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The African medical intermediary figure in two narrative films depicting the colonial medical encounter
- Source: Journal of African Cinemas, Volume 15, Issue 1, Mar 2023, p. 57 - 68
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- 15 Jul 2023
- 28 Nov 2023
- 19 Apr 2024
Abstract
Scholarly work on medical-themed screen narratives has hitherto favoured film emanating from the Global North. By considering two feature films by filmmakers from Africa, this article seeks partially to redress this imbalance. Applying postcolonial theory from influential African scholars, the article redirects attention from the dramatized persona of Dr Albert Schweitzer, the protagonist in the selected films, to the narrative construction of the African medical intermediary. The comparative analysis considers this figure in a new light and attempts to understand its importance within the cinematic imagining of African colonial and postcolonial encounters. The article delineates and discusses a unique and significant set of characteristics that configure the medical intermediary at critical junctures in both film narratives.