The whole truth about the black man from Banyoles

On Tuesday the Non-fiction issued Black has a name, the documentary that explores the controversy that erupted in Catalonia over the stuffed man exhibited at the Museu Darder in Banyoles. Alphonse Arceline was the doctor who denounced the racism and dehumanization that came with presenting him as a mere ethnographic and anthropological specimen. His struggle now serves as a social portrait of an era: the Catalonia of the Barcelona Olympic Games. If you haven't seen it, catch up on the 3Cat platform. The original three-part format allows for deeper details. Black has a name It will surprise you, because it goes beyond the story of that man born in 1803 and who was exhumed from his grave by two French explorers. Fèlix Colomer, the director of the miniseries, does an extraordinary job of putting the spotlight on this case. He revisits the controversy of the 1990s over whether or not to return this supposed Bushman warrior to his country of origin. The documentary filmmaker contacts the protagonists who led the different factions of the debate and, armed with television footage from the time, confronts them with the arguments of the past. And the result is as revealing as it is entertaining. Three decades later, the hermeneutics of current events and social sensibilities have changed. And those who doubt it need only watch the documentary. Racism was so inherent in society that many didn't even realize it. With hindsight, it's embarrassing. And Fèlix Colomer plays with that element when reconstructing the events. The protagonists must come to terms with their past statements, and it's not easy: some pretend they don't remember, others deny the evidence, and some try to justify themselves. The subtleties of changing the narrative or distancing themselves from past positions end up being comical. The way the media—TV3's entertainment network in particular—treated the case is now shocking. The start of the third episode makes you smile, because everything we now consider offensive and degrading was handled with a humorous disinhibition that is very uncomfortable today.

Meanwhile, Colomer travels to Africa to discover the true identity of the stuffed man. He was dubbed "the black one," but it is necessary to know who he was to restore his dignity. Thanks to the previous work of journalist Miquel Molina, the documentary filmmaker attempts to close the circle, locate his community, and find his descendants. Along the way, we'll discover many other negligent circumstances surrounding the repatriation of the man's remains, to whom morticians attributed a wild appearance that was inappropriate. Both the embalming process and the return of the remains are riddled with absurdities that reiterate racism and dehumanization. Don't miss this article. Black has a name, because the story of that stuffed man from Banyoles becomes a magnificent anthropological work on the human condition and the country we were.