Out of Africa
Kenya coffee plantation
Out of Africa refers most commonly to the 1985 film starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, adapted from Isak Dinesen's 1937 memoir about her years running a coffee plantation in Kenya.
The phrase also names the dominant scientific theory that modern humans originated in Africa before migrating to populate other continents: The Out of Africa hypothesis replaced earlier multiregional models.
Both uses evoke Africa as a place of origin—personal or evolutionary.
- expatriate lifeLiving in a foreign land
- lyrical proseProse with musical quality
- safariWildlife observation journey
- wildlife migrationSeasonal relocation of animals
- big game huntingPursuing large dangerous animals
narrative voice · memoir · coffee plantations · paleoanthropology · European settlers · storytelling · mitochondrial DNA · female writer · literary legacy · identity · Robert Redford · human evolution · romantic epic · biography · Homo sapiens · Meryl Streep · savanna · Kenya
- Danish literatureHans Christian Andersen, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Snow Queen, The Red Shoes
- 80s Pop CultureBack to the Future, E.T., Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, The Breakfast Club
- biopicsbiopic, biopics, Lincoln, Gandhi, biographical drama
- Oscar WinnersTitanic, Forrest Gump, The Godfather, Gladiator, Schindler's List
- 1985Live Aid, Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, Gorbachev, WrestleMania
- human originshuman evolution, human ancestors, early humans, modern humans, Homo sapiens
Out of AfricaChinua Achebe
Africa, African, Africans, outing, outer, outward, outwardly, outermost