Abstract:

During the “Scramble for Africa,” proponents of imperialism imagined the new phonograph as a potential tool of colonization that could use disembodied, recorded voices to enchant indigenous listeners and manipulate them into submission, what I call “phonographic imperialism.” This article studies the iconography of a major turning point in French colonial history—the capture and sentencing of Samori Touré in French Sudan in 1898—and the implications of these sources for the notion of phonographic imperialism within the French empire. By comparing fictitious portrayals of the phonograph in Africa, from French advertisements to a Mande legend from Samori’s native region, we may begin to lay bare the assumptions about listening and fidelity that underpin the concept of the “phonograph-fetish,” a trope that would remain popular for nearly the entire span of the Second French Colonial Empire.

摘要：

在“争夺非洲”期间，帝国主义的支持者将新的留声机想象成一种潜在的殖民工具，可以使用无实体的、录制的声音来吸引土著听众并操纵他们屈服，我称之为“留声机帝国主义”。本文研究了法国殖民历史上一个重大转折点的图像学——1898 年萨莫里·杜尔在法属苏丹被捕和判刑——以及这些资料对法兰西帝国内的唱片帝国主义概念的影响。通过比较非洲留声机的虚构描绘，从法国广告到萨莫里家乡的曼德传说，我们可能会开始揭示支撑“留声机恋物癖，