Modernity and the African Cinema : A Study in Colonialist Discourse, Post-Coloniality and Modern African Identities

Shaka argues that the construction of modern African identity in all spheres of life, particularly the cinematic institution, is a product of the Euro-African contact that started in the fifteenth century. Traditional African institutions, which were overlaid with European substitutes during the period of colonialism, were transformed by this contact, and although the post-colonial period sought to romanticise traditional institutions, a pragmatic marriage of both emerged, resulting in a hybrid culture, identity and, as explored here, cinema.