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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Modern media and culture in Senegal: speaking truth to power
Author:Gueye, MarameISNI
Year:2011
Periodical:African Studies Review (ISSN 1555-2462)
Volume:54
Issue:3
Pages:27-43
Language:English
Geographic term:Senegal
Subjects:satire
oral poetry
public opinion
Internet
Wolof
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/african_studies_review/v054/54.3.gueye.pdf
Abstract:In a You Tube video, a young man performs a satirical poem about Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade. The author brilliantly sums up Wade's tenure in one minute. He compares the president to 'a rat's hole' and makes fun of his physical features while emphasizing many ways in which Wade has failed the nation. Some viewers thought the performance was disrespectful of the president, and others feared for the author's safety. This article argues that although the World Wide Web gives voice to African youth, it can be a dangerous space, especially for artists. The viewers' negative comments and their concern for the author's life is a modern response to his art and a consequence of its presentation on the Internet. If viewed through the lenses of traditional Wolof oral forms, however, the poem's harsh rhetoric takes on less controversial meanings that the viewers did not seem to understand. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract]
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