Focusing on contemporary documentary filmmaking in sub-Saharan Africa and its diasporas, this book explores the origins and development of the genre. It critiques established paradigms in African film criticism, highlighting the shifting aesthetic trends and innovations within documentary cinema. Through this examination, it offers a fresh perspective on the cultural and artistic significance of these films in a rapidly changing landscape.
Exploring the evolution of African cinema, this book examines how contemporary filmmakers are redefining postcolonial identities beyond nationalist narratives. It highlights the emergence of diverse genres and discourses, emphasizing entertainment over political messaging. Through an analysis of various filmic genres like comedy and crime, alongside cultural themes such as witchcraft and sexuality, the author reveals the aesthetic and representational choices shaping modern African cinema. This work showcases a shift towards a broader understanding of film's role in society.
Cinema and Social Discourse in Cameroon analyzes a cinema, that has been inaugurating some major thematic and aesthetic innovations for the last twenty years. The essays in this volume use film semiotics, postcolonial enquieries, as well as cultural theories to stimulate alternative, innovative, and radical analyses that interrogate and disrupt official discourses and preoccupations about national culture. They also reveal the diverse and creative voices in Cameroon film, deepening our understanding of the language and social discourse of a vibrant national cinema.