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Raoul Peck's Lumumba and Lumumba: La mort du prophète: On Cultural Amnesia and Historical Erasure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2013

Burlin Barr
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Abstract:

This article examines two films by Raoul Peck—Lumumba: La mort du prophèle (1992) and Lumumba (2000) that offer vastly divergent methods for remembering, memorializing, and meditating on the life and death of Patrice Lumumba. Peck succeeds in creating films that do more than preserve or resuscitate a historical record. The earlier film in particular performs analytic historical work as it delves into the conflicted historical record in which Lumumba is remembered. Peck uses an experimental and confrontational approach to reveal the ongoing forms of cultural censorship that have attempted to erase Lumumba and his legacy.

Résumé:

Résumé:

Cet essai examine deux films de Raoul Peck—Lumumba: La mort du prophète (1992) et Lumumba (2000) qui offrent deux méthodes completèment différentes pour rémemorer, commémorer, et méditer sur, la vie de Patrice Lumumba. Peck réussit à créer des films qui font plus que préserver ou ressusciter un document historique. Le film antéricur en particulier met en scène un travail d'analyse historique tout en se plongeant dans les archives conflictuelles exposant les souvenir de Lumumba. Peck utilise une approche expérimentale etde confrontation pour révéler les formes de censure culturelle ayant tenté d'effacer Lumumba et son héritage.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , April 2011 , pp. 85 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2011

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