Outside of Africa, audiences and streaming services generally spurn the thousands of films made in Africa each year. But that could change. A scene from the movie “Vuta N’Kuvute” (Courtesy of Kijiweni Productions) Tanzanian film “Vuta...
Correspondent Stella Mapenzauswa tells us about a romantic movie set in Tanzania during colonial times that could be nominated for an Oscar. That’s a rare feat for a movie made in Africa even though thousands of movies are made each year on the continent and one of the top-grossing films of all time — “Black Panther” — was set in Africa. This article examines that paradox and asks us to consider what movies audiences in the Global North will pay to see, what movies Hollywood chooses to promote and what that means for movie producers and audiences elsewhere in the world.
Exercise: Ask students to write down the last five movies they have watched with the places those movies are set in. Using Google My Maps or a paper world map, have students plot their movies on one map. How many of the places are fictitious or extraterrestrial? Does their collective movie watching reflect diverse locations around the world or are they all watching the same movies set in the same places? Do they think this is because they have chosen to watch these movies or is it a reflection of the choices of movies they are given to select from?
From living in a refugee camp to starting a nonprofit while at the African Leadership Academy, this News Decoder alumnus aspires to be a writer. Varlee S. Fofana speaking to the Liberian Youth Foundation after receiving a Community Service Award for contributions to...
In a Decoder Dialogue webinar, News Decoder gathered five teens from three continents to share their thoughts and experiences around mental health. The Decoder Dialogue on Mental Health featured Marcy Burstiner, Maria Krasinski, Kingsley Onydikachi Aaron-Onuigbo,...
She has launched a nonprofit and researched democracy in Zambia, all while studying in the U.S. This News Decoder alumna has set her sights high. Lughano Bupe Kabaghe takes a selfie with students and a member of parliament after a workshop in Kitwe, Zambia facilitated...
One out of three young Africans is unemployed, and the youth population will double by 2050. How can Africa create jobs for the young and avoid unrest? A man holds a poster marking South Africa’s Youth Day holiday in Soweto, South Africa, 16 June 2020. (AP...
Marshaling official reports and authoritative data, correspondent Stella Mapenzauswa lifts the lid on one of Africa’s biggest challenges – youth unemployment. On a continent as large and diverse as Africa, it can be perilous to generalize across borders, but Mapenzauswa puts her finger on a problem that threatens numerous governments and societies there. Not satisfied with merely identifying the problem, the experienced journalist from southern Africa glimpses a solution in “hustling” – young Africans using whatever skills they have to earn money as entrepreneurs. Some of the best journalism identifies both problems and solutions.
Exercise: Ask your students to identify a critical problem facing their local community, assessing its economic and social impact, and then to list possible solutions and the attendant costs.
