Bitter Cane: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A documentary film with the title Bitter Cane (Canne amère). It consists of two reels of color 16mm polyester film with optical sound.

The film opens with a discussion of Haiti's colonial history and the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the country's contemporary economic and political climate. It then goes on to describe the semi-feudalism between Haitian farmers and landowners, the nineteen-year US Marine occupation that resulted in guerilla warfare led by Charlemagne Péralte and the Cacos warriors, as well as subsequent US economic and political interventions.

Several farm and factory workers in Haiti are interviewed for the documentary. Two of the women interviewed report that they earn approximately $1 or $2 per day, working for a major American textile company with operations in Haiti, while American workers for the same company who are interviewed report that they earn approximately $5 per hour and have been furloughed due to the cheaper wages paid in other countries.

In the final scenes, asylum seekers detained in New York and Virginia are interviewed. Some report that they are fleeing persecution from the Macoute.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1983
• Directed by: Jacques Arcelin, Haitian
• Subject of: François Duvalier, Haitian, 1907 - 1971
• Subject of: Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian, 1951 - 2014
• Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: polyester film
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 1): 35 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1250 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 2): 32 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1150 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
• Place filmed: New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: Virginia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Agriculture
• Topic: Colonialism
• Topic: Commerce
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: French colonialism
• Object number: 2017.55.13.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.