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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Modernity and danger: 'The Boy Kumasenu' and the work of the Gold Coast Film Unit
Authors:Bloom, Peter J.ISNI
Skinner, KateISNI
Year:2009
Periodical:Ghana Studies (ISSN 1536-5514)
Volume:12-13
Pages:121-153
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:films
modernization
colonial period
Abstract:The authors address the role of modernity through a close contextual analysis of a popular feature length film produced by the Gold Coast Film Unit, 'The Boy Kumasenu' (1952). They argue that the film reveals a complex and contradictory context for filmmaking during a period of political transition. They focus on the notion of 'loose scripting' as a means by which to understand the relationships that were established between the British expatriate Sean Graham, the director of the film unit, and his Ghanaian counterparts. On the basis of interviews conducted with Graham in London and with Chriss Hesse - who later became head of the Ghana Broadcasting Company - in Accra, the authors assert that the film revealed aspirations that went far beyond the limited context for adaptive education and the developmentalist ethos associated with the British colonial administration. In spite of its colonial pedigree, the film may be understood as a Ghanaian morality tale about the dangers of modernity with particular reference to the concert party theatrical form. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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