FILMIC REPRESENTATION IN POSTCOLONIAL DISCOURSE: A Study of Selected Film Texts

Representation is presently a much debated topic not only in postcolonial studies and academia, but in the larger cultural milieu. Representation can be material reproductions, performance and simulations. It can be seen as the act of stating facts in order to influence the action of others. Similarly, the word has political undertones. Politicians are thought to represent a constituency. By implication, they stand in for others. So above all, the term representation has a semiotic meaning in that something is standing for something else. These various, yet related, definitions are implicated in the public debate about representation. Representations come in various forms: films, television, photograph, painting, adverts, and other forms of popular culture. Written literature such as academic texts, novels and other journalistic pieces are also important forms of representation. However, representation can never really be natural depiction of the represented as rightly observed by Augusto Boal (22), instead, they are constructed images which need to be interrogated for their accuracy. Over the years, representation of an under-represented group is often over-charged with allegorical significance. The western world’s view of Africa is often marginalised and subjective.