Genre dispostions in crime films of Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Cinema as a key discussant of topics within the societal dialogue, is an assertion widely acceded to, by film scholars. The analysis of cinema and its significance within that dialogic matrix is then a vital tool in the review of society. This study is pegged upon the idea of comprehension of the generic concept in film and foregrounding the discourse on African cinematic products as purveyors of discernible aesthetics, and platforms of tightening the gaze and critique on other facets of society. Genre is one of the principal elements of cinema, which, invites a study into this largely unexplored subject within African cinematic exegesis. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the audio-visual aesthetics, narrative aspects, and language aspects, of sampled crime films from sub-Saharan Africa, and to relate their thematic framing to existential realities within the depicted jurisdictions and African societies by extension. To achieve this, qualitative inquiry methods were applied to collect and analyse the data drawn from the films. The primary data was interspersed with secondary data and organized thematically, railed on two theories: Genre theory tenets by Steve Neale and Post-Afrocentric perspectives as advanced by Tejumola Olaniyan. The findings of this study go a long way in advancing the generic concept in African cultural studies, appraising genre within the contemporary practice and relating cinematic storytelling to contemporary realities of the continental African, which serve as a window of understanding crime as an existential challenge to Sub-Saharan Africa.