Refiguring the Production Regime of Soap-Operas: The Case of Afronovelas in francophone West Africa

This article examines from the sociospatial perspective the West African soap operas industry from Senegal and Ivory Coast which emerged 10 years ago amid the globalization of TV and film industries. Using refiguration theory, we explore the spatial and power dynamics shaping this emerging production regime beyond national borders, at the intersection of different territories and scales. Based on multisited ethnographic fieldwork on film sets and experts interviews with gate keepers, our analysis found that the production regime for series in francophone West Africa encompasses three competing production repertoires each standing for a specific set of beliefs and values sustaining production and circulation of West African stories ( civilizing, identitarian , and standardizing ) and unfolding as specific spatial figurations as multiple versions of translocalization . The points of contact and superimpositions of the three translocal figurations are at the heart of the analysis of the refiguration of the audiovisual industry, allowing for identifying power relationships that shape the emerging regime.