Digital as the New Popular in African Cinema?: Case Studies from the Continent

This paper considers different forms of contemporary filmmaking on the African continent in order to show how Africa has embraced digital technology as a crucial factor toward more, and increasingly varied, forms of popular cinema. The case studies are chosen to show a variety of production, exhibition, and distribution methods utilizing digital technology. The focus of the paper is on popular cinema as a form of popular culture, as theorized by Karin Barber. We review Barber’s pioneering work on African popular culture and subsequent work by her and other scholars to determine and argue how the new forms of digital cinema discussed in this paper can be considered part of African popular culture.