After World War I there was an international cooperative effort among mission leaders, such as J. H. Oldham and Emory Ross, and African anthropologists, such as Bronislaw Malinowski and Diedrich Westermann to cooperate in the study and understanding of Africa. This was accomplished through books; the activities of the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures and its journal, Africa; and articles in The International Review of Missions, all of which promoted a functionalist approach. Efforts at translating this theory and conveying its ideas to the popular level in order to inform the public and to modify the “Tarzan” stereotypes were the two African film projects sponsored by the American-based Harmon Foundation. These projects produced a series of films intended to portray a more accurate view of Africa to schools, churches, and civic organizations. This article shows the linkages between anthropological and mission theories and the efforts at educating the public.
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