African Cinemas: national cinema and neo-colonialism

 

African cinemas: colonialism, neo-colonialism and national narratives 

African cinema and national cinema: a paradox

Due to my background in international relations, I am convinced that analysing cultural output of any country or region requires taking into account the histories and geopolitics of the entity concerned. This rung even more true when I started learning more deeply about African cinemas.

The notion of African cinema constitutes a paradox. Indeed, authors, amongst whom nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie, have highlighted highlighted the danger of a single story by emphasising that it leads to ideas of Africa that are incomplete (TED Talk by Chimamanda Adichie; source). Furthermore, in his article "Confusing a Country for a Continent: How We Talk About Africa" published in The Atlantic in 2003, Arit outlined the harms of the Western perception which assimilates African countries with the continent itself. For Arit, this generates harmful stereotypes encompassing the white saviour narrative as well as images of poverty and catastrophe. 

Does this mean that referring to specific national cinemas would be more accurate when looking at African cinema? 

The idea of nationhood and nation formation on the African continent is a recent phenomenon imposed by colonialism (source). In Africa, nation-states were built around the imposition of arbitrary borders cutting across existing communities and cultures (source). Thus, ethnic groups with shared histories transcend borders. To this is added the shared experience of colonialism and exploitation across the continent. This colonial legacy can be seen when looking at national African cinemas and its regulations and co-productions with their former coloniser. This is the case with Luso-African co-productions for instance (source). While this depends on the coloniser country, these dynamics prevail across the continent and reflect neo-colonial mechanisms put in place through the definition of nationhood in Africa.

Taking these two elements, we are left with a paradox: while nationhood is a colonial legacy in Africa, which would question the relevance of national cinema, looking at ‘African cinema’ also contributes to the false perception of Africa as a unified whole and could discredit national cinemas. 

Shared colonial legacy and common themes

The shared colonial trauma mentioned above, and the presence of shared histories which transcend borders leads to common themes in African cinema. A particular common theme which stands out is the theme of spirituality. In The Lost Okoroshi (2019), a Nigerian film directed by Abba Makama, Raymond transforms into an Okoroshi spirit and attempts to reintegrate his life under a different form. Similarly, Atlantique (2019), a Senegalese film directed by Mati Diop, addresses spirituality through the possession of young women by the souls of men lost at sea. It is interesting to point out that this theme of spirituality is not unique to African cinema and can be found in other regional cinemas such as South East Asian cinema and in specific genres such as Anime (source). 

Films in African cinema also often present a mix of tradition and modernity and a specific focus on ancestry (source ; source). This is beautifully shown through music in The Lost Okoroshi. Indeed, when Raymond becomes the spirit, the music is a mix of traditional and modern pop music. This musical mix of tradition and modernity is found throughout the film. Furthermore, both showcase a return to spirituality and a reconnection with the roots of their beliefs. This is made clear in The Lost Okoroshi as the village elder explains the spirits’ stories in his local language. This contrasts with the English used in most of the film. Thus, there appears to be cinematographic similarities between African countries.

 

National cinema: reclaiming and redefining narratives

Certain authors argue that it is the power of and organisation around national cinema which allows populations to reclaim and redefine their narratives (source). Thus, national cinema creates an artistic space free of oppression allowing filmmakers to express local grievances (source). Despite transcendence of borders, Africa now showcases particular national identities and cultures as nationalism enabled decolonisation (source). Therefore, national stories start to emerge and there is a danger in referring to African cinema as it could lead to a ‘single story’.

When cinema is referred to as cinema of a particular geographical region, the danger is getting stuck in stereotypes and see every story told from this region as similar in terms of content, topics and cultural expression. This is the danger of a single story as explained in my introduction. This stresses the importance of enabling various narratives to emerge and acknowledging them. Thus, if sticking to a single story can be harmful to local communities, surely the term African cinema is harmful to national narratives and cinema?

African cinema possesses a diversity of aesthetics and of cultural and economic histories which can define national cinemas (source; source). For scholars, acknowledging and promoting national cinema in Africa provides a cohesion mechanism around local culture and beliefs; particularly as some African countries are establishing national cultures (source). In The Lost Okoroshi, the Okoroshi masquerade is founded in the Igbo ethnic group native to southern Nigeria (source). This, in combination with the use of local language and the tradition-modernity mix, is a powerful reclamation of the Nigerian narrative. Thus, while it seems that African cinemas address similar themes, themes often relate to local experiences.

The Silences of the Palace (1994), directed by Moufida Tlatli, also conveys the specific colonial experience in 1960s Tunisia as shown by radio intermissions highlighting the French invasion. Furthermore, when talking about their relationship, Lofti mentions that Alia is ‘indecisive like this country’ (1:26). This implies that understanding her indecisiveness requires knowing about Tunisia’s local context as her behaviour is assimilated to her country. Thus, the local context and the reclaiming of the colonial narrative becomes apparent.

African cinema, a term to reconsider? 

Following from the research I did on the topic of African cinemas, it seems that the idea of African cinema whilst avoiding the colonial imposition of nationhood also contributes to harmful neo-colonial narratives which see Africa as a homogenous entity. But, by putting the existence of national cinema at the forefront of African cinema and referring to separate countries as is done in Europe or in North America, national narratives are portrayed as important whilst also acknowledging the colonial imposition of nationhood in Africa and the shifting nature of African cultures and identities (source).