21F 853 African Cinemas: Mid-Term Paper

Homepage | Course details | Syllabus | Films | Bibliography | Bulletin Board | Related sites

NB: Please read the guidelines below carefully!

Choose one of the following titles and write an essay of approximately 5 pages on it. Write a short (1 page max.) plan outlining the overall structure of the essay in note form before you begin writing it, attempting to construct an argument and the stages in elaborating it from introduction to conclusion. Attach this page at the back of your finished essay.

The questions are meant to encourage general/abstract reflection on the films you've seen so far rather than detailed analysis of specific sequences, but be sure nevertheless to refer closely to the film(s) discussed and use examples to illustrate your argument.

  1. How does Sembene's choice of a cart-driver as the central protagonist of Borom Sarret make the film so effective?

  2. Compare the literary text of La Noire de... with its film version. How does the film differ from the story? In what respects is the film more effective than the story, in what respects less effective?

  4. What makes Xala an example of "Third Cinema"?

  5. Why are some of Sembene's films in French, some in Wolof? Why does it matter?

  6. In what respects does Mambety's Touki Bouki differ from Sembene's films, and in what respects does it coincide with them? (Areas to consider might include ideology, film language, audience, symbolism)

Paper due in class Tuesday 19 March 1996. [Students whose class paper is due on this date should complete the class paper first, and will be given an extension on the mid-term.]

Format