IndexModernizationCinema ConstructionFilm as a Medium of HopeConclusionAfrica, as a continent, has had very little appeal and has remained very unnoticed. The Portuguese quest, on the route to the Indies and the Orient, led to "modern" European interference in the African continent, around 1450. The Dutch, Spanish, French, English and Scandinavians, who plundered up and down the African coast, followed this discovery by the Portuguese. There was very little interest, other than exploitation, on the continent. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The presence and influence of these European “invasions” led to the introduction of Western principles and values. The cultural penetration of Europe, together with the introduction of modern infrastructure, led to the modernization of the continent. ModernizationThe concept of modernization is deeply rooted in the history of the African continent through the notion of colonization. Modernization was one of the ways the empire used to colonize Africa during the nineteenth century. The introduction of infrastructure and new technologies, such as education, advances in agricultural techniques, the introduction of modern administration, and the construction of railways, were used to gain the cooperation of local African leaders. These methods were purely part of the methods of colonial rule and were rarely altruistic. The introduction of these new Western methods and infrastructure was combined with the concept of separatism… a form of continent-wide apartheid. The cities were divided into formal and informal parts, the formal city was intended for white use only and the informal parts were those where the local black population was tolerated. The subdivision of cities in this way has left a profound mark on the morphology of the modern African city, with an impact still very evident today. In the 1950s and 1960s most African countries gained independence from their European "oppressors" and architecture became one of the fundamental means of expressing this new national identity. Central banks, parliament buildings, conference centers, stadiums and universities were built with often very audacious designs. Cinemas, cultural stages, theaters, meeting rooms and entertainment spaces became a direct contact with dreams for the future. The cinemas of Angola reflect the history of the country and in them the entertainment and propaganda of the colonial regime were staged. The first cinemas in Angola in the 1930s reflected the state architecture of the time, consisting only of closed spaces. Architecture and urban construction were the methods used to express the authority of the state and the power of segregation. Angola was considered a place of 'experimentation' and here the ideas of the Modern Movement, published in 1942 in the Athens Charter, found impetus. Angolan society can aspire to a new future with a good quality of life. This allowed the introduction of new buildings in line with the principles of modern urban planning. Cinema Construction Cinemas were created with the same segregationist and separatist mentality as cities. Movie theaters were created for "blacks" and "whites." The Cine Colonial was built for blacks and the Cine-Teatro Nacional for whites. However, these were cinemas of change. In Luanda, the Cinema Restauração, the Império, the Miramar and the Avis were elegant spaces built with rich materials and featuring works of art in high and low relief, these spaces were intended only for the use of high society. . The high society of the time was composed only of white people, while the Cine-Bar Tropical was a much more informal andintended only for the middle class. The Cine Colonial, in the San Paolo neighborhood, was intended only for ordinary people and was even more informal, to the point that when the patrons were full they brought their own chairs. Other cities followed the same hierarchical principle and this, together with the cost of admission to cinemas, determined the type of patrons who frequented the cinemas. These two factors, the cost and the structure of these spaces, were methods used to introduce separation and segregation, a division between white and black, poor and rich. Film as a medium of hope Unlike its European counterparts, African countries were much less exposed to "modern" influences and although cinemas were introduced and spread throughout Angolan cities, the accessibility of these was limited to the most ample. Most films were exclusively about white contextual influences, created by white directors, for white audiences, and starring white actors. Where black actors were included, it was to play servant parts and characters very similar to the roles blacks had in real life. While the subjects of most films were about a life that few black viewers could identify with, suddenly a whole new world was introduced. Similar to the impact the Internet has today, cinema has brought far and distant worlds directly into their home and with that the possibility of creating a new future. The magic of cinema has reached an audience, previously confined to a world of segregation with very few benefits and an identity defined only by the color of their skin. While the architecture of these spaces might have separated black and white, the ability to dream through these visual media brought worlds never seen before and influenced and opened up many new worlds and dreams. What has changed and what remainsIn Angola cinema is a cultural asset and is of considerable importance. Although many of these today are not used as intended, some have been restored to their former function. Restoring the cinema means recovering not only its architectural form but also its function. It is of great importance to establish a dialect between the future and the past and make it obvious to new users. These public buildings are buildings placed in a context in which they have social purposes, which still exist today, to bring these users other cultures and with this a new sense of hope and a different possible future. Although cinemas changed their audience over time, cinemas began to have a simpler and more modest audience, many of the previous patrons stopped visiting cinemas as they considered Hollywood films to be of better quality than those being shown. However, due to the fact that the same films were repeated, audiences began to lose interest. Some of these cinemas are still in operation today, but, as already mentioned, they do not serve their intended purposes. The national assembly is hosted in the Cine-Teatro Restauração, is an example of this. Conclusion The African continent has undergone major transformations since its invasion and colonization. The coloniality that remains today raises the question of what should remain and what should be changed. It could be argued that many of the new technologies and infrastructures introduced have given a significant boost to the continent's development, but these are material in nature. The question that needs to be considered concerns the deeper psychological and social marks that have been left on the continent and in every single African country by colonization. What does it take for a part of society to decolonize itself and build a new future by remembering the past? We remember the past or build a new future while remaining blind to.