Films that don't seem Cameroonian
Professional video making and self-styling among Douala youth
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2103457 |
|---|---|
| Authors | G Santanera (0000-0002-0062-744X, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 89 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 165-186 |
| Publication date | 2019-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0001972019000275 |
| OpenAlex | W2923730241 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 36 |
This article discusses youth cultural production in contemporary Africa, analysing the videos of Douala, which are often called 'films that don't seem Cameroonian'. Most contemporary African videos dramatize everyday life, telling didactic stories that are very close to ordinary people's experiences. As such, they have been interpreted as forms of African popular art. Films that don't seem Cameroonian, however, break with this dominant trend. Directors and actors openly quote international hits and are more interested in transcending the local context than in dramatizing (and moralizing) it. Inserting this production into Douala society, this article deals with the youths' desire to escape their everyday situations and connect with the global arena. It also considers the failures of this ambition, as their poor finances and infrastructural challenges bind them to a much more restricted horizon of possibilities. Video filmmaking in Cameroon is both a source of empowerment and prestige and a sign of marginality and powerlessness. The article concludes with an account of the cultural work at the core of videos that are syncretic and urban, but only partially ascribable to other experiences of African popular art
Aesthetics · Art · Context (archaeology · Empowerment · Everyday life · Media studies · Political science · Prestige · Sign (mathematics · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Cinema and Media Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law
L' esprit d'entreprise au Cameroun
Memory and modernity
The Making of the Pentecostal Melodrama
Nollywood
Modernity at large
The modernity of witchcraft
A History of African Popular Culture
Magical Interpretations, Material Realities
Sensational Movies
Neo-liberalism and the End of Liberal Democracy
Reconsidering Informality
Women in Film in Cameroon
New Nollywood”
African Video Movies and Global Desires
Digital as the New Popular in African Cinema? Case Studies from the Continent
Nollywood, Globalization, and Regional Media Corporations in Africa
Differential Responses to Disappearing Transitional Pathways
Whiteman Kontri and the enduring allure of modernity among Cameroonian youth
Africa in the world
The Generation of Plays
Urban Circulation and the Everyday Politics of African Urban Youth
Text and performance in Africa
Expectations of Modernity
On the Worlding of African Cities
Popular Arts in Africa
The Generation of Plays
Indian films and Nigerian lovers
Degraded Images, Distorted Sounds
Techniques of the body∗
Introduction
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |