ASRC 4502 - African Cinema

(crosslisted)
(also ARTH 4578) @ (LA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

S. Hassan.

This course offers an overview of African cinema and filmmaking. It surveys historically the evolution of African cinema from its early days to the present. Through screening of selected African films, different trends within African cinema will be explored, such as “Return to the Sources” and the rediscovery of the pre-colonial past; the “Social Realist” narrative and critique of post-independence Africa; reconstructing the story of colonialism from the perspective of the colonized; and the entertainment genre. Techniques, styles, and aesthetics of African cinema will also be discussed. The course offers a unique opportunity of looking at African culture and society, and at issues of social change, gender, class, tradition, and modernization through African eyes.