Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore language censorship in Zimbabwean films in Shona and English. \nThe study concentrated on the themes of politics, culture and economic in the genre of the \ndocumentary, feature and short film genres. It was demonstrated that the Zimbabwean laws enabled \nauthorities to impose censorship strategies that ranged from banning, restriction, persecution of \nfilmmakers, withdrawal of films from circulation, and threats of withdrawal of permits of film \nretailers. These visible, direct and banal forms of censorship have forced some filmmakers to flee the \ncountry. Most of the filmmakers who have remained in the country have been forced to deal with \nthemes that appear harmless to the state. This state induced form of self-censorship on the filmmakers \nhas resulted in the production of uncritical, and unreflective films whose staple diet were embedded in \ncultural stereotypes. The study argued that language is a signifying practice that cannot be interpreted \nin a single direction. Thus, despite these realities of film censorship some filmmakers deliberately \nencoded or used verbal and visual film language that generated surplus meanings with which the films \ncould be re-read in ways that reveal new linguistic strategies to evade and challenge both the \nrestrictive censorship laws as well as criticise the undemocratic political culture that has taken root in \nZimbabwe. The study used eclectic theories such as Marxism, audience-reception approach, critical \nlegal theories and language theories to analyse the films. The explanatory capacity of these theories \nhelped to reveal the contradictory ways in which the desire to impose restrictions on film meanings \nwas constantly undermined in the innovative language of the films.
Author: Urther Rwafa
Language: English
Topic: Cinema History and Criticism
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1531897060