Concomitants of socio-cultural exigencies on narrative preferences in the Kenyan “Riverwood” film

Main Article Content

John Mugubi
William Mureithi Maina

Abstract

In a report commissioned by the World Story Organization in 2008, Justine Edwards points out that  storyline lies at the centre of problems that Kenyan films face in trying to “break down the wall preventing Kenyan films from being shown and celebrated beyond Kenyan borders” (2). This paper goes a step further to interrogate this observation through an analysis of three works by three representative Kenyan home grown film makers: Wandahuhu’s Njohera (Forgive Me), Simon Nduti’s Kikulacho (What Bites You) and Simiyu  Barasa’s Toto Millionaire. These film makers have made films under the banner of a Kenyan film industry that has come to be informally known as Riverwood—the Kenyan filmindustry associated with Nairobi’s River Road Street where cheaply produced independent home videos are made in mass mainly by Kenyan film makers working with a Kenyan crew and cast. By measuring their works against narrative conventions established in classical cinema, this paper evaluates Kenyan home grown film standards as defined by the narrative choices made by the film makers. In so doing, it is essentially guided by narratological theories developed by the constructivist school of film criticism. Constructivist film theory is founded on the tenet that it is the reader (viewer) of the film text that constructs the story and meanings in the story using the clues that the film maker puts before him or her on the screen. Other relevant theoretical positions are applied as need arises to cater for the multidisciplinary nature of film as an art. The methodology used is textual analysis and interpretation, therefore qualitative in nature.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Mugubi, J. ., & Mureithi Maina, W. . (2017). Concomitants of socio-cultural exigencies on narrative preferences in the Kenyan “Riverwood” film. Nairobi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(1), 7-36. https://doi.org/10.58256/njhs.v1i1.14
Section
Articles

How to Cite

Mugubi, J. ., & Mureithi Maina, W. . (2017). Concomitants of socio-cultural exigencies on narrative preferences in the Kenyan “Riverwood” film. Nairobi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(1), 7-36. https://doi.org/10.58256/njhs.v1i1.14

References

Abrams, N. I. Bell, J. Udriss (2001). Studying Film. London: Arnold Publishers

Abubakar, A. 2006. “Storyline Structure in the Hausa Home Videos: An Analysis of Mai Kudi, Sanafahna and Albashi”. MA Thesis, Bayero University, Nigeria

Andrew, D. (1976). The Major Film Theories. New York: Oxford University Press

Aristotle (2008) Translated by S. Butcher. Poetics. Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html

Arnheim, R. (1971). Art and Visual Perception: Psychology of the Creative Eye. Los Angeles: University of California Press

Aumont, J, A., Bergala, M., Marie, M., Vernet (1992). Aesthetics of Film. Translated by Richard Neupert. Austin: University of Texas Press

Bakari, I. & Mbye Cham. (1996). eds. African Experiences of Cinema. London: BFI Publishing

Balcom, D. (1996). Shortcuts, Narrative Film and Hypertext. Retrieved from http://www.mindspring.com

Berys, G. (2004). “The Philosophy of the Movies: Cinematic Narration”. In The Blackwell Guide to Aesthetics, edited by P. Kivy. UK: Blackwell Publishing

Bordwell, D. & Kristin Thompson. (1985). Narration in Fiction Film. New York: McGraw-Hill

Bordwell, D. & Kristin, T. (2001). Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill

Branigan, E. (1992). Narrative Comprehension and Film. New York: Routledge

Chatman, S. (1978). Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. USA: Cornell University Press

Diawara, M. (1992). African Cinema: Politics and Culture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press

Edwards, J. (2008). “Building a Self-sustaining Film Industry in Kenya”. Retrieved from http://worldstoryorganization.org

Field, S. (2005). The Foundations of Screenwriting. New York: Dell

Peter, V. (2009). Film Narratology. Translated by S. Van der Lecq. Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Phillips, P. (2000). Understanding Film Text: Meaning and Experience. London: BFI Publishing

Pramaggiore, M. & Tom, W. (2006). Film: A Critical Introduction. London: Pearson Education Inc

Propp, V. (1928). Morphology of the Folktale. USA: University of Texas Press

Rifkin, B. (1994). Semiotics of Narration in Film. USA: Peter Lang Publishing Inc

Rosen, P. (1986). ed. Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology. New York: Columbia University Press

Smith, B. (2010). “The Mysteries of the Brain”. London: BBC World Service

Stam, R. (2000). Film Theory: An Introduction. USA: Blackwell Publishing

Filmography

Barasa, S. (2010). dir. A History of Film in Kenya 1909-2009 (Documentary). Nairobi: Simbavision

Barasa, S. (2007). dir. Toto Millionaire (Motion Picture). Nairobi: Simbavision

Futter, C. (1930). dir. Africa Speaks (Motion Picture). Colorado: Walter Futter Productions

Hook, H. (1987). dir. Kitchen Toto (Motion Picture). UK: British Screen Productions

Kimani, F. (2005). prod. Njohera (Motion Picture). Kenya: Wandahuhu Productions

Kimani, M. (2009). dir. Mung’eng’ano (Motion Picture). Kenya: Wilnag

Nduti, M. (2009). prod. Cassanova (Motion Picture). Kenya: Nduti One Stop Films

Nduti, M. (2010). prod. Family Betrayal (Motion Picture). Kenya: Nduti One Stop Films

Nduti, M. (2011). prod. Misfortune (Motion Picture). Kenya: Nduti One Stop Films