Jojolo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A short motion picture film with the title "Jojolo." There are two release prints (2018.37.3.1a) and (2018.37.3.3a), both of which are 16mm acetate film with optical sound and a magnetic track (2018.37.3.2a). All are 16mm acetate film

The film depicts the life of Jojolo (Johanne Harrelle), a young Black woman working as a fashion model in mid-1960s Paris. It opens with Jojolo applying makeup to her face as instrumental jazz music (Fire Waltz by Eric Dolphy) plays in the background. This is accompanied by voiceover narration. The woman states that jojolo is a Yoruba word that means "Look at the pretty girl."

In the next scene, Jojolo walks out of a Christian Dior store unto the busy Rue François 1er and exclaims although it was named after a 16th century French king, there is nothing majestic about it but its name. She briefly engages in some window-shopping before visiting a water fountain that features numerous statues. She then walks over the Pont Alexandre III bridge, commenting that for her it is the funniest bridge over the Seine, "not even my mask can fit me with it. I think it knows."

In another scene, Jojolo observes a sculptor making a statue. She states, "Look at the pretty girl. She couldn't work for my boss but then, jojolo for him is not the same for everyone. I live here. I have to work, that is what my mask is for." She continues along her journey, eventually making it to the street on which she lives. She pauses to look at traditional African masks as the narrator states that "They say that home is where one starts from”, and African drumming plays in the background.

In the final scene, Jojolo looks out from her window unto a procession of umbrellas passing in the street. She sees her neighbor doing the same thing and wonders, "What does she see?" After retiring to her apartment, Jojolo removes her makeup and eyelashes as the narrator states, "My father says, if you sleep in a mask, it sticks to your face. I will never sleep in mine. I want to keep my face. I want to keep my name. Jojolo. Jojolo. Jojolo." The film ends with a shot of her, sans makeup, looking directly into the camera.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1966
• Directed by: Lebert "Sandy" Bethune, Jamaican American
• Directed by: John Taylor
• Narrated by: Johanne Harrelle, Canadian, 1930 - 1994
• Subject of: Johanne Harrelle, Canadian, 1930 - 1994
• Edited by: Elspeth MacDougall
• Composed by: Eric Dolphy, American, 1928 - 1964
• Type: sound films
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: short subjects
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration: 22 min.
• Place filmed: Paris, France, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Beauty culture
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: Independent films
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2018.37.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Lebert "Sandy" Bethune
• 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: © Lebert Bethune Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.