By the middle of the twentieth century, the Francophone nations of France and Belgium had become industrialized, and its people were enjoying the better standards of living that come along with industrialization: higher incomes, greater literacy rates, and longer life expectancy. Nonetheless, it is clear in the works studied in this course that certain parts of the population were suffering from economic modernization in other ways. Simone de Beauvoir and Frantz Fanon argue that rational economic choices are not necessarily the best choices for marginalized groups like women and colonized people, respectively. Choose a scene or two from the film Cleo from 5 to 7 or the novel The Abandoned Baobab that show(s) the protagonist making a decision that is at once economically unwise and yet existentially imperative (that is, necessary to maintaining a clear sense of self). Why do you think she decided to act this way? If referencing Cleo, please cite the time (hh:mm) that the scene begins.
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