User:JeanneOfArc/sandbox

Article Evaluation
Article: Judy Kibinge

Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Everything in the article is relevant and dedicated to Judy Kibinge's professional developments and accomplishments. However the article's writing style distracted me, there were many awkward sentence structures and grammatical errors.
 * In the 'career' section of the article, the editor makes a couple claims that seem biased or at the very least not explained properly and therefore easily misinterpreted.
 * "This movie does not only focus on the character's mental states but also helps the world to realize the collapsed situation of Kenya, which started from colonization.", here it would be beneficial to have an explanation of colonialism in Kenya.
 * "Her movies can be about personal issues between a couple which audiences can easily relate to..." This assumed familiarity of a subject versus "the social problems occurring in Africa such as colonialism, war, and hunger" alludes to the perception that the reader is either/or non-African and void of violent socio-political and economic experiences.
 * The only overrepresented viewpoint or angle I can highlight is the sole focus on Judy Kibinge's schooling and accomplishment. I would have appreciated more information on the specific works filmed by Kibinge and the reception of those films.

Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * All citations except for one worked and linked directly to google books, articles and websites. All sources supported the claims in the article, but as mentioned before, since the editor had many awkward and unexplained sentences, it is hard to fully understand the editor's intent.

Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * All facts are referenced. The editor uses journal articles, UNESCO documents, and CNN articles. However, the first source cited is to a book by Binyavanga Wainaina titled Kwani and after skimming it I am still unsure what the book's aim and supposed audience is. These sources seem neutral but most are from Afrocentric authors and therefore biased in this perspective. Yet, I believe this perspective to be necessary and just as the subject of the article is an African women filmmaker.

Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * The information has been recently edited and all relevant. However, I believe more information could have been written on the filmmaker's upcoming book or the participant of her fund for African filmmaking.

Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * The peer review section of the article highlights the wordy (and in my opinion) awkward sentence structures. It also highlights the need to verify that all claims have reliable sources, therefore I am assuming that further readings of the sources may indicate that not all claims are actually sourced. The other thing mentioned in the peer review section of the Talk page is a structural one, which highlights that not all matters written in the career section belong.

How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * This article is part of WikiProject Biography and WikiProjects Actors and Filmmakers. It is rated in the C-Class, still requiring a lot of editing.

How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * The discussion of the filmmaker is relevant, neutral, and values the filmmaker's work, but fails to mention any information that would highlight the complexity or depth of the filmmaker's work. It does not seem gendered in any negative manner, neither making gendered claims on Judy Kibinge nor repeating gender biases. However, I would like to know more how the filmmaker navigates gender, colonialism, and her African-identity in her films, understanding her influences and the aims and audiences of her works.

Khady Sylla
Valérie Orlando (2007) Voices of African Filmmakers: Contemporary Issues in Francophone West African Filmmaking, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 24:5, 445-461, DOI: 10.1080/10509200500536439

Harrow, K. W. (2007). Postcolonial african cinema: From political engagement to postmodernism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press

Pallister, J. L., & Hottell, R. A. (2005). Francophone women film directors: A guide. Madison, N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

Wanuri Kahiu
Mich Nyawalo (2016) Afro-futurism and the aesthetics of hope in Bekolo's Les Saignantes and Kahiu's Pumzi, Journal of the African Literature Association, 10:2, 209-221, DOI: 10.1080/21674736.2016.1257499

Vourlias, C. (2012, Jan). Genre is window on society. Variety, 425, 3.

Giruzzi, Clara. 2015. "A feminist approach to contemporary female Kenyan cinema: Women and nation in From a Whisper (Kahiu, 2008) and Something Necessary (Kibinge, 2013)." Journal Of African Cinemas 7, no. 2: 79-96. Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed January 24, 2018).

Mayer, S. (2016). Political animals: The new feminist cinema. New York;London;: I.B. Tauris.

Barlet, O. (2014). “Homosexuality Is Not Un–African; What Is Un–African Is Homophobia”: An Interview with Wanuri Kahiu on Jambula Tree. Black Camera5(2), 186-190. Indiana University Press. Retrieved January 24, 2018, from Project MUSE database.

Nneka Onuorah
Finn, Robin. "Dancer at heart, and executive in the making." New York Times, 19 May 2011, p. A25(L). Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A256744769/AONE?u=ocul_carleton&sid=AONE&xid=b23f3a6e. Accessed 24 Jan. 2018.

Brown, C. M. (2015). Transitioning From Intrapreneur to Entrepreneur. Black Enterprise, 45(6), 18.

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-nneka-onuorah-same-difference-n593241

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a60186/nneka-onuorah-same-difference-lesbian-discrimination/

http://www.indiewire.com/2015/11/exploring-internal-lesbian-discrimination-in-the-same-difference-212413/

Wanuri Kahiu Resources

 * 1) Giruzzi, Clara. “A Feminist Approach to Contemporary Female Kenyan Cinema: Women and Nation in From a Whisper (Kahiu, 2008) and Something Necessary (Kibinge, 2013).” Journal of African Cinemas 7, no. 2 (2015): 79-96. doi: 10.1386/jac.7.2.79_1
 * 2) Nyawalo, Mich. “Afro-futurism and the aesthetics of hope in Bekolo’s Les Saignantes and Kahiu’s Pumzi.” Journal of the African Literature Association 10, no. 2, (2016): 209-221. doi: 10.1080/21674736.2016.1257499
 * 3) Vourlias, Christopher. “Genre is Window On Society.” Variety 425, no. 8 (Jan, 2012): 3.FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database
 * 4) Nyota, Maxwell. “Wanuri Kahiu Receives Major Funding For Her New Film.” Kenyan Vibe (November, 2016). https://www.kenyanvibe.com/wanuri-kahiu-50k-advance-film/
 * 5) Chutel, Lynsey. “Science Fiction has Ancient Roots in Africa. Why Shouldn’t it Also Have Future There?” Quartz Africa (July, 2016). https://qz.com/743683/without-allowing-space-for-imagination-we-lose-hope/
 * 6) Barlet, Olivier. “‘Homosexuality is Not Un-African; What is Un-African is Homophobia’: An Interview with Wanuri Kahiu on Jambula Tree.” Black Camera. 5, no. 2 (2014): 186-190. https://muse.jhu.edu/
 * 7) Gregory, Nina. “She Calls Her Movies ‘Afro Bubble Gum Art’.” National Public Radio (April, 2017). https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/04/29/526031278/she-calls-her-movies-afro-bubble-gum-art
 * 8) Wahoro, Wanja. “One On One With Award Winning Kenyan Filmmaker Kanuri Kahiu.” Nomad Magazine (December, 2017). http://nomadmagazine.co/interview-with-wanuri-kahiu/
 * 9) Kahiu, Wanuri. VBlack. By Barbara Frigerio, Vogue Italia (June, 2010). http://www.vogue.it/en/vogue-black/spotlight-on/2010/06/wanuri-kahiu
 * 10) Kahiu, Wanuri. Brief But Spectacular. By Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour, July 27, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w78vTjnixg
 * 11) Harvey, Dennis. "From a Whisper." Daily Variety, October 21, 2010, 6. Academic OneFile (accessed February 19, 2018). http://link.galegroup.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/apps/doc/A241860557/AONE?u=ocul_carleton&sid=AONE&xid=9ce363f
 * 12) Kholeif, Omar. "Superpower: Africa in Science Fiction." Art Monthly no. 357 (06, 2012): 34. http://proxy.library.carleton.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/docview/1019053420?accountid=9894.
 * 13) Higgins, MaryEllen. "The Winds of African Cinema." African Studies Review 58, no. 3 (12, 2015): 77-92. doi: http://dx.doi.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/10.1017/asr.2015.76 . http://proxy.library.carleton.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/docview/1735402851?accountid=9894.
 * 14) Mara, Kathryn. "FILM REVIEWS: For our Land." African Studies Review 59, no. 3 (12, 2016): 328-330. doi: http://dx.doi.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/10.1017/asr.2016.120 . http://proxy.library.carleton.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/docview/1850068666?accountid=9894.

Journal Articles
'''Giruzzi, Clara. “A Feminist Approach to Contemporary Female Kenyan Cinema: Women and Nation in From a Whisper (Kahiu, 2008) and Something Necessary (Kibinge, 2013).” Journal of African Cinemas 7, no. 2 (2015): 79-96. doi: 10.1386/jac.7.2.79_1'''

Giruzzi’s (2015) article analyzes Wanuriu Kahiu’s From a Whisper and Judy Kibinge’s Something Necessary through an African feminist framework. She argues that both of these films “convey and African feminist sensibility” by contextualizing women’s issues, showcasing an egalitarian representation between men and women characters, as well as offering pacifist messages in the wake of national trauma (Giruzzi 2015, 79). Unfolding in From a Whisper, Giruzzi (2015) explores how Kahiu represents the consequences of the terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998. Giruzzi (2015) influenced by African feminist scholars, Amina Mama and Obioma Nnaemeka, explains Kahiu’s optimistic, creative, and resilient protagonist, Tamani, and Tamani’s egalitarian relationship with male characters, in order to counter western cinema’s images of Africa and western feminist’s privileging of the concepts of gender and patriarchy over concepts of culture, ethnicity, race or class (81). Useful for my Wikipedia article, Giruzzi’s feminist analysis which highlights both Kahiu’s use of film form and the story’s content serves to understand Kahiu’s filmmaking strategies and political values. Specifically, Giruzzi brings forward Kahiu’s feminism and post-independence perspectives while detailing From a Whisper’s plot and importance.

'''Nyawalo, Mich. “Afro-futurism and the aesthetics of hope in Bekolo’s Les Saignantes and Kahiu’s Pumzi.” Journal of the African Literature Association 10, no. 2, (2016): 209-221. doi: 10.1080/21674736.2016.1257499'''

Employing the concepts of afro-futurism and afro-pessimism, Nyawalo (2016) conveys how both Wanuri Kahiu’s Pumzi  and Jean-Pierre Bekolo’s Les Saignantes successfully criticize pessimistic and fatalistic perspectives that too often frame the socio-economic realities in Africa (209). Nyawalo (2016) perceives Pumzi as questioning of the “fatality of present African realities” and dystopian politics by using the “aesthetics of afro-futurism” (209). Thus Nyawalo (2016) accounts for young botanist Asha’s discovery and pursuit of life outside of her post-apocalyptic underground community as a direct parallel to the “large scale economic devastation experience by many citizens int he aftermath of Structural Adjustment Programs (216). Furthermore, Nyawalo argues that Kahiu posits Asha in an “ecofeminist critical posture” where women are most affected by environmental devastation but also the “vanguards of social change” (218-219). Nyawalo’s (2016) analysis of Kahiu’s Pumzi serves to enrich the wikipedia’s section on afro-futurism as well as further highlight Kahiu’s goal to counter western depictions of Africa.

(Magazine/Newspaper Articles)
'''Vourlias, Christopher. “Genre is Window On Society.” Variety 425, no. 8 (Jan, 2012): 3.FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database'''

Vourlias (2012) highlights Wanuri Kahiu’s rising notoriety with at the time one internationally critically acclaimed feature film and two features and a TV pilot in the works. It gives a brief summary of Kahiu’s achievements, from her studies to her short film Pumzi. Furthermore, it quotes Kahiu’s interest in sci-fi as a genre. She says, “I really like the flexibility of the genre, and the ability to use metaphors to say a lot more challenging things about the politics or social climate in Africa.” (3). In this brief talent watch, Vourlias (2012) provides a brief introduction to Kahiu’s works and projects in 2012.

'''Nyota, Maxwell. “Wanuri Kahiu Receives Major Funding For Her New Film.” Kenyan Vibe (November, 2016). https://www.kenyanvibe.com/wanuri-kahiu-50k-advance-film/ '''

Written in 2016, Nyota writes for the Kenyan Vibe about Wanuri’s anticipated film Jambula Tree which received major funding by the Netherlands Film Fund. Wanuri’s production team for the film is sourced from Kenya, France and the Netherlands. The production company is Big World Cinema, a South African company supporting young African filmmakers. Nyota (2016) briefly describes the upcoming story of two Kenyan girls who fall in love with each other and struggle to navigate this love with their families. With this film, Kahiu hopes to counter conservative proponents of homosexuality as an unafrican, from the west, destruction of community. This article is useful as it gives insight into Kahiu’s upcoming project.

(Interviews)
'''Chutel, Lynsey. “Science Fiction has Ancient Roots in Africa. Why Shouldn’t it Also Have Future There?” Quartz Africa (July, 2016). https://qz.com/743683/without-allowing-space-for-imagination-we-lose-hope/ '''

Chutel (2016), in an article recounting Kahiu’s presentation at Quartz Africa Innovators Summit, writes about Kahiu’s use of sci-fi as a genre of importance for African audiences due to its imagination of “all the progress of a limitless world”. Kahiu’s co-written short story (with Nnedi Okorafor), centres the relationship of a young girl with one of the traffic-directing robots. Chutel (2016) quotes Kahiu and Okorafor on the importance of creating images for their own children as a way to correct being “written out of our histories”. In conclusion Chutel (2016) quotes Kahiu, "We need to hope for a better Africa, we need to hope for more than we are.”

'''Barlet, Olivier. “‘Homosexuality is Not Un-African; What is Un-African is Homophobia’: An Interview with Wanuri Kahiu on Jambula Tree.” Black Camera. 5, no. 2 (2014): 186-190. https://muse.jhu.edu/ '''

Olivier Barlet (2014) interviews Wanuri Kahiu on Jambula Tree at the Cannes Film Festival. Wanuri speaks about the honour of testing out if her script worked by accessing different networking areas of the film industry. Kahiu notes that she wanted to add another producer, other than Steven Marjovitz, to her film since it makes the “project stronger”. Kahiu also briefly talks about producing one short film Homecoming in 2013. Focusing on Jambula Tree, Kahiu says that working with Steven they wanted to adapt a short story and chose Ugandan author Monica Arac de Nyeko’s Jambula Tree for its “texture and nuances” of a taboo love story. Referring to The Big Debate’s discussion of homosexuality, Kahiu notes that homophobia not of the spirit of Ubuntu as it ostracizes people of the community. Kahiu holds this personal film closely hoping the story will be well received despite the political and cultural contention. Kahiu hopes that she portrays a “normal love story” while still acknowledging the heroic challenge of choosing a “difficult love”. Finally Kahiu notes the strong community of filmmakers supporting each other in Kenya.

Article Draft
Header Career (Afrofuturism)
 * Wanuri Kahiu is a Kenyan film director, producer, and author. She is also a co-founder of AFROBUBBLEGUM, a media collective dedicated to supporting African art. (cite)

Kahiu’s works, especially Pumzi, have been characterized as afrofuturist. The celebration of an Afro-centric future criticizes afro-pessimism. In Pumzi, Kahiu challenges the pessimistic representation of African realities and futures by using the aesthetics of afro-futirism to demonstrate African-led creativity. Pumzi tells the story of a young botanist Asha. Asha discovers life outside of her post-apocalyptic underground community. Scholar Nyawalo argues that Pumzi’s destruction parallels the economic devastation in the aftermath of SAP (216). It also displays an “ecofemninst critical posture” where women are most affected by environment devastation but also at the forefront of bettering their societies. (Nyawalo, Mich. “Afro-futurism and the aesthetics of hope in Bekolo’s Les Saignantes and Kahiu’s Pumzi.” Journal of the African Literature Association 10, no. 2, (2016): 209-221. doi: 10.1080/21674736.2016.1257499)

Kahiu enjoys the genre of sci-fi for its “flexibility” and “the ability to use metaphors to say a lot more challenging things about the politics or social climate in Africa.” (Vourlias, Christopher. “Genre is Window On Society.” Variety 425, no. 8 (Jan, 2012): 3.FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database)

Kahiu’s co-written short story, RUSTIES, also advances afrofuturism. The story tells the story of the relationship between a young girl and a traffic-directing robots. In an interview with Quartz, Kahiu says that creating images for African children is important to correct “being written out of our histoies” and to hope for a future Africa. (Chutel, Lynsey. “Science Fiction has Ancient Roots in Africa. Why Shouldn’t it Also Have Future There?” Quartz Africa (July, 2016). https://qz.com/743683/without-allowing-space-for-imagination-we-lose-hope/ )

On From a Whisper

From a Whisper fictionalizes the terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998. It tells the story of a young girl, Tamani, who loses her mother in the attack and then befriends a police officer (detective?) (as she searches for her mother since her father told her she was missing not dead) (re-word). Giruzzi highlights Kahiu’s display of an African feminist sensibility, displayed by the egalitarian relationships in the film, and the pacifict messages in the wake of national trauma, which challenge essentialist and universalist western perspectives of Africa. (Giruzzi, Clara. “A Feminist Approach to Contemporary Female Kenyan Cinema: Women and Nation in From a Whisper (Kahiu, 2008) and Something Necessary (Kibinge, 2013).” Journal of African Cinemas 7, no. 2 (2015): 79-96. doi: 10.1386/jac.7.2.79_1)

On upcoming Jambula Tree

Kahiu’s upcoming project, Jambula Treee, received funding by the Netherlands Film Fund. The production company is Big World Cinema, a South African company supporting young African filmmakers. The production team will be sourced from Kenya, France, and the Netherlands. Jambula Tree chronicles the story of two Kenyan girls who fall in love with each other and struggle to navigate this love with their families and a homophobic society. (Nyota, Maxwell. “Wanuri Kahiu Receives Major Funding For Her New Film.” Kenyan Vibe (November, 2016). https://www.kenyanvibe.com/wanuri-kahiu-50k-advance-film/ )

In an interview with Olivier Barlet, Kahiu says that she chose to adapt Ugandan author Monica Arac de Nyeko’s novel due to its “texture and nuances” in the taboo love story. Homosexuality in Africa has long been debated, but Kahiu tells Olivier Barlet that homophobia is not of the spirit of Ubuntu since it marginalizes people in the community. Above all, Kahiu finished her interview with Oliver Barlet by saying that she hopes the upcoming film will  portray a “normal love story” that acknowledges the heroic challenges of choosing a “difficult love”. Barlet, Olivier. “‘Homosexuality is Not Un-African; What is Un-African is Homophobia’: An Interview with Wanuri Kahiu on Jambula Tree.” Black Camera. 5, no. 2 (2014): 186-190. https://muse.jhu.edu/