Customer Reviews

Symbolic Narratives / African Cinema: Audiences, Theory and the Moving Image

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At one level, the directors and actors mentioned in this book face a familiar foe, encountered by all such persons outside Hollywood. How to maintain a distinctive local voice or perspective in films, without being subsumed by the megabudgets and global allure of Hollywood's productions. (As I write this, the Oscars are being broadcast live from Hollywood, and the results will soon appear worldwide.)

So the Africans of the book are not alone in their struggle. But arguably their problems are worse than most others. The budgets of the book's films are far less than those of Canadian or French productions, for example. In part, this reflects the limited purchasing power of the African audiences.

The book also delves into some of the specific nuances of the African countries. Like dealing with a colonial history, or the ethnic tensions in various regions.