Journal of
African Studies and Development

  • Abbreviation: J. Afr. Stud. Dev
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2189
  • DOI: 10.5897/JASD
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 240

Review

Art and societal dialectics in sub-Saharan Africa: A critique of Wa Thiong’o and Osofisan as dramatists

Samuel Okoronkwo Chukwu-Okoronkwo
Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, P. M. B. 5025, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
Email: [email protected]/[email protected]

  •  Accepted: 12 March 2011
  •  Published: 30 April 2011

Abstract

 

Art, indeed, remains an effective means of representing reality. It has undoubtedly become instrumental in understanding and interpreting aspects of society – its inherent dialectics – its realities. Drama, therefore, as the most social of art forms invariably predisposes the dramatist/artist as invaluable in the solemn task of mirroring these realities. This paper surveys the socio-political developments, nay realities in two Sub-Saharan African societies, to examine the inextricable relationship between art and society as well as underscore the effect of the past on the present, using relevant works of two prominent dramatists from this region, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (Kenya) and Femi Osofisan (Nigeria) as paradigms.

 

Key words: Art, functionality, society, societal dialectics, artist.