Hausa Cinema of Northern Nigeria: Cultural Imperialism and Censorship

(Hardback)

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This historical account of cinema in Nigeria explores the transcultural transfer of media from India to Africa through films.

Hausa Cinema of Northern Nigeria examines how the Hindi Cinema of India became the template for storytelling in the Hausa regional cinema of Northern Nigeria and explores the emergence of Indigenous language within cinema in this region. Such emergence created points of divergence with the Islamic public culture leading to censorship both within the entertainment industry and the newly re-introduced Sharia government of Kano. Throughout this book, Abdalla Uba Adamu explores the tension between Islamic society and the intrusion of transglobal media influences in cinema in Kano. He provides a deeper understanding of global media transnationalism and its impact on Muslim African popular culture. This book also discusses how the Muslim Hausa youth used the agencies of transglobal media technologies to transform the Hausa narrative style from a linear and didactic format to a complex configuration. By examining the Hausa film industry s history, Adamu challenges the notion of cultural and media imperialism and the dominance of media consumption in contemporary African societies.

Reviews

Theoretically informed and encyclopedic in his knowledge of Hausa and Hindi film, Abdalla Uba Adamu, the doyen of contemporary Hausa cultural studies, has produced a magnum opus of great authority. Throughout this book, he covers the growth of Hausa film, its relationship with Hindi film, media flows and the changes in technology that powered growth and change, as well as the individuals and organizations that sought to grow or suppress the industry. This gem of a book will open new vistas for those interested in international cultural flows, the cultural dynamics of northern Nigeria, and the broader Hausaphone world. * Graham Furniss, Professor Emeritus, SOAS, University of London, UK *
For two decades Abdalla Uba Adamu has been the leading analyst of film culture in northern Nigeria. This magisterial work traces the origins of Hausa film, its rise to dominance, the controversies and censorship it provoked and the new directions it is taking. * Brian Larkin, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, USA *

Author Bio

Abdalla Uba Adamu is professor of media and cultural communication in the Department of Information and Media Studies at Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.