01 MW7 CAC 12262 IBRIONKE MU-111
African Cinema and Cultural Narratives: Film, Theory, and Society
This course introduces undergraduates to the rich and diverse world of African cinema, placing films in dialogue with cultural, historical, and theoretical contexts. Through screenings, critical readings, and discussions, students will explore how filmmakers across Africa negotiate issues of colonialism, identity, gender, and modernity, while reimagining Africa’s place in global media flows.
From Ousmane Sembène’s revolutionary cinema to the Afrofuturist visions of Wanuri Kahiu, the course examines how African cinema both reflects and shapes cultural narratives. Students will be introduced to concepts from film theory (including Third Cinema, auteurism, and post-colonial visuality).
Screenings will be done outside class; in-class sessions will focus on lectures, film review discussions, and media theory. No prior film or African studies experience is required.
Learning Goals
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify major movements and themes in African cinema (e.g., anti-colonial film, post-independence cinema, Nollywood, digital/streaming era) through specific case studies.
2. Apply key film-theory concepts (such as Third Cinema, auteur theory, postcolonial visuality, spectatorship) to African films and assess how they articulate social, political, and cultural issues.
3. Analyze how cinematic form—camera work, editing, narrative structure, and production context—constructs meaning, emphasizing style as argument rather than message alone.
4. Interpret subtitles as translations, recognizing how linguistic and aesthetic diversity (Francophone, Anglophone, Lusophone, and diasporic traditions) shapes cinematic experience.
5. Situate African cinema within global media networks (e.g., the concept of World Cinema / Global Cinema) and critically engage with how Africa is represented and how African filmmakers represent themselves.
6. Develop media‐critical literacy that connects cinema and culture.