Brave other World? The Africanized Heimatfilm as Successor of the Post-Nazi Heimatfilm?1

Abstract

German-speaking television draws on the success of the famous autobiographical book “The white Masai” from Corinne Hofman. Since its publishing in 1998 solely Austrian public service broadcasting shows every year one to two new film productions that seem to build upon the Hofman novel. This new subgenre of “Africa films” is characterized by its trivial narrative styles and similar topics revolving around a white saviour narrative. As interim findings of a reception research including content analysis and group discussions show that these films use an African setting for the construction of desire, identity, and otherness in German-speaking television. Beyond, it could be argued that the subgenre can be read as continuation of the post-Nazi Heimatfilm – though the levels of power are displaced.

Keywords

• othering, television, entertainment, reception, content analysis, focus groups, migration, media, Heimatfilm, Africa, power, Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Studies