My favorite things from the last six months
Art South Africa me asked to pick my "Best Six;" basically my "favorite (six) things from the last six months."
Media
No one ever finishes anything, we just stop
In Alain Gomis's "Tey', 'Aujourd'hui," a man lives the last day of his life.
The politics of translation
The film, "Veejays," comes across as an earnest attempt to learn about the ways people are remixing dominant culture industries to make their own.
When China Met Africa
An exploration of China's presence in Zambia, including suspicion, tensions and possibilities for collaboration.
There’s an African film festival in Scotland
Africa in Motion, Scotland’s African Film Festival, kicks off in Edinburgh and Glasgow today. Here’s a
Kenya’s #purplezebra Spring
Political springs, as in social movements that topple and/or transform political regimes, occur when the youth
There are more cell phones in Africa than India
For Canada's Conservative Party government Africa has moved from disaster and aid to opportunity. An actual Canadian government said the above.
Race, Entitlement and Gay Pride in South Africa
In supposedly post-apartheid South Africa - where political and economic power are at odds - what happens in gay spaces?
Gay Shame in Johannesburg
The confrontation at Johannesburg Pride between white organizers and a group of black activists demanding Pride honor those killed, mostly black, for their sexuality, in South Africa.
The Danger of a Single TED Talk
Africa isn't a brand and we find the clamor for "positive news" from Africa inane and condescending.
Nollywood–Nigeria’s Mirror
The Nigerian poet and critic, Odia Ofeimun, on how Nollywood depicts traditional culture and religion.
Torture in Zimbabwe
Last Thursday, Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court unanimously “chastised” state security agents for torturing Jestina Mukoko, national director
That time Rick Ross filmed a music video in a Lagos slum
Can a rap music video do better than some journalism in showing the real, unvarnished existence of ordinary Nigerians?
Michael Jackson in Tamale
A review of a new memoir by Ghana's new President, John Dramani Mahama.
Malawian Twitter is not a gentle place
By far the best place to follow Malawian news and politics is social media app, Twitter. It can be relied upon to be the very first place where Malawi’s breaking news gets to the rest of us.
The world’s media and Angola’s elections
The oppression/resistance model of politics explains some things, but it does not explain everything, and less and less these days on the continent.
The Dutch ‘King of Africa’
In Dutch politics, Africa mostly works as a tactic to embarrass and ridicule your opponent.
Ghanaian film posters and viewing cultures
The posters are tied to the Ghanaian and Nollywood film industries that emerged in the late 1980s.
This sea shall be uprooted
Makoko, in Lagos, with over 100, 000 residents, is viewed as a shantytown. There’s more to it. This is the destruction of a community.
The most interesting bits
Kaleidoscope magazine has done an "Africa" issue; it wants to walk a fine line between identity politics and universalism.