Critical Reading Lenses in the Study of African Cinemas

Abstract

The chapter provides, in a survey, a significant critical account of the theories that are deployed in the reading of African films. The historical bent of the approach enables a broader perspective on African film criticism such as the postcolonial critical framework, the global positionality of African cinema, and gender and feminist readings of African cinema. In addition to the above-mentioned dominant critical frameworks, the chapter deepens the understanding of African film criticism by introducing scholars who have contributed to the rise of the theoretical and critical directions in African cinema studies. The examination of the theoretical approaches to African cinema is meant to bring African cinema out of the margins into the field of cinema studies. The case study on Atlantics (2019) by Mati Diop brings to the fore creative endeavors by African filmmakers to contribute to the development of the film medium.