Radio Remediated: Sissako's Life on Earth and Sembène's Moolaadé

Abstract

Remediation is a noted phenomenon in cinema studies. How it operates in African films has been less parsed. This article examines Abderrahmane Sissako’s La vie sur Terre (1998) and Ousmane Sembène’s Moolaadé (2004), two films with distinct approaches to the remediation of radio. I argue that postcolonial African media contexts, where national cinemas struggle (Nollywood excepted) and radio thrives, compel us to read remediation’s tensions as locally rendered and politically charged. As these media interact on film they pose questions about visuality, sound, and broadcasting that fortify the film narratives and challenge media ideologies of the continent.