‘Films That Don't Seem Cameroonian’: Professional Video Making And Self-Styling Among Douala Youth
| Autor: | Giovanna Santanera |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Santanera, G |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
business.industry
Filmmaking Prestige media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Geography Planning and Development 0507 social and economic geography Media studies M-DEA/01 - DISCIPLINE DEMOETNOANTROPOLOGICHE Sign (semiotics) Context (language use) 06 humanities and the arts 060202 literary studies 050701 cultural studies Popular art Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Anthropology 0602 languages and literature Cultural work Sociology Everyday life business Empowerment Cameroon Douala Africa youth culture video media_common |
| Popis: | 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. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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