Motherland Gaze
Students will view as many African cinematic genres as time will allow. When viewing African films, viewers can feel the strength of the longstanding African oral tradition of storytelling resonate throughout many films of the region. It must be noted, that all films discussed and researched for this unit are from West African regions, and more specifically Francophone Africa. Students will first come to understand the political definitions and language use (French, dialect, English, etc.) so that they will have an enhanced level of comprehension of certain situations and circumstances that students will come upon while viewing. Important to this segment of the unit will be the introduction and study of African filmmakers. Students will come to know when Africans came to be permitted to tell their own story through film
Students will learn how to critically analyze films from a historical viewpoint and then will bring cinematic knowledge into focus. In the early years of African filmmaking, the makers of such films were mostly concerned with political statement and social commentary rather than to make films for pleasure. Much later filmmakers began "making films that were directed towards contemporary African issues even if it were set in a historical context." iii Issues of colonialism are important factor in the images that are portrayed in most African films. As well, the process of de-colonization that occurred and the activities in African society contiguous with independence must be considered for study and understanding. The aforementioned bring about student realization of what happens at the level of marketing and distribution for African film. Why would filmmakers such as Ousmane Sembene, Moussa Yoro Bathily, Mohamed Camara, and Med Hondo have the visual expertise to complete full-feature films but not the business savvy to have their films marketed to a public majority? Students will look for reasons that might cause the films not to be seen in the filmmaker's homeland and not have the mass marketing rights that have been given many others.
Clarification of regional rituals, religions, and societal day-to-day activities will be done as research projects for students. In this portion, students will learn about the importance of the griot, as seen in Keita! (1994), the African storyteller to kings, queens and their offspring. To accomplish proficient visual literacy, students will be required to do personal interviews of West African people in their neighborhoods and communities. Students will determine a series of questions (that will be agreed upon as a group) for interviewees. This strategy will present opportunities for open dialogue to facilitate achieving cultural sensitivity and cultural awareness.
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