Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips and the “True Story” of Somali Piracy
The complexity surrounding the social and economic drivers of piracy off the Horn of Africa was lost in the media-friendly version of the story.
Culture
African Writers and the Nobel Prize for Literature
Only five African or African-born writers have been awarded the prize since it was first awarded in 1901: Soyinka, Mahfouz, Gordimer, Coetzee and Lessing.
The scope of the problem
Egyptian director Mohamed Diab's film "Cairo 678" documents the lives of 3 women, all victims of sexual harassment and assault and who organize collectively against it.
How we tell stories about cities
We must not forget the everyday lived realities and struggles in vanished neighborhoods.
A Hot Mess
Black women have no say in what is pretty considering it is the job of non-white women to dispel the standards of beauty, and white women to reinvent it.
Ghana’s Independence Era Through the Lens of S.K. Pobee
The photos below (click to enlarge), offering a glimpse into the joy and optimism of the
The rains down in Africa
Why is Toto's 'Africa," a song with ridiculous lyrics, so popular with everyone? It has to be the melody and the hook.
Weekend Music Break 56
Three South African videos to start with. Cape Town rapper Youngsta moves between the city’s neigbourhoods
Democracy is the Best Form of Democracy
Conceiving of the relationship between public space and positions of power as a hall of mirrors.
No wonder Winnie Mandela objected to this
The film "Winnie Mandela" is what happens when you combine bad history and bad filmmaking.
The Story of Sankofa
A former student of Kofi Awoonor remembers the famed Ghanaian writer who was killed in a terror attack by Al Shabaab in Niairobi, Kenya.
Mulatu Astatke is a legend
When the author heard Astatke's music, it was like listening to hip-hop for the first time.
The last day on earth
The U.S. premiere of Alain Gomis' new film "Tey (Aujourd'hui)," starring Saul Williams.
Looking beyond beauty
An interview with the artist Lalla Essaydi who seeks to challenge Orientalist mythology in her work.
What are the “unintended consequences of Dutch colonialism”?
In their documentary installation piece “Empire: The unintended consequences of colonialism,” filmmaker team Eline Jongsma and
Make Bono History
For those whose hatred of Bono is as deep as mine or who are merely looking for concrete reasons to despise this particular celebrity do-gooder.
Who’s Been Sleeping in My House
On prime time television in South Africa, the country is often a place without a past.
Zimbabwean Diaspora Diaries
The UK is jokingly referred to as Harare North for its sizable Zimbabwean diaspora, second only to South Africa. This photo essay captures that world.
The argument over J.M. Coetzee
J M Coetzee, South Africa's most decorated and celebrated writer, gets the country's literary scholars and biographers, all worked up.
The Algerian Ministry of Culture
Why is the great director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep) making a state-sponsored biopic?