‘Films that don't seem Cameroonian’: professional video making and self-styling among Douala youth

Abstract

AbstractThis article discusses youth cultural production in contemporary Africa, analysing the videos of Douala, which are often called ‘films that don't seem Cameroonian’. Most contemporary African videos dramatize everyday life, telling didactic stories that are very close to ordinary people's experiences. As such, they have been interpreted as forms of African popular art. Films that don't seem Cameroonian, however, break with this dominant trend. Directors and actors openly quote international hits and are more interested in transcending the local context than in dramatizing (and moralizing) it. Inserting this production into Douala society, this article deals with the youths’ desire to escape their everyday situations and connect with the global arena. It also considers the failures of this ambition, as their poor finances and infrastructural challenges bind them to a much more restricted horizon of possibilities. Video filmmaking in Cameroon is both a source of empowerment and prestige and a sign of marginality and powerlessness. The article concludes with an account of the cultural work at the core of videos that are syncretic and urban, but only partially ascribable to other experiences of African popular art.