Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2604. Adviser: Charles C. Stewart. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-277) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> The objective of this work is to present the identities of two traditional African societies: Agni and Bakongo. It is imperative to note that the initiation allegory and the initiation ritual practiced in traditional African society are the two methods of initiation used to analyze the respective identities of two characters: Prince M&eacute;l&eacute;douman in Jean-Marie Adiaffi's <i> La Carte d'identit&eacute;</i> and King Mani Kongo in Mweze Ngangura's <i> Pi&egrave;ces d'identit&eacute;s</i>. Not only does this approach establish a study of these heroes, but also of their people. </p><p> Thus, the ancestral practices, and the cultural and religious values that M&eacute;l&eacute;douman discovers in his quest, are those that express his identity and that of his community. Additionally, the symbols that Mani Kongo wears bestow on him his identity and present his DNA. That is, it signals his belonging to his ethnic group. Moreover, the lived experiences of Prince M&eacute;l&eacute;douman and King Mani Kongo, in the course of their prospective initiation voyages, can be defined as an initiation allegory whereby the neophyte, M&eacute;l&eacute;douman, on one hand, goes to be reestablished in his rights and Mani Kongo, on the other hand, becomes convinced of the limits of his traditions. Likewise, the practice of the <i>Comian</i> illustrates a type of initiation ritual, which expresses a unique identifying value among the Agni people in the Ivory Coast. </p><p> This study aims to reconstruct and to revalorize the identity of two peoples. It is evident that the cultural symbols, values, and other ancestral practices are in the process of disappearing due, certainly, to the domination of Western values of which francophone African peoples are the victims. Finally, this particular identity, constructed through history, myths, practices, and belief, translates, as well as defines, the worldview of these two traditional francophone African societies.</p>

This thesis examines representations of identities that are specific to Francophone West Africa, as depicted in the films produced in the region since the 1990s. The films are set in the countries of Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso, among the ethnic groups that form the diverse demographic landscape of the region, and they portray stories and characters that strongly relate these films to the local ways of belonging. While existing research in the field of African film studies focuses on how films from Francophone West Africa portray postcolonial or national identities, very little scholarly attention has been paid to the depiction of identities that are linked to the region’s ethnic cultures. This thesis demonstrates that the local ways of belonging and the practices, rituals and beliefs which these identities rely on continue to have vital significance for representation in Francophone West African cinemas. Using textual analysis as a base for its arguments, this thesis is underpinned by an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that combines extensive contextual research into various West African practices, rituals and beliefs with the philosophical works on cinema by Gilles Deleuze. A number of the concepts Deleuze defines help significantly in the understanding of time and identity in the films, and the interpretative nature of Deleuze’s work offers the opportunity to bridge the gap in film theory application in studies of Francophone African cinema. By applying this diverse theoretical approach to its investigation of the intertwining local identities, the thesis highlights the necessity of an intersectional approach to analysing identity representation in Francophone African cinemas. It is the first study of representations of ethnically-linked identities in the field of African film studies.

This study focuses on the role of women in African cinema – in terms of female directors working in the African film industries as well as the representation of women in African film. My research specifically focuses on francophone West African and lusophone and anglophone Southern African cinemas (in particular post-apartheid South African cinema). This research is necessary and significant because African women are underrepresented in theoretical work as well as in the practice of African cinema. The small corpus of existing theoretical and critical studies on the work of female African filmmakers clearly shows that African women succeed in producing films against tremendous odds. The emergence of female directors in Africa is an important but neglected trend which requires more dedicated research. The pioneering research of African-American film scholar Beti Ellerson is exemplary in this regard, as she has, since the early 2000s, initiated a new field of academic study entitled African Women Cinema Studies. My own research is situated within this emerging field and aims to make a contribution to it. The absence of women in public societal spheres is often regarded as an indicator of areas where societies need to change. In the same sense the socio-political and cultural advancements of women are indicators of how societies have progressed towards improved living conditions for all. Because the African woman can be viewed as doubly oppressed, firstly by Black patriarchal culture and secondly by Western colonising forces, it is essential that the liberation of African women includes an opportunity for women to verbalise and demonstrate their own vision of women’s roles for the future. The study analyses a large corpus of films through exploring notions of nationalism and post/neo-colonialism in African societies; issues related to the female body such as health, beauty and sexuality; female identity, emancipation and African feminism in the past and present; the significance of traditional cultural practices versus the consequences and effects of modernity; and the interplay between the individual and the community in urban as well as rural African societies. Female filmmakers in Africa are increasingly claiming the right to represent these issues in their own ways and to tell their own stories. The methods they choose to do this and the products of their labours are the focus of this study. Ultimately, the study attempts to formulate more complex models for the analysis of African women’s filmmaking practices, in tracing the plurality of a female aesthetics and the multiplicity of thematic approaches in African women’s filmmaking.

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The Nigerian video film industry has emerged to become the first “popular” film industry in black Africa. Its means of production and consumption has redefined the parameters of African Cinema. The video films employ themes and images that captivate the audiences’ imagination and curiosity. Some of the most used themes in the Nigerian video films are those relating to the supernatural, magic and witchcraft. Whilst some scholars and filmmakers criticise the prevalence of themes of witchcraft, magic and the supernatural, it is these very themes that draw local audiences. This research project explores images and themes of witchcraft, magic and the supernatural in two genres of the video films; the evangelical or Christian genre, and the horror or voodoo genre, using the films End of the Wicked and Child of Promise as case studies of the two genres respectively.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:20:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CristinaSF_TESE.pdf: 2605520 bytes, checksum: d9ce69b5b8d10f4d603e310b65d8a8c8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-05 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / No contexto de p?s-independ?ncia dos pa?ses da regi?o norte ocidental do continente africano e do posicionamento cr?tico e discursivo dos sujeitos frente ?s imagens euroc?ntricas que culminou com a constitui??o das cinematografias africanas, destaca-se a obra do realizador Moustapha Alassane. Com uma pr?tica voltada para uma concep??o particular das imagens em movimento, o autor nigerino reconstr?i o trajeto do encanto pela imagem ? magia do movimento, criando sua lanterna m?gica, animando figuras e impress?es de seu cotidiano, a partir do simples tra?o do desenho ? modelagem e cria??o de marionetes tridimensionais. Um discurso que se faz gesto pela bricolagem de elementos que est?o a seu alcance. E o gesto ir?nico do realizador transforma o cen?rio de um vilarejo no interior do N?ger em um filme de faroeste, uma oportunidade para se apropriar do mito que ? associado ao da cria??o do cinema no Ocidente. Este trabalho toma como refer?ncia os estudos de autores da di?spora, da cr?tica p?s-colonial e de te?ricos africanos. Dessa forma analiso a obra cinematogr?fica e a trajet?ria f?lmica do realizador nigerino pela via de acesso da chegada das cinematografias africanas ao Brasil, levando em conta o car?ter transnacional dos processos sociais contempor?neos, (re)aproximando-nos do continente africano e da reflex?o de combate ao racismo como um sistema-mundo

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Nas últimas décadas, os Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP) passaram por transformações políticas bastante intensas, das quais o cinema foi um importante participante. A partir de um extenso corpus de filmes, é apresentado um mosaico de histórias que traduzem elementos significativos destas determinadas nações africanas. No período colonial, o cinema significava um forte instrumento de propaganda do regime português; durante a luta pela independência, o cinema foi usado como uma arma que somava esforços aos movimentos nacionalistas; nos anos iniciais das novas nações independentes, as produções cinematográficas fortaleceram os interesses dos novos estados; e, enfim, depois da década de 1990, com a abertura política e o multipartidarismo, começaram a se desenvolver diversos e variados tipos de cinema relacionados com estes cinco países (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Moçambique e São Tomé e Príncipe), alguns mais críticos, outros mais voltados ao entretenimento. Este trabalho é uma visita guiada por esta filmografia, com o objetivo principal de ampliar nosso contato com os cinemas dos PALOP. Os filmes são pouco conhecidos pelo público brasileiro, então o trabalho adquire importância ao proporcionar o acesso aos filmes pelos pesquisadores interessados, das mais diversas áreas. Os filmes são apresentados conforme uma ordem que respeita elementos comparativos e realça aspectos que sinalizam possíveis critérios de estudo destes cinemas. / In the last decades, the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (PALOP) have passed through very intense political transformations in which cinema has been an important participant. From an extensive corpus of films, it is presented a mosaic of stories that translate significant elements of these African nations. In the colonial period, cinema represented a strong propaganda instrument for the Portuguese regime; during the struggle against colonialism, cinema was used as a weapon that added efforts to the nationalist movements; in the early years of the new independent nations, cinematographic productions have strengthened the interests of the new states; and, finally, after the 1990s, with the political openness and the multiparty system, various and varied types of cinema began to develop in relation to these five countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé e Príncipe), some more critical, others more focused on entertainment. This study is a guided visit to this filmography, whose main objective is that of broadening the contact with the PALOP\'s cinemas. These films are not well-known by the Brazilian public, so the study acquires the importance of providing information and access to these films for interested researchers. The order through which the films are presented obeys to comparative elements and highlights aspects that lead to possible criteria for the study of these cinemas.

[pt] Partindo da indagação o que filmam os diretores africanos contemporâneos quando, hoje, apontam suas câmeras para as cidades, esta tese empreende uma viagem investigativa por Johannesburgo, Maputo e Harare através dos filmes de diretores africanos em atividade na África Austral. Os cinemas africanos contemporâneos realizados em países como África do Sul, Moçambique e Zimbabwe lidam, ainda hoje, em maior ou menor grau, com os reflexos de modos de produção que tiveram origem no período de dominação colonial. Se, na contemporaneidade, a África do Sul logrou organizar uma estável indústria de cinema no sul do continente africano, países como Moçambique e Zimbabwe ainda sofrem com os reflexos de uma descolonização tardia dos modos de produção cinematográfica. Com a queda do apartheid na África do Sul (1994) e as independências de Moçambique (1975) e Zimbabwe (1980), as cidades, territórios severamente marcados pela segregação perpetrada pelo colonizador, passam a atrair a atenção de cineastas locais, ao se transformarem no palco de acirrados debates acerca da segregação racial e espacial, do direito à terra e à moradia, da mobilidade, da relação campo-cidade, do embate entre tradição e modernidade. As cidades africanas, até certo momento tidas como projetos interrompidos e inacabados do pesadelo colonial, passaram a ser consideradas, em toda a sua complexidade, como a epítome da própria modernidade africana. As imagens dessas cidades modernas, complexas e desiguais, que emergem do cinema contemporâneo local, rasuram ou perturbam o regime dominante de representação do continente africano propagado pelo cinema e pela mídia ocidentais, problematizam visões que prevaleceram nos contextos de luta anticolonial e conquista da independência e contribuem para a renovação do repertório de imagens da África arquivadas pelo Ocidente. Os filmes analisados nesta tese ajudam a criar cartografias outras das cidades africanas levadas às telas. Tais cidades cinemáticas – ao editar, seccionar, justapor, aproximar e eliminar espaços – produzem percepções múltiplas e, às vezes, inesperadas. / [en] Starting from the question what do contemporary African directors film, today, when they point their cameras towards the cities, this thesis undertakes an investigative journey through Johannesburg, Maputo and Harare in the films of African directors currently active in Southern Africa. Contemporary African cinemas produced in countries such as South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are still dealing, to a greater or lesser extent, with modes of production that originated in the period of colonial domination. If, in contemporary times, South Africa has managed to create a stable film industry in the south of the African continent, countries such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe still suffer from the reflexes of the late decolonization of their modes of film production. With the fall of apartheid in South Africa (1994) and the independence of Mozambique (1975) and Zimbabwe (1980), these cities, territories which are severely marked by the segregation perpetrated by the colonizer, start to attract the attention of local filmmakers, as they become the stage of heated debates regarding racial and spatial segregation, the right to land and to housing, mobility, the relation between countryside and urban life, the clash between tradition and modernity. African cities, for a long time regarded as unfinished and interrupted projects of the colonial nightmare, started to be perceived in all of their complexity, as the epitome of African modern itself. The images of these modern, complex and unequal cities, which emerge from local contemporary cinema, disturb the dominant system of representation of the African continent, propagated by Western cinema and media. They also problematize visions that prevailed in the contexts of anti-colonial struggle and conquest of independence and they contribute to the renewal of the repertoire of African images archived by the West. The films analyzed in this thesis help to create alternate cartographies for the African cities brought to the screen. Such cinematic cities – by means of editing, sectioning, juxtaposing, approximating and eliminating spaces – create perceptions that are multiple and, at times, unexpected.