‘Fun, fierce and frivolous’: Afrobubblegum and the possibilities of queer African love in Rafiki

Abstract

Representations of Africa in film have been repeatedly haunted by a regressive single-story narrative that focuses on the ongoing effects of colonialism and racism. In Wanuri Kahiu’s 2018 feature film Rafiki, based on Monica Arac de Nyeko’s award-winning short story ‘Jambula Tree’, this pessimistic narrative is replaced by what Kahiu conceptualizes as ‘Afrobubblegum’ – at once an aesthetic preference and a political statement that produces ‘fun, fierce and frivolous’ depictions of the continent. In telling the story of two young girls who fall in love, Kahiu unsettles conventional queer narratives of control and resistance in favour of foregrounding a gentle lesbian love story. Through a focus on the narrative of queer becoming, alongside a consideration of the film’s aesthetics, I argue that Rafiki is important not just as a product that seeks to influence activism and policy, but also as a form of immersion that is in itself activist in its ability to foster a sense of belonging for queer audiences.