Survival Instincts: Resistance, Accommodation and Contemporary African Cinema

Abstract

A B ST RA CT: This overview of contemporary Sub-Saharan African cinem a identifies Á survival© and Á universalism© as conceptual categories through which its overtures to the Euro-American market are articulated. W hile the current orientation is not prem ised on any rigid or aesthetic markers, it appears that, generally, the film s seek to establish Á appeal© not in relation to essential cultural Á norm s© , as was the case earlier, but with the transformation of those Á norms© through cultural contestation and negotiation. Thus, while the constitutive features of contemporary African cinem a, more than ever, are linked to Á com mercialism© , questions and tensions abound since those features are situated am idst com plex registers that are theoretical, cultural and representational. In examining the ambiguities and conflictual precepts emanating from the current shift in representational sensibilities, this paper interrogates the prospects for the com mercial developm ent of Sub-Saharan African cinem a.