Paper short abstract:

African Women filmmakers are growing in numbers both on the continent and in the diaspora. They are consciously unsettling stereotypical narratives on and about woman and womanhood, initiating a cinema of redress, one which aims at repositioning African woman of the future. How do they do this?

Paper long abstract:

In a previous study, I argued that African films were strategically used in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, to define, shape and stereotype women into a mould which appealed to male gaze and aligned with patriarchal dictates of the society. In the study, I had tried to determine the impact of growing numbers of women filmmakers on the continent, and had concluded that they are countering stereotypical representations of women through narratives of redress. In this present study, I test my deductions and submissions on African women filmmakers. At the 2023 Afrykamera film festival in Poland, I hosted a discussion panel and a series of post-screening question and answer sessions with female filmmakers. In our discussions, we talked about the precolonial, postcolonial and contemporary African woman, with a focus on how films have represented, but importantly shaped her. This study draws insights from important points raised during our interactions to determine how female filmmakers are attempting to use the film medium to define, shape and position African women of the future. This qualitative research conducted within a feminist framework, attempts to establish how the presence of African women filmmakers, on the continent and beyond, is unsettling existing narratives on/about women. Through data collected via content analysis of 6 films, discussions and interviews (in-person and online) with 5 filmmakers, this study discusses how popular narratives about women have been formed and what contemporary narratives, especially those told by women, mean for African women of today and the future.

Paper short abstract:

Exploring how South African digital influencers aid indigenous knowledge preservation, revealing complexities and ethical considerations in archiving on digital platforms.

Paper long abstract:

This case study delves into the realm of indigenous knowledge archiving within the context of Indigenous Knowledge System Documentation Centers (IKSDCs), libraries, and the National Recorder System in South Africa, examining the impact of emerging digital influencers. In a rapidly globalizing world, preserving indigenous wisdom and cultural heritage faces challenges requiring innovative approaches. This research explores how digital influencers, using online platforms and social media reach, significantly contribute to documenting, disseminating, and preserving indigenous knowledge.

Employing a qualitative research scheme, a multiple case study approach was adopted. Structured online interviews, literature review, and online web resource analysis constituted the data collection methods. The study's population encompassed staff from selected institutions, with purposive sampling targeting coordinators, managers of indigenous knowledge, archivists, curator officers, professional social group administrators, and online resource collection administrators.

The findings reveal intricate dynamics among influencers, indigenous communities, and digital spaces. They uncover opportunities, complexities, and ethical considerations tied to utilizing digital platforms for indigenous knowledge archiving in South Africa. This study’s insights contribute to the discourse on safeguarding and promoting indigenous wisdom in the digital era while honoring cultural integrity and authenticity.

Paper short abstract:

Kiptesot arap Sang, (popularly known after his band as Junior Kotestes) was, arguably, the most prominent artiste singing in Kalenjin language. This paper interrogates how the artiste metaphorises sex in his lyrics to avoid a language that would otherwise offend the sensibilities of his audiences.

Paper long abstract:

By the time he died in February 2015, Kiptesot arap Sang, (popularly known after his band as Junior Kotestes) was, arguably, the most prominent artiste singing in Kalenjin language. As a testament to his popularity, Sang emerged in 2014 as the highest overall earner of royalties of Kenya's Music Copyright Society, beating established artists like Hubert Nakitare (Nonini) and Dennis Kaggia (DNA). I speculate in this paper that the popularity of Sang’s lyrics among his Kalenjin audiences is partly due to his ability to reference sexual themes but subtly camouflage them in innuendo and powerful figurative language. Although romantic love is a prominent theme in Kalenjin popular music references to sexual love are scanty. However, by creatively deploying the linguistic resources of his Kalenjin language, Sang speaks through metonymy, ambiguity, irony, and metaphor to sing sexual love while concealing the vulgar and the profane that is often associated with the kind of popular music that apes the American genre. Using six of Junior Kiptesot Sangs’s top songs, this paper, therefore, interrogates how the artiste metaphorises sex in his lyrics to avoid a language that would otherwise offend the sensibilities of his audiences. I argue that the challenge of deciphering the deep and double meanings the artist achieves for his music through constellation of metaphors is what makes the consumption of this kind of music gratifying and leads to the creation of a fan culture that makes this consumption collective through live call-in programs in Kalenjin language FM Radios.

Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the celebrity cultures that have accompanied electronic football commentary from the age of analogue radio to digital media practices, culminating in the female social media influencer that arguably appropriates football commentary to perform assertive and ludic gender identity.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is about the transformation of football commentary from the 1980s to the turn of the New Millennium, tracking the gradual evolution of this popular cultural form in the context of available media technology, modes of sport journalism and patronage. It examines the levels of agency and attendant trends of creativity, innovation, and overall cultural and material production that has taken place in the process. The underlying argument is that football commentary in Kenya, in all its forms, has always been appropriated by, and also made to express, the dominant patterns of political economy; and that at different points in time individuals have used and groups have used available media technological affordances to perform commentary as well as (re)construct desired social identities of class and gender. In this light, we compare the popular cultures that thrived in the 1980s and 1990s in the context of radio football commentary, local football and ‘analogue social networking’ with the Millennial celebrity cultures that have been shaped by social media influencers in the age of European football dominance and digital technology.

Paper short abstract:

African stories were told through oral traditions and passed on through generations. Over time, these popular cultural entertainments have evolved into digital format. This study examined the evolution of Yoruba popular culture through drama and cinema from the beginning to the digital period.

Paper long abstract:

For a long period of time, the Yoruba popular culture has been entertaining, engaging and enduring, even as it kept pace with the changing times by adapting to it. In the beginning, it started with folklore storytelling. The major performers of that period were the griots who made that task entertaining and lively by dint of their verbal skills. The stories began to take life forms through the Egungun Apidan at the old Oyo Empire, evolving to Egungun Alarinjo, which were the precursor to the Yoruba travelling theatre troupes. This study examined Yoruba popular culture and its adaptation to technological development. The objectives were to find out whether the Yoruba popular culture is growing or declining and if the digital revolution has a positive or negative impact on it. The study employed the methodology of qualitative analysis. The findings were that the Yoruba troupes have transformed to Yoruba cinema and presently, their digital movies are all part of this generic folklore that stays relevant by adopting the current popular storytelling format. It also found that Yoruba popular culture is on the ascent and thanks to the digitalization of entertainment distribution methods, it is now able to reach everyone that wants it. This study, therefore, concludes that the digital revolution has positively impacted Yoruba culture and ensures its growth.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines a TikTok challenge that went viral on Nigerian social media in April 2024, through which women shared memetic reflections on their coming-of-age in visual form. The challenge serves as a lens through which to explore Nigerian notions of female success.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on the "Establish" challenge initiated by a Nigerian content creator on TikTok in April 2024. Predominantly women participated, sharing memetic reflections on their coming-of-age in visual form. I will use the challenge as a lens through which to explore how success is embodied by Nigerian women. I argue that the challenge allowed women to present themselves as adult women who had successfully 'established' themselves in society. This is achieved by uploading two contrasting sets of images, representing a younger past version and an older present version of the same person, the latter being far more glamorous than the former. As we will see, the transformation depicted in this way mobilises a series of differentiations that can be translated into each other: younger/older = teenager/mature = thin/voluptuous = poor/rich = busy/leisure = dark-skinned/light-skinned = black/bleached = ordinary/glamorous. According to the captions, “growth” and “glow-up” go hand in hand, or as the deliberately ambiguous sound meme suggests: in order for "Esther", who was "black and broke", to "establish" herself, she had to "bleach" herself.