Hollywood imagines urban Africa, and it's as bad as you think

• Published in: Social dynamics 2021-01, Vol.47 (1), p.83-99
• Main Authors: Njambi, Wairimũ Ngarũiya, O'Brien, William E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Africa; Black people; Cities; city; Classification; Colonialism; Corruption; Film industry; Hollywood; Mass media images; Motion pictures; Poverty; stereotype; Stereotypes; urban; Urban areas; Urban poverty
• ISSN: 0253-3952; 1940-7874
• DOI: 10.1080/02533952.2021.1899736

Since 1918, the Hollywood film industry has represented Africa on film, portraying the continent and its peoples through long-standing stereotypes. This paper specifically focuses on film representations of urban Africa over time. We analysed 50 films produced in a 100-year time span and present a three-category typology of portrayals of African cityspaces. The categories include "the absent city," in which urban spaces are fully ignored in favour of rural landscape images that represent "Wild Africa" for the West. Most of the films we reviewed, particularly those produced before 1965, occupy this category. A second category is "the exotic colonial city," which introduce urban scenes that emphasise city street markets. These images work to highlight a long-standing civilised/primitive binary that contrasts white protagonists with the "exotic" Africa and Africans they encounter. The third category is "the Afropessimist city." This approach to urban representation has emerged as the primary vehicle for portraying African cities in the twenty-first century, emphasising images of urban poverty, corruption and violence. Looking forward, like African-produced films, the Afrofuturist cityscapes in the 2018 film, Black Panther may indicate a turn from 100 years of Hollywood stereotype, although we have reasons to remain cautious.