Mari Maasilta African Carmen Transnational Cinema as an Arena for Cultural Contradictions ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of the University of Tampere, for public discussion in the auditorium A1 of the University Main Building, Kalevantie 4, Tampere on Saturday June 16th, 2007 at 12 o’clock. University of Tampere Tampere 2007 Mari Maasilta African Carmen Transnational Cinema as an Arena for Cultural Contradictions Media Studies ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere Department of Journalism and Mass Communication FINLAND Copyright © 2007 Mari Maasilta Distribution Bookshop TAJU P.O. BOX 617 33014 University of Tampere Tel. +358 3 3551 6055 Fax +358 3 3551 7685 taju@uta.fi http://granum.uta.fi Page design Aila Helin Cover design Sakari Viista Photos Karmen. Joseph Gaï Ramaka Mari Maasilta. Sakari Viista Printed dissertation ISBN 978-951-44-6961-9 Electronic dissertation Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 626 ISBN 978-951-44-6972-5 (pdf) ISSN 1456-954X http://acta.uta.fi Tampereen Yliopistopaino Oy – Juvenes Print Tampere 2007 To all my transnational friends around the world. Contents Preface ..............................................................................11 1 Introduction .....................................................................21 Research task ...........................................................................24 Autonomy of Senegalese cultural production .....................29 Methodology ...........................................................................34 Case study approach ..................................................................34 Contextual approach ..................................................................36 Mediated reception and question about audiences .............38 Global and diasporic media studies .....................................44 Composition of the study .......................................................50 2 Material and methods ..................................................... 53 Fieldwork in Senegal ..............................................................54 Research material ...................................................................58 Film analysis ............................................................................63 Analysis of press material and Internet forums ..................67 Film reviews .................................................................................68 Press coverage ............................................................................. 72 Internet forums ...........................................................................77 3 Transnational diasporic cinema..................................... 83 National cinema ......................................................................85 Th ird World cinema and Th ird Cinema ...............................91 Characteristics of transnational diasporic cinema .............93 Dislocated fi lmmakers ...............................................................95 Production, distribution and consumption........................... 99 Transnational style ...................................................................104 Dilemmas of transnational diasporic cinema ....................107 Burden of representation ........................................................107 Cultural specifi city vs. universality .......................................111 Discourses of African authenticity .....................................113 Cultural hybridisation ..........................................................119 Hybridity as cultural strategy ..............................................125 4 Transnational infrastructures of Senegalese national cinema ..............................................................129 Dependence on external fi nance .........................................130 International co-productions ..............................................136 Constraints related to foreign donors and co-productions ......................................................................138 Exhibition and distribution of Senegalese fi lms in the home country .............................................................142 Exhibition of Senegalese fi lms abroad ...............................147 5 Karmen as hybrid and multigeneric transnational Senegalese fi lm ...................................... 151 Plotline of Karmen ...............................................................153 Joseph Ramaka – a transnational diasporic fi lmmaker ..............................................................................155 Interstitial production mode ...............................................158 Distribution and exhibition .................................................163 Commercial fi lm musical .....................................................165 Independent art fi lm ............................................................172 African social realist fi lm .....................................................178 African aesthetics of orality meets Hollywood visual conventions ................................................................180 6 Controversy over Karmen: Accused of blasphemy .... 185 Cinema censorship ...............................................................189 Mouridism .............................................................................200 Homosexuality ......................................................................202 7 Reviews of Karmen in the home country and abroad ......................................................................207 State of Senegalese journalism ............................................208 Cultural journalism and criticism .........................................212 Reviews of Karmen in Senegal ............................................217 Reviews of Karmen abroad compared to those in Senegal...............................................................................224 Evaluation of the Film ..............................................................227 Genre ..........................................................................................229 Narration ....................................................................................233 Actors ..........................................................................................235 Soundtrack .................................................................................238 Violation of cultural norms vs. pleasure of African exoticism .............................................................240 8 Coverage of Karmen in Senegalese press ....................243 Th ree phases of Karmen coverage ......................................243 First-night publicity phase ......................................................244 Debating publicity phase .........................................................247 Follow-up publicity phase .......................................................249 Role of diff erent newspapers ...............................................251 Who was quoted? ..................................................................253 Journalistic style ...................................................................256 Th e Committee for Cinematic Control as the villain of the piece ......................................................258 Conviction of Mœurs ............................................................261 Letters to the editor ..............................................................264 From the fi eld of cinema to the fi elds of power .................268 9 Karmen debate on two Internet discussion forums ............................................................................ 273 Internet in Senegal ...............................................................273 Online forums of Le Soleil and Karmen .............................275 Overview of discussions .......................................................277 Observations on debate participants .................................279 Struggle for right of representation....................................288 Four interpretative packages ...............................................291 Religion .......................................................................................294 Afrocentrism ............................................................................297 Development .............................................................................301 Freedom of expression ............................................................303 Conclusion of Internet debates ...........................................306 10 Conclusion and discussion ........................................... 311 Summary of empirical analysis ...........................................314 Senegal, religion and Westernisation .................................319 From offi cial censorship to cultural wars ..........................323 Bibliography .......................................................................... 331 Appendix 1 ............................................................................ 355 Appendix 2 ............................................................................ 359 Appendix 3 ............................................................................ 361 Appendix 4 ............................................................................ 363 Preface Background of the project Every research project has its history and in the case of this project, the