The Adventures of Cosmic Yoruba
& Her Flying Machines too
Taafé Fanga is a film about a group of Dogon women who, with the power of a mask, manage to subvert gender roles in their mountainous village. Taafé Fanga has elements of comedy (which may not translate well outside a West African audience) yet, the heart of Taafé Fanga is female empowerment. The film begins…
I recall a period in which I was searching desperately for films directed by Ousmane Sembene, always coming up empty handed. Now I have watched most of his iconic movies from Xala (1975) to Ceddo (1975). The latest addition to that list is Faat Kiné (2000). I had no idea that he released a film…
Date Wine (1998) is a movie directed by Radwan el-Kashef. I only caught the movie halfway through but I enjoyed it thoroughly because it reminded me of Almacita, Soul of Desolato. Date Wine explores the effect on an Egyptian village when all the men abandon home in search of greener pastures leaving behind the women…
Osun is the Yoruba goddess of love, lust, fertility, fresh waters, women’s health, witches and wealth. Osun has been compared to and is sometimes thought of as the Yoruba representation or reincarnations of goddesses from other cultures such as Nekhbet, Sekhmet, the Chinese goddess Kuan Yin and Hindu goddess Laskhmi. Each year a large festival…
It is no secret that I am a huge fan of movies and series set in the fictional past. I’d rather watch historical dramas than those set in the modern times. I love all sorts of dramas set in different periods and I tend not to discriminate as I enjoy European historical movies alongside wuxia…
I ride in a decorated carriage, My darling rides a blue-white horse. Where should we tie the knot for our heart? Under the Xiling pine and cypress. –Su Xiaoxiao Why the sudden interest in courtesans? Well my interest did not really come out of the blue rather it was piqued sometime last year when Sugabelly…
It turns out that all I am asking for from dramas and movies is simply three dimensional female characters. I honestly feel that in most cases not only female characters but also characters of colour and gay characters are portrayed stereotypically and not allowed to develop. One day my Korea-crazy friend sent me a link…