Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema

Lawrence Ekwok

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

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Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema

Lawrence Ekwok

Published in International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 5)

Received: 10 April 2017 Accepted: 13 May 2017 Published: 24 October 2017

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Abstract

Given male domination of the cinema medium, women portrayal in films has dominantly been stereotypical. This trend has been observed even in the African cinema. To counter this trend, a number of theorists and feminist schools of thought have proffered the African alternative cinema movement which insists on women writing their story by themselves so as to correct patriarchal portrayals of women in films. This paper seeks to critically examine this movement with respect to realism. Based on observation and a critical analysis of some Ghanaian and Nollywood films directed by females, it argues that the alternative African cinema may orchestrate a portrayal of women which is more utopian than realistic. Though having the potential to pertinently question the status quo – which is still highly detrimental to women – such a cinematic movement may somehow depart from factual or empirical reality about African women to rather construct and sell a dreamed – but unrealistic – image of the African woman.

Published in	International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13
Page(s)	68-74
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Alternative Cinema, Realism, Utopianism, Femme Fatale, Femininity, Patriarchy

References

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APA Style

Lawrence Ekwok. (2017). Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema. International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences, 2(5), 68-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

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ACS Style

Lawrence Ekwok. Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema. Int. J. Inf. Commun. Sci. 2017, 2(5), 68-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

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AMA Style

Lawrence Ekwok. Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema. Int J Inf Commun Sci. 2017;2(5):68-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13,
  author = {Lawrence Ekwok},
  title = {Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema},
  journal = {International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {68-74},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijics.20170205.13},
  abstract = {Given male domination of the cinema medium, women portrayal in films has dominantly been stereotypical. This trend has been observed even in the African cinema. To counter this trend, a number of theorists and feminist schools of thought have proffered the African alternative cinema movement which insists on women writing their story by themselves so as to correct patriarchal portrayals of women in films. This paper seeks to critically examine this movement with respect to realism. Based on observation and a critical analysis of some Ghanaian and Nollywood films directed by females, it argues that the alternative African cinema may orchestrate a portrayal of women which is more utopian than realistic. Though having the potential to pertinently question the status quo – which is still highly detrimental to women – such a cinematic movement may somehow depart from factual or empirical reality about African women to rather construct and sell a dreamed – but unrealistic – image of the African woman.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema
AU  - Lawrence Ekwok
Y1  - 2017/10/24
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13
T2  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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AB  - Given male domination of the cinema medium, women portrayal in films has dominantly been stereotypical. This trend has been observed even in the African cinema. To counter this trend, a number of theorists and feminist schools of thought have proffered the African alternative cinema movement which insists on women writing their story by themselves so as to correct patriarchal portrayals of women in films. This paper seeks to critically examine this movement with respect to realism. Based on observation and a critical analysis of some Ghanaian and Nollywood films directed by females, it argues that the alternative African cinema may orchestrate a portrayal of women which is more utopian than realistic. Though having the potential to pertinently question the status quo – which is still highly detrimental to women – such a cinematic movement may somehow depart from factual or empirical reality about African women to rather construct and sell a dreamed – but unrealistic – image of the African woman.
VL  - 2
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Author Information

Lawrence Ekwok

Department of Theatre and Media Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

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APA Style

Lawrence Ekwok. (2017). Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema. International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences, 2(5), 68-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

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ACS Style

Lawrence Ekwok. Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema. Int. J. Inf. Commun. Sci. 2017, 2(5), 68-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

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AMA Style

Lawrence Ekwok. Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema. Int J Inf Commun Sci. 2017;2(5):68-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13,
  author = {Lawrence Ekwok},
  title = {Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema},
  journal = {International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {68-74},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijics.20170205.13},
  abstract = {Given male domination of the cinema medium, women portrayal in films has dominantly been stereotypical. This trend has been observed even in the African cinema. To counter this trend, a number of theorists and feminist schools of thought have proffered the African alternative cinema movement which insists on women writing their story by themselves so as to correct patriarchal portrayals of women in films. This paper seeks to critically examine this movement with respect to realism. Based on observation and a critical analysis of some Ghanaian and Nollywood films directed by females, it argues that the alternative African cinema may orchestrate a portrayal of women which is more utopian than realistic. Though having the potential to pertinently question the status quo – which is still highly detrimental to women – such a cinematic movement may somehow depart from factual or empirical reality about African women to rather construct and sell a dreamed – but unrealistic – image of the African woman.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Women as Tireless Goddesses, Super-Humans and Geniuses in the African Alternative Cinema
AU  - Lawrence Ekwok
Y1  - 2017/10/24
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13
T2  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
SP  - 68
EP  - 74
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20170205.13
AB  - Given male domination of the cinema medium, women portrayal in films has dominantly been stereotypical. This trend has been observed even in the African cinema. To counter this trend, a number of theorists and feminist schools of thought have proffered the African alternative cinema movement which insists on women writing their story by themselves so as to correct patriarchal portrayals of women in films. This paper seeks to critically examine this movement with respect to realism. Based on observation and a critical analysis of some Ghanaian and Nollywood films directed by females, it argues that the alternative African cinema may orchestrate a portrayal of women which is more utopian than realistic. Though having the potential to pertinently question the status quo – which is still highly detrimental to women – such a cinematic movement may somehow depart from factual or empirical reality about African women to rather construct and sell a dreamed – but unrealistic – image of the African woman.
VL  - 2
IS  - 5
ER  -

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