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Cultural, Social, Ideological and Political Issues around Gender, Sexuality, and
Representation in African Cinema.
The stories the media houses produce and disseminates what the people in our mediated
and consumer-oriented society consider very important. To put it differently, the audience care
and know about the narratives, images, and symbols in films, radio, television, among other
examples of media institutions. The media, especially films, play a vital role in shaping
individuals' cultural, social, political, and ideological factors that influence gender, sexuality, and
representation. For instance, the media will define how individual construct their social
identities, how they comprehend what it means to be either a male or female, native or nonnative, black or white, and one existence in the rural areas or urban. Media is central in the
ultimate representation of social realities that social constructions of gender and sexuality
increasingly segments. “Mother of George” by Andrew Dosunmu is a film that shows how the
social and cultural factors shapes the gender and sexuality of its characters. Likewise, “Flame”
by Sinclair presents how the politics, social, and culture factors shape the gender roles and the
sexuality of women. This paper in details examines how cultural, social, political and ideological
factors shapes the characters’ gender and sexuality in the two films.
"Mother of George" explicitly distinct gender lines. The movie opens at the protagonists’,
Adenike and Ayodele, traditional Yoruba wedding in America. Despite the advantages of the
New York that surrounds the couple, the two appreciate the sustenance of a firm and strong
traditional culture that they adopt from Africa (Dosunmu, 2013). Ayodele’s mother sums up
their well-matched combination by wishing them ‘fertility and prosperity.’ However, later the
differences between the couple become more defined because the social and cultural factors
shape gender and sexual disparities _Women offer child-bearing advice to Adenike. In contrast,

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men find the best way to hide their infidelities (Dosunmu, 2013). These gender differences
overlays and partially nurtures another tension (their Nigerian and American culture).
Undeniably, the irreconcilability between the firm gender expectations of the Nigerian culture
and the more fluid chances the American culture represents is the cause of friction between
Adenike and Ayodele (Dosunmu, 2013). After one year and a half, Adenike has not gotten
pregnant. Still, her husband unfalteringly refuses to take another woman to bear him a child, as
per the customs of the Nigerian traditions. Even though they both think that Adenike is the one
who has a problem, Ayodele scrapes off her idea to get a job to help her seek a fertility specialist.
Assumingly, Ayodele rubs off the idea of a fertility specialist for fear that he might be the one
having the problem.
On the other hand, Ayodele’s mother insists that Adenike must give her a grandchild. She
comes from a culture that defines women in terms of the way they relate to their men. Their
Nigerian culture recognizes women who can give birth. Hence, Ma Yo insists that Adenike must
bear a child even if it means with another man (Dosunmu, 2013). Biyi, Ayodele’s is in a
relationship with Ayodele’s best friend. Correspondingly, his culture denies him the freedom to
intimately engage with a woman who does not adhere to their Nigerian culture. Therefore, he
decides to keep his relationship a secret because his family will not acknowledge their
relationship with her Western culture (Dosunmu, 2013). The film "Mother of George" is full of
difficulties in cultural adaptations. The characters' conflicts are represented as generational
division and family conflict that crosses national boundaries.
Indeed, culture, social and political factors shape the gender constructions, representation,
and sexuality in the film "Flames." The film is set in Zimbabwe at a time when the country is
struggling for liberation. Before the film is set, the Zimbabwean culture and social structure

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define specific roles for the male and female gender. In other words, the culture encourages a
patriarchal society where women are seen as the objects of men. Hence, gender inequality is a
rampant idea in the country. The director of "Flames" decides to come up with the movie after
realizing that women took part in the struggle for independence, but they do not talk about the
experience during the fight (Sinclair, 1996). Zimbabwe's narrative of the women freedom
fighters is both the men and women take equal roles in the liberation fight, and the liberation
struggles form a foundation for gender equality in the country. However, the narrative's claims
are not true as "Flames" airs rape cases, the demand of women to learn to protect themselves, and
the discrimination of women (Sinclair, 1996). The country's political state shapes women's
gender constructions and sexuality, as shown in "Flames." When the freedom fighters go to war,
the men use the social factor of viewing women as their objects, and the chance political factors
avail to abuse the freedom fighters sexually. The social factors intimidate the women into
keeping quiet about the sexual incidences.
Additionally, the social and cultural factors still reinforce inequality in gender
construction and sexuality. The liberation of the Zimbabwean country is supposed to mean
liberation to both genders; that is, it should be a way to enhance gender equality (Sinclair, 1996).
‘Classic nationalist narrative' of the Zimbabwean liberation movement says since women take an
equal role in the country's liberation, they deserve to be treated equally as men. The Mini...