Sakawa rituals and cyberfraud in Ghanaian popular video movies
Sakawa rituals and cyberfraud in Ghanaian popular video movies
Date
2014
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Authors
Oduro-Frimpong, Joseph
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Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
Sakawa indexes a cyberfraud practice in Ghana allegedly linked with occult rituals. This article examines the phenomenon as an analytically relevant example of a material understanding of religion. It then offers a critical reading of a popular sakawa video series and contrasts its thematic perspectives with the reactions of some Ghanaian political leaders to the possible motivations for the practice. This critical approach is conceived as a response to the persistent myopic view of such popular genres as irrelevant to key debates around problematic Ghanaian issues and also to calls in global media studies to de-Westernize the field.
Description
Joseph Oduro-Frimpong is a faculty of Ashesi University College
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Article
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Keywords
Ghana , Ghanaian movies , sakawa , cyberfraud
Citation
Oduro-Frimpong, J. (2014). Sakawa Rituals and Cyberfraud in Ghanaian Popular Video Movies. African Studies Review, 57(2), 131-147. doi:10.1017/asr.2014.51