• Jean-Pierre Bekolo's African Cyborgian Thought

    Author(s):
    Matthew Omelsky (see profile)
    Date:
    2015
    Group(s):
    LLC African since 1990
    Subject(s):
    Motion pictures, African, French-speaking countries, Area studies
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    African cinema, Posthumanism, Francophone studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/aceq-vw19
    Abstract:
    This article elucidates how Jean-Pierre Bekolo’s 2006 film Les saignantes rearticulates cyborgian thought in an effort to remap dominant modes of social consciousness among African youth. Bekolo uproots hegemonic tropes of African pathology; recasts narratives of African tradition in a way that forecloses singular, fixed interpretations; and depicts two young women who illustrate the potential for body and machine to merge in opposition to masculinist state power. Bekolo combines the oppositional postmodern thought of the cyborg with critical issues of gender, corruption, and tradition pertinent to the current African moment. He breaks down dualisms such as “traditional/modern” and “developed/underdeveloped” and calls into question the grand narratives and myths that purportedly structure African societies as well as the continent’s global image.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Publisher:
    Duke University Press
    Pub. Date:
    Fall 2015
    Journal:
    Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art
    Volume:
    31
    Page Range:
    6 - 21
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
    Share this:

    Downloads

    Item Name: pdf jean-pierre_bekolos_african_cyborgian_th.pdf
      Download View in browser
    Activity: Downloads: 649

    Back to Deposits