Compare and contrast the text version of Xala with Sembène’s film adaptation. In which ways does the cinematic version digress from the book? Are there any elements of the story that become more prominent or significant in the film version? Explain.

What place, if any, does Xala have with other texts from the late-1960s and early-1970s that explore counterculture and traditional modes of domesticity?

What critiques does the novel make about Western influences on Senegal, results of both colonialism and the “soft power” of European and American pop cultural influences?