The Europeans say that our old men are good, but we never say that a man is good, we say that he is a man of culture. We mean that he is from an agreeable society and has an elevated sense of humanity. It has nothing to do with weakness. You can be present at meetings of old men where for hours they don’t say anything to each other, they just sort of joke around. But in the process of joking they say what they want to say. A man of culture for us is one who has the key word for every situation. And you can go anywhere you want to and you’ll always find the same attitude—you can’t be a witness or a judge where we are as long as the community doesn’t recognize you as one. You can have all kinds of diplomas and not be invited to participate; and the greatest humiliation for a man in Africa is never to be called upon in difficult times.

[From The Cineaste Interviews, edited by Dan Georgakas (Chicago: Lake View Press, 1983)]