Chopping Down the Tall Trees ‒ Stereotypical Representations of Africa in European Cinema from a Postcolonial Perspective

Abstract

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that, with the process of Africa’s decolonization, contemporary European cinema began to depict the continent in a simplified manner—as a space dominated by ongoing armed conflicts and various forms of violence. The introduction outlines the historical background of Africa’s representation in European culture. The main body of the article presents selected European films—both fictional and documentary—that portray the African continent in a reductive, stereotypical way. The stereotyping of Africa as a place marked by violence, war, and rape is shown to correlate with the process of decolonization and the loss of control by European states over African societies, which constitutes the main conclusion of the research presented in the article.