From screen to reality: deconstructing the representations of Chinese immigrants in Angolan film Nossa Senhora da Loja do Chinês (2022)

Abstract

Drawing on a theoretical and methodological framework that combines postcolonial theory, particularly dystopian, urban, and migration studies, with visual analysis, this article examines the representations of Chinese immigrants in Luanda in the Angolan film Nossa Senhora da Loja do Chinês (2022). By analyzing key visual motifs from the film, it highlights how the film depicts small Chinese traders as a hegemonic, profit-driven, and socially detached presence, while overlooking the multiple motives and sociocultural logics shaping the Chinese experience in Angola, thus producing a stereotypical and simplified reading of the dynamics and the complex socio-historical process of Chinese migration in Angola. Ultimately, it underscores the complexity of post-war and postcolonial Angolan society and calls for a more critical approach to the diverse presences and subjectivities composing its social fabric, thereby fostering mutual understanding between Angolan society and its immigrant populations.