They will call me the black god : imaging christianity and the bible in african film

This thesis explores the ways in which African filmmakers have historically addressed
Christianity and the Bible on the continent. It begins with the premise that on the African
continent, marked political films (Mazierska) are embedded in transnational dynamics involving
movements of economic and symbolic capital, ideas, discourses and multiple publics. Within
these movements, questions of identity, and questions, of the cultural, political or religious are
explored in conversation and encounter with Others. With this premise in mind, I ask how
the films address Christianity and interpret the Bible; how they frame the religious in relation
specific historical, cultural and political contexts; and what are the potential implications of
the transnational dynamics and circulation of films. Although much research has focused on
the representation of religions in African video and screen media especially in the 2000s,
surprisingly little has been dedicated to earlier cinematic expressions and political cinema. To
contribute to the history of the cinematic treatment of religion on the continent, four fictional
films were chosen as case-studies: La Chapelle, (The Chapel, dir. Jean-Michel Tchissoukou,
1980, Republic of Congo), Au Nom du Christ (In the Name of Christ, dir. Roger Gnoan M’Bala,
1993, Côte d’Ivoire), La Génèse (Genesis, dir. Cheick Oumar Sissoko, 1999, Mali) and Son
of Man (dir. Mark Dornford-May, 2006, South-Africa). The analyses reveal that filmmakers
have portrayed and interpreted the presence of Christianity and the Bible in relation to legacies
of colonialism and decolonisation. Their attitudes narrate the presence of Christianity and the
Bible in terms of resistance, suspicion, negotiation, and appropriation. In doing so they oscillate
between distancing from and rapprochement with developments in African Christianity and
theology. The films’ narratives and aesthetics reflect tensions around the creation of discourses
of African authenticity, but also around religious modernity. The political framing roots the
contextualisation of biblical narratives in social and historical analyses that strive to provide
responses to local instances of oppressions as well as a platform for a more universalist reading
addressed to global publics. Finally, the films contribute to the construction of African religious
realities and imageries and to the broader image of Africa.