Animating the oral tradition
A new Disney short film series dramatizes traditional African storytelling for the big screen. Does it succeed?
Television
Where is Angola?
A Netflix series about Queen Njinga, one of Africa’s most historically significant rulers, should be cause for much celebration. But the resulting production largely disregarded what Angolans themselves think of their country’s history and culture.
Onde está Angola?
Uma série da Netflix sobre a Rainha Njinga, uma das governantes historicamente mais importantes da África, deve ser motivo de muita comemoração. Mas a produção resultante desconsiderou amplamente o que os próprios angolanos pensam sobre a história e a cultura de seu país.
The two Africas
In the latest controversies about race and ancient Egypt, both the warring ‘North Africans as white’ and ‘black Africans as Afrocentrists’ camps find refuge in the empty-yet-powerful discourse of precolonial excellence.
The limits of the cop drama
A bleak new television drama, ‘Donkerbos,’ explores secrets in small town South Africa, but fails to offer alternatives to the tropes of good vs evil.
Flowers for Jimi Solanke
Jimi Solanke, now 80, was one of the key shapers of Nigerian theater and television in the second half of the last century. He is finally getting his due.
Cursed heirlooms
The legacy of soap operas and state of television in South Africa. Now it is being exported to streaming services like Netflix for everyone everywhere to see.
Ted Lasso and the Afropolitan
The Afropolitics of one of the characters, Sam Obisanya, makes the second season of TV series "Ted Lasso" even better than the first.
Ethiopian women making movies
The presence of successful female writers, directors, and producers set Ethiopia's film industry apart from Hollywood, Bollywood, and the rest of world cinema.
Dear David Chang
A plea for foodie celebrities like Chang, the host of a popular Netflix show, to take African cuisine seriously.
‘Queen Sono’ and Netflix’s future in Africa
Queen Sono may be Netflix’s most popular series, but it may not be the right home for the new wave of African film and television.
Can an American TV sitcom get anything ‘right’ about Nigerians?
After having a heart attack, a white American falls in love with his Nigerian nurse in the CBS TV sitcom, Bob Hearts Abishola. It is also about Nigerian-Americans’ visibility on mainstream US television.
When Achieng met Ellen
Ellen DeGeneres wanted an African story. Achieng Agutu obliged. Don’t hate the player, though, hate the game.
Senegal’s fear of outspoken women
Religious authorities in Senegal are organizing protests against a popular TV series. The outrage could be related to the challenges the series provokes of the "proper" place of women in society.
The Bill Cosby Show
To make sense of Bill Cosby’s fall from grace requires distinguishing questions of legacy from questions of individual reputation.
The West are not those most affected by terrorism
Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako’s film "Timbuktu" complicates the Jihadist narrative in Africa.
The Triptych: On the personal stories of three of contemporary art’s freshest black voices
Ever wonder what inspires an artist to paste red-lipped Cheshire cat grins over the mouths of
The BBC gets Rwanda wrong
It is a lot to ask the world to accept the multiple truths of Rwanda and it was too much for the film to explain this picture in all of its complicated nuance and actually share with us what remains untold about Rwanda’s story.
South Africans lack table manners and posture.
The country’s first School of Etiquette situated in one of Johannesburg’s rich northern suburbs is more evidence of how much its public culture has slid to the right.