
I also agree with your historically correct observation that, especially during the transatlantic voyage from Africa to Cuba, the slaves were certainly kept stark-naked (why wasting even a dirty rag for covering their bodies of bestial brutes ?).
However let me also observe that (as e.g. we know for the Slave Markets and slave-auctions in ancient Rome) that most probably slaves were not kept stark-naked during their display in markets and during their sales by auction to the highest bidder.
And in most cases this WAS NOT a question of "modesty" !
As slave-traders and auctioneers well know since the most ancient times, for example a skimpy and tight loincloth (for young male slaves) ..... or two small fabric-stripes (on the pubic region and on the breast) for the young females ...... can be much more "arousing" and attractive for lewd buyers than full nudity .... especially if followed - during the auction- by a slow and provoking stripping by the auctioneer !