Africa on film : beyond black and white

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Title:

Author:

Cameron, Kenneth M., 1931- author.

ISBN:

9780826406583

Personal Author:

Cameron, Kenneth M., 1931- author.

Physical Description:

240 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Contents:

Part 1 The Beginnings. 1. The White Queen and the Hunter. 2. The Aristocrat of the Treetops. 3. Real Africa -- But Not Really -- Part 2 To the Eve of Independence. 4. Pillars of Empire. 5. Black Eve, White Grave. 6. That's Africa for You! -- Comedy Before 1950. 7. The African Returner -- Part 3 From Independence to the Nineties. 8. The Dangerous Africans. 9. The Helper, the Simp, and the Oaf. 10. Good Losers, Bad Winners. 11. Freedom Now! 12. Sighing for Yesterday -- Part 4 Beyond Black and White -- 13. Conclusions -- Appendix Table 1: British and American Films by Decade -- Appendix Table 2: American Jungle Films by Decade.

Abstract:

From serious social commentary to outrageous camp, from Cry, the Beloved Country to Tarzan and Jungle Queen, American and British films have gone to Africa, either in spirit or reality, to find the treasures that lie there. More than four hundred films have been made about (or in) Africa in the English language, from the beginning of Edison films in the first decade of the twentieth century up to the present. They range from endless "B" movies and boys' adventure films, to the ever-popular animal documentaries and safari docudramas, to serious efforts to understand colonialism and African-American identity. Together they make a fascinating montage of European and American projections - and even occasionally offer an accurate portrait of a continent and its varied peoples. A central theme of Africa on Film is racism. But as the subtitle suggests, there is much more as well: sexism, classism, nationalism, imperialism, pan-Africanism; the complex filmic legacy of a continent in transition, and the world that both forces this transition and watches it. In fluid, amusing, and compelling prose, Cameron shows how English language films dealing with Africa have a mixed legacy of reinforcing racism, sexism, and imperialism, and at the same time challenging it.--Dust jacket.

Subject Term:

Imperialism in motion pictures.

Racism in motion pictures.

Sexism in motion pictures.

Geographic Term:

Africa -- In motion pictures.

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Summary

"From serious social commentary to outrageous camp, from Cry, the Beloved Country to Tarzan and Jungle Queen, American and British films have gone to Africa, either in spirit or reality, to find the treasures that lie there. More than four hundred films have been made about (or in) Africa in the English language, from the beginning of Edison films in the first decade of the twentieth century up to the present. They range from endless "B" movies and boys' adventure films, to the ever-popular animal documentaries and safari docudramas, to serious efforts to understand colonialism and African-American identity. Together they make a fascinating montage of European and American projections - and even occasionally offer an accurate portrait of a continent and its varied peoples." "A central theme of Africa on Film is racism. But as the subtitle suggests, there is much more as well: sexism, classism, nationalism, imperialism, pan-Africanism; the complex filmic legacy of a continent in transition, and the world that both forces this transition and watches it. In fluid, amusing, and compelling prose, Cameron shows how English language films dealing with Africa have a mixed legacy of reinforcing racism, sexism, and imperialism, and at the same time challenging it."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved