Heading south: theory, 'Viva Riva!' and 'District 9'

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Periodical article

Title:	Heading south: theory, 'Viva Riva!' and 'District 9'
Author:	Frassinelli, Pier Paolo
Year:	2015
Periodical:	Critical Arts: A Journal of Media Studies (ISSN 1992-6049)
Volume:	29
Issue:	3
Pages:	293-309
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Africa Congo (Democratic Republic of) South Africa
Subjects:	cinema films towns cultural philosophy
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/02560046.2015.1059545
Abstract:	This article begins by reflecting on how the geopolitical configuration outlined in Edward Said's 'Culture and imperialism' (1993) has been radically altered both by the decline of the US empire and, in conjunction with it, by what Jean and John Comaroff describe, in the subtitle of 'Theory from the south' (2012), as Euro-America's evolution toward Africa. From there, the article turns to 'Viva Riva!' (2010) and 'District 9' (2009), two films that appropriate the conventions of Hollywood blockbusters to produce cinematic narratives set in contemporary African urban landscapes which lend themselves to be viewed through the lens of recent theoretical debates on the becoming global of the south. These films' gazes produce an image of African cities that is legible as a dystopic vision of the global future. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]