Gender terrains in African cinema

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Title:

Author:

Dipio, Dominica, author.

ISBN:

9781868887354

Personal Author:

Dipio, Dominica, author.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

xiv, 227 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Series:

African humanities series

Contents:

Theoretical introduction. Introduction ; Theoretical frames of African filmmaking ; African feminism ; Selected films and book structure -- Imaging the girl child. Introduction ; Children in African colonial and traditional settings ; Children in adult worlds ; Portrayal of children in synthesis -- Negotiating spaces within patriarchy. Introduction ; Dismantling patriarchal logic ; The logic of bride price ; Questioning foundational myths and traditions ; Women in polygamy ; Polygamous men's 'fatal' attraction to young, sophisticated women ; Women under new economic challenges ; The feminine in the public sphere ; Male victims under patriarchy ; Conclusion -- Positioning the elderly in gender relations. Introduction ; Elderly women of centres of alternative authority ; Male-female dynamics ; The elderly as harbingers of change ; Conclusion -- Recurrent trends in gender representation in African cinema. Introduction ; Trends in the representation of women ; Implications for film theory research.

Abstract:

Using the work of canonical African filmmakers, analyzes gender relations around three categories of female characters: the girl child, the young woman, and the elderly woman, and their male counterpoints. Also looks at African feminism in relation to Western feminism.

Subject Term:

Motion pictures and women -- Africa.

Women in motion pictures -- History and criticism.

Feminism and motion pictures -- Africa.

Motion pictures -- Africa -- History and criticism.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025766003	791.436522 D671G 2014	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Attaining its identity in the 1960s, African cinema is characteristically a post-colonial art form. The first group of filmmakers and critics saw themselves, together with the political elite, as responsible for building their new nations. They came up with a series of statements which underline what cinema should be in their contexts: an instrument for educating, decolonizing the mind, and developing critical participatory viewership. To some extent, cinema continues the role of the griot (an African tribal storyteller), with a difference. Interest in this subject has led author Dominica Dipio to analyze how cinema and the filmmaker are located within the predominantly patriarchal hegemonic structure, as she addresses issues related to gender and, in particular, the representation of women in African communities. The films selected for analysis are all directed by male filmmakers that are considered representative of African filmmaking. These films span from the 1970s to the 2000s, with a comprehensive analysis of how gender relations are reflected - in the portrayal of the girl child, the young woman, the more mature woman, as well as the grandmother - vis-a-vis their male counterparts. *** "This well-written, beautifully produced book is a treasure trove of information on the depiction of women in African films directed by men. The films she analyzes treat such issues as female genital mutilation/cutting, bride price, polygamy, prostitution, women in rural and urban living, motherhood, and women's resistance. An added bonus is the author's effort to define African feminism, and the ways it is like and unlike Western feminism. Highly recommended." - Choice, Vol. 52, No. 9, May 2015 (Series: African Humanities) [Subject: African Studies, Film Studies, Women's Studies, Gender Studies]