This article explores the complex relationship between African literatures in European languages and the construction of the historical record in Agualusa's Nação Crioula and Monénembo's Pelourinho. It problematizes the idealised notion present in lusofonia of the Atlantic triangle as characterised by fluid identities and hybrid spaces, to argue that in both novels boundaries are ruptured but also reinscribed. In exploring unofficial acts of writing which diverge from official discourse: unpublished texts, secret correspondence, and ways of inscribing memory that do not involve writing, these two novels call into question the relationship between voice and writing and the way the historical record is constructed. By exploring the work of Agualusa and Monénembo in comparison, we can demonstrate some of the points of crossover between these two texts, which transcend both intra-and inter-continental boundaries. Such a comparative analysis allows for new readings of the texts to emerge, which may not be apparent when viewed solely from a Lusophone or Francophone canonical perspective.Keywords: Agualusa, francophonie, lusofonia, Monénembo, transatlantic. ESCREVER O IMAGINÁRIO TRANSATLÂNTICO EM NAÇÃO CRIOULA DE AGUALUSA E PELOURINHO DE MONÉMBOResumo: Este artigo propõe trabalhar e relação complexa entre as literaturas africanas em línguas europeias e a análise pormenorizada da construção do registro da história em Nação Crioula de Agualusa e em Pelourinho de Monénembo. Problematizar-se-á a conceção idealizada do termo lusofonia, onde o triângulo atlântico se caracteriza mediante identidades fluidas e espaços híbridos, para argumentar que, em contrapartida, nos dois romances, as fronteiras se quebram, mas também se reinscrevem. Ao explorar certos atos informais de maneiras de inscrever a memória sem recorrer à escrita -estes dois romances levantam perguntas sobre a relação entre o ato de enunciar e o processo de escrever, bem como sobre a forma de construção do registo da história. Ao indagar comparativamente as obras de Agualusa e Monénembo, podemos demostrar alguns pontos de conexão entre os dois textos, ambos os quais transpõem as fronteiras intra-e intercontinentais. Tal análise comparativa permite novas perceções dos textos, que não são evidentes quando os textos se analisam mediante uma perspetiva canônica lusófona ou francófona.
When Abderrahmane Sissako’s film Timbuktu was released in 2014, it attracted a great deal of controversy – as well as an Oscar nomination. Was lauded as an exceptionally artistic, poetic film which brought the world’s attention to the plight of Timbuktu under jihadi rule, but the way in which Sissako chose to humanise jihadists, and the elliptical way in which he constructs the film – missing many of the finer details of the political and military situation – was criticised by some, and it was almost withdrawn from competition at FESPACO, the world’s largest African film festival. This article argues that much is missed in such readings of the film, and proposes that an intermedial approach to analysing the film offers a new understanding of it. By exploring the intermedial and intercultural borders and connections in Timbuktu, it will be shown how Sissako combines diverse influences, including Italian Westerns and the Wassoulou music of southern Mali, to create a film that does not merely represent resistance, but is itself an act of resistance against extremism, in Mali. Intermedial borders between film, music and social media are of particular significance in this regard. With a focus on the diegetic and extra-diegetic performances of Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, the article demonstrates how such intermediality can engage the spectator’s “symbolic participation” (Manthia Diawara, 2015) and contributes to a movement of artistic resistance against extremism in Mali.
O 40º aniversário da “queda do império português” tem suscitado novas abordagens críticas ao legado colonial em Portugal. No entanto, a reconfiguração das memórias do colonialismo na produção cultural contemporânea da África dita lusófona tem recebido muito menos atenção. Até hoje, os filmes do cineasta angolano Zézé Gamboa têm sido pouco discutidos de um ponto de vista académico, em particular o seu filme mais recente, O Grande Kilapy (2012), que constitui o tema deste artigo. O filme revela a urgência de redimir a memória numa sociedade pós-colonial, bem como a forma como o poder de silenciar tais memórias se encontra situado nas estruturas geopolíticas do chamado mundo lusófono. Este artigo demonstrará como Gamboa contribui para a descolonização do imaginário ao reclamar memórias e ao reenquadrar a história, mas também como esta redenção e transmissão da memória se encontra limitada pelos constrangimentos de produção e de distribuição enfrentados pelo próprio filme e determinados pelas configurações de poder características do espaço lusófono pós-colonial. Desta forma, e embora reconhecendo a importância do arquivo para a memória, tal como propôs Pierre Nora, este artigo proporá que as estratégias alternativas empregues pelo O Grande Kilapy, tais como a transmissão oral de histórias, são essenciais para superar estes limites.
While the 40th anniversary of the “fall of the Portuguese Empire” has provoked fresh critical approaches to the colonial legacy within Portugal, much less attention has been paid to how memories of colonialism are being reconfigured within contemporary lusophone African cultural production. The films of Angolan director Zézé Gamboa have thus far received very little academic attention, particularly his most recent feature, O Grande Kilapy (2012) (The Great Kilapy), which is the focus of this article. Yet the film demonstrates the urgency of redeeming memory in a postcolonial society, and how the power to silence such memories is embedded in the geopolitical structures of the lusophone world. This article will demonstrate how Gamboa decolonises the imagination by reclaiming memories and reframing history, but also how this very redemption and transmission of memories is limited by production and distribution constraints imposed upon the film itself, defined by configurations of power within the postcolonial lusophone space. Therefore, while recognising the importance of the archive for memory, as Pierre Nora proposes, this article will posit that alternative strategies, present within O Grande Kilapy, such as the oral transmission of stories, are essential for working around such constraints.
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