It was a very strange episode to watch for someone who actually knows the country. Senegal is a very dynamic country, this was Senegal in slow motion.
I swear the cameramen spent more time filming people praying than eating or cooking or doing anything else. They also made a real effort to mostly show women wearing hijab rather than regular hairdos or head-wraps. The hijab is somewhat present in Senegal but far from typical. I laughed when Bourdain called it "traditional". Huh?? Of Dubai or Saudi maybe, but not of Senegal! Wrong country mate. Women wearing it outside the mosque and tied like Saudi women would wear it is a quite recent trend. Yes, a trend. A small one too.
Bourdain seemed so shocked to see a tolerant muslim country, it was almost pathetic of him. I'd say he'd need to travel a bit more, but given how much he does travel, maybe what he needs to do is open his eyes a bit more. Senegal is a unique country in many ways but not an exception when it comes to this. He needs to get over it, Senegal being a tolerant country is really old news.
Dakar is one of the fashion capitals of Africa for crying out loud! Where were all the wax prints, crazy hairdos and legendary Senegalese elegance? People can spend two days at the hair salon getting their hair done. Best dressed population on the continent by far.
He also missed that Dak'Art, the International Contemporary Art Biennale, was on while he was there. It's like going to Venice during its biennale and never mention contemporary art.
This very much felt like an old man's reportage about the country. The slow pace, the old topics (who cares about the rally nowadays seriously?)... the interviews with mostly middle-aged men... No offence, these are great men, especially Pierre Thiam (a national treasure this man). But there are so many young female fashion designers, film directors, artists, choreographers etc who are making a big name for themselves even internationally. Where were they? Instead he just talked about "women issues" with a couple of women which he probably picked because of their hijab plus one without for good measure. And about race with the mixed-raced woman. And domestic stuff. How inspired. Sigh.
Last but not least: the meals. I didn't seen a single person eating with their hand nor drinking ataya, the traditional tea. What is this?
This show needs a new host who's a bit more in tune with the world. Stocktown did a much better piece about the country, if you want to see how the country really is like I'd recommend watching it instead.
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