Title from title frames

This story of a village family caught up in the transformation of an agrarian, subsistence economy into an industrialized commodity economy. Gaston Kaboré's film Zan Boko explores the conflict between tradition and modernity, a central theme in many contemporary African films, such as Keita and Ta Dona. It tells the poignant story of a village family swept up in the current tide of urbanization. In doing so, Zan Boko expertly reveals the transformation of an agrarian, subsistence society into an industrialized commodity economy. Zan Boko is also one of the first African films to explore the impact of the mass media in changing an oral society into one where information is packaged and sold. The film provides viewers with a unique opportunity to see our own televised civilization through the eyes of the traditional societies it is replacing. "Zan Boko says everything that needs to be said about an endangered way of life." - New York Times. "The critical camera becomes an instrument of resistance in the face of the technocrats. Zan Boko tells the story of modern Africa." - Cahier du Cinema

Originally produced by California Newsreel in 1988

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