“To God be the glory”: Hallelujah movies and the constructions of popular Pentecostal morality in Nigerian cinema

This study examined the subjugation and objectification of women in Nigerian films produced in the 21st Century to determine whether the representations of women have changed at the turn of the Century. The objectives of this study were to find out the extent of subjugation of women in Nollywood films in the 21st Century and determine the extent of objectification of women in Nollywood films in the 21st Century. This study was anchored on the feminist muted group theory. The design adopted was a mixed-method approach that combined content analysis and in-depth interviews. The researchers focused on Nollywood films produced from 2000 to 2021 that have women playing leading or supporting roles. A total of 22 films were coded and eleven film experts and scholars were interviewed. It was found that women were not significantly subjugated in Nigerian films produced in the 21st century. However, women are still highly sexually objectified in Nigerian films produced in the 21st century. They are portrayed in a way that viewers can make judgments about them based on their physical appearance and their sex appeal. It was recommended that the Nigerian Film and Video Censors' Board must play its part in reducing the incidence of female objectification in Nigerian films by putting Objectification (O) as a film classification element, in the same breath as Nudity, Strong Language, and Violence (NSL).

An Evolution in Nollywood, Nigeria’s New Wave:A Conversation with Chris Eneaji Carmen McCain (bio) “Aren’t we going to watch any Nigerian films in this class?” my student complained. It was the second day of my three-hundred-level Activism and Filmmaking class at Kwara State University in September of 2015. The week before we had watched Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925, Soviet Union), and I had just begun an opening lecture on Third Cinema filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino’s La Hora de los hornos / The Hour of the Furnaces (1968, Argentina). Her question struck me because it seemed so different from the approach students had taken when I first started teaching Nigerian films. In 2008, the first time I taught film at a Nigerian university, my final-year “Gender and Media” students in the Mass Communications Department at Bayero University, Kano, seemed embarrassed when I brought up Nigerian films. Seven years later, at Kwara State University, Malete, I have not noticed this same sense of embarrassment. The students in the Film Unit of the School of Visual and Performing Arts are there because they want to become a part of the Nigerian film industry. They pass around pirated digital copies of the latest Nigerian films on laptops and phones, and they often seem slightly bored when watching films from outside of Africa. They warm up when I show them Ousmane Sembène’s films La Noire de . . . / Black Girl (1966, Senegal), Borom sarret (1963, Senegal), Mandabi (1968, Senegal), and stay after class to continue discussing them. One student noted in a response paper that the screening of Sembène’s film Mandabi was the first time they hadn’t been bored by the films we watched in the class. In Nollywood studies, we often talk about the disparities between Nollywood films and FESPACO films, of which Sembène’s work is often used as an exemplar, yet seeing the way my students respond to Sembène makes me think that it isn’t that audiences don’t like other African cinema, so much as that up until now there have been few opportunities for most African audiences to see the older films. [End Page 194] With the coming of what is often called the “New Nollywood,” students look to a new cinema tradition, admittedly ideologically quite different from that promoted by Sembène and the activist filmmakers of FEPACI. The “New Nollywood” is not Third Cinema. Indeed, it may be the closest Nigeria has ever had to a “First Cinema” ideal. But these new cinema films draw audiences who prefer Nigerian to American films. These are not the historic open-air theatres of Ouagadougou or Kano or the video parlors that even those without televisions could afford, but instead new multiplexes in malls, tied closely to multinational businesses like the South African grocery store Shoprite or the American fast food restaurant KFC. The ninety- to 120-minute romance and comedy films are marketed toward Africa’s growing, ever more mobile, middle class.1 Viva Cinemas in Ilorin, where I live, screens at least five or six Nigerian films a week, usually for a run of two weeks to a month, alongside American, Indian, Chinese and South African films. And it is these Nigerian films that my students want to write about for their BA theses and these filmmakers they want to do their national youth service with.2 It is a film tradition that has finally been accepted by Nigeria’s once aloof middle class.3 I first saw Chris Eneaji’s 2013 thriller The Secret Room when the final-year exhibition class at Kwara State University projected it in the university auditorium for their final exhibition project in April 2015 (fig. 1). Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Chris Eneaji. Image courtesy of Carmen McCain. With the permission of Eneaji, who is a friend and collaborator with their lecturer Emeka Emelobe, the students printed big posters and advertised the [End Page 195] screening on the radio. They drew in a large crowd of students, who gasped and shouted in the darkened auditorium as the story unwound. Much of the story...

Lagos, Nigeria, renowned for its multicultural history, is explored in this article within the context of Nigerian cinema and sociological perspectives. This article investigates how Nollywood films depict Lagos using sociological theory that emphasizes representing society as it is. It begins with the city's historical evolution, emphasizing its role as Nigeria's entertainment capital and its impact on the film industry. The article underlines how Nollywood films influence perceptions of Lagos, advocating for balanced portrayals. It analyzes three Nollywood films to illustrate the city's diverse character. These films represent different facets of Lagos, showcasing its dynamic and diverse character. Findings from the study reveal that while some filmmakers aim to promote Lagos as an attractive and vibrant city, there is a need for a balanced representation of the city's various aspects. The article also addresses the ethical responsibility of filmmakers to inform viewers when a film is purely fictional or contains elements of reality. In conclusion, this article offers valuable insights into the sociological portrayal of Lagos in Nigerian cinema, highlighting the need for a more balanced and responsible depiction of this multicultural city. Ultimately, the article emphasizes the influence of film on society and calls for thoughtful storytelling in a city with a dynamic, multicultural identity.

The stereotyping and sexual objectification of womanhood in Nollywood films have partly been attributed to Nigerian actresses. According to a number of critics and scholars, female actors’ passivity and complicity are to blame for the continuous negative portrayals of women in films. This popular belief follows from the arguable myth that female actors most often accept demeaning roles in films; meanwhile, it is axiomatic that if they reject such roles, androcentric/sexist screen writers will be compelled to develop better female characters for their films. If the above logic seems pertinent, it tends to hastily generalise on Nollywood actresses’ attitude towards the objectification of womanhood. The logic also fails to recognise the grossly understudied efforts made by many Nigerian actresses against women stereotyping in the Nigerian film industry.This paper focuses on these understudied efforts with a view of filling a knowledge gap. Specifically, the paper hinges on secondary sources and critical observations to explore some of the ways in which Nollywood actresses have struggled – and continue to struggle – against women’s stereotyping in Nollywood films. In the first place, the paper examines women stereotyping and objectification in Nollywood films; and in the second it explores three ways in which Nigerian actresses resist their stereotyping in the Nigerian film industry. These include the rejection of demeaning roles, feminine feminist cinema and the tendency to request the same demeaning roles for men.

Theories on Nollywood films’ contribution to the Nigerian image crisis have not really followed from empirical studies. In effect, most commentators who support the thesis of Nollywood’s negative effects on the Nigerian image hinge on the unproven premise that a good number of Nigerian video films represent Nigeria in a negative light. Thus, these commentators stand on mere assumptions to conclude that Nollywood films unarguably contribute immensely to the Nigeria’s image problem on the international stage. In this paper, the claims made by the above mentioned commentators are tested through an empirical study of Cameroonian students’ perception of Nigeria as informed by their Nollywood film experience. The paper specifically hinges on a quasi-experiment involving 50 Anglophone and Francophone students drawn from the University of Dschang (Cameroon). The students were exposed to two Nigerian films (My Husband’s Wealth and Oluture) and asked to describe their perceptions of schools, law enforcement institutions, economic development, cultures and governance in Nigeria. The quasi-experiment revealed that the students under study perceived Nigeria mainly in a negative light. The paper suggests a number of imperatives for Nollywood to be reoriented and to serve better as Nigeria’s image maker.

The Nigerian film industry, otherwise known as Nollywood, has been acknowledged to be the second-largest in the world in terms of volume of production. This fact presents an interesting vista worthy of investigation, especially with regard to the quality of the films produced. It is in respect of this premise that this article examines the plot of the Nigerian film—a feature capable of affecting the popularity of the film. The essay, having dwelt on what plot is, critically examines the Nigerian film plot and finds that Nollywood films mostly adopt an episodic structure, thereby making them unnecessarily long. Besides (and this is systemically related to episodic structure and to a natural tendency in Nigerian rhetoric), many of the films tend to be too wordy, too chatty, over-padded, thus often earning them scathing criticism. The challenges of scriptwriting in this regard are examined, culminating in recommendations for how to improve the quality of scripts through plot construction in this vibrant film culture.

Over the years, the institution of Igbo royalty has featured prominently in Nigerian film industry, which as a leading source of entertainment in Nigeria, may thus influence how people view the royal institution. Hence, this study focused on the evaluation of representation of Igbo royalty in Nigerian films. Situated within the framework of social representation theory, the study adopted critical discourse analysis (CDA) and key informant interview (KII) as the design. Four Igbo royalty films were randomly selected, while three key informants were interviewed. Analysis was qualitative. Findings revealed that Nigerian films have represented Igbo royalty as an important aspect of Igbo cultural setup, portraying royals as playing vital leadership role – political and religious – in their respective communities. It also showed factors that have shaped portrayal of Igbo royalty in Nigerian film industry to mainly include cultural pride and commercial considerations. It was found that sources of ideas of Nigerian film producers in their construction of Igbo royalty mainly included personal observation of Igbo cultural realities and Igbo oral and written literature. It was concluded that representation of Igbo royalty in Nigerian films tended to reflect some dominant discourses of power, class and gender in Nigeria. It was recommended that filmmakers should do more in the area of research towards better portrayal of Igbo culture in their works.

This study investigated the influence of female representations of women in Rivers State, Nigeria, focusing on gender depiction in select Nollywood films. The study employs a descriptive survey research approach complemented by content analysis of two contemporary Nollywood films, Adire (2023) and Wura (2023), to explore the influence of Nollywood’s representation of women on perception in Rivers State. The findings reveal that while Nollywood films have made some progress in diversifying female character roles, traditional gender stereotypes such as women being primarily depicted in domestic, caregiving, and subordinate roles continue to dominate. These portrayals reinforce societal norms about women’s roles in Nigerian society, as suggested by Gerbner and Gross’s (1976) cultivation theory. However, the films also demonstrate emerging trends towards depicting women as more resilient, ambitious, and independent, reflecting shifts in societal expectations. Despite this, the portrayal of empowered women is often ambivalent, suggesting that Nollywood is still grappling with how to balance progressive and traditional gender narratives. The study concludes that Nollywood’s gender portrayal impacts social perceptions in Rivers State, perpetuating both progressive and regressive views of women’s roles. The paper recommends intentional gender-inclusive storytelling and policy frameworks to promote balanced and empowering portrayals of women in Nigerian cinema.

Rethinking Nollywood Film Music: The Case for a Persistent Identity System Emaeyak Peter Sylvanus (bio) Introduction If we consider discussions on the ambiguity of film music as the “new classical music” within and outside of the dominant North American and European traditions, then a study of Nollywood film music makes for both an interesting and original contribution to the debate.1 Accordingly, this article considers mainstream Nollywood, which, in addition to being “the most visible form of cultural machine on the African continent,”2 has been overlooked by film music scholars. The current article is a synthesis of the most important arguments to date on film music in Nollywood (Nigerian cinema). It specifically outlines, integrates, discusses, and summarizes three central outcomes: (1) the Nollywood film music identity formations and their interconnectedness, (2) the three contexts through which the identity formations are performed, and (3) the Nollywood film music persistent identity system (NoPIS), which is modeled following a systematic integration [End Page 173] of the first two outcomes. The NoPIS reveals how Nollywood film music speaks to culture, its practitioners and consumers, and even scholars. Indeed, practitioners’ perceptions of identity and its articulation in their own words and works have been critical to the discourse, structure, and theoretical outcome of both the NoPIS and this text. This article adds to an emerging body of film music publications on African cinema.3 Elsewhere, I have argued that within notions of localization and representation, Nollywood film music-making processes bear important expectations for both the filmmakers and consumers with whom its composers deal. Such expectations include the ability to: (1) generate a culturally relevant (Nigerian) piece of work; (2) appeal to the filmmakers and target audience; and (3) create a sense of authenticity by ensuring that the music prefigures (i.e., communicates and predicts) the storyline(s).4 Such publications have equally shown that there is an enabling sociocultural and informal fiscal environment that supports the business of film music production in Nigeria.5 Granted these enabling conditions, the composer’s ideologies and intentions are then carried through in the genre, style, and manner of application, which give it meaning and socio-musical symbolism. All these are complemented by the social action, interaction, and mediation between such groups as fellow film composers, sound editors and engineers, producers, filmmakers and marketers, and promoters. The social actions emanating from such a chain of interactions add new meanings to the film music––meanings situated between the word, sound, and screen: a subtle reconfiguration of orality and viewership that has persisted with some refinement since inception in the 1990s. Consequently, specific developing trends on and around identity issues and processes in composing music for Nollywood films have emerged, including analyses that highlight areas of interest and frustration relating to the filmmaker–composer collaboration dynamics, which consciously exclude the film director;6 the social-organizational framework and the barriers to entry for film music projects in Nollywood;7 the problems and prospects of the industry’s genre categorization and labeling;8 the merits and demerits of a Nollycentric film music approach that its three schools of thought promote and sustain;9 the dynamics of power, money, gender relations, and ethics of the conceptualization, negotiation, and articulation of identity;10 and the forces of ethnicity, language, and cross-cultural and transnational film music influences.11 Additionally, I have attempted to explain the connection between the film music industry, individualism, the marketers’ cinematic intentions, the composers’ responsibilities and independence, and the audience’s consumption behavior.12 Lastly, I have shown how much [End Page 174] Nigerian TV music shaped aspects of Nollywood soundtrack practice.13 All these suggest that Nollywood may have transformed film music via the process of localization. Yet, film music itself has transformed its host culture (Nigeria), particularly regarding the reading and discussion of identity. What remains is the modeling of practitioners’ artistic results to arrive at what might be called a persistent identity system for Nollywood soundtracks. As far as Nigeria is concerned, film and film music are borrowed art forms. In other words, they are popular (multimedia) texts that have not originated from Nigeria, yet their successful appropriation and reinvention have made them...

Rape is one of the serious crimes committed every day in Nigeria with many negative effects on victims, perpetrators, and society. However, the enormity of the crime is not fully represented in Nollywood films leading to subpar treatment of rape as a subject matter in most Nigerian films. Using a descriptive approach, the study examined the subject of rape in Kunle Afulanyo’s October 1 and Moses Inwang’s Alter Ego. These films were selected using a purposive sampling technique that enabled the researchers to select from several Nollywood films that dwell on the issue of sexual violence. The study adopted Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi’s Self Control Theory to interrogate the motivation, perception and attitude toward rape. The study revealed that rape is committed within the institutions that are responsible for the development and protection of young people, resulting in latent physical, psychological and sociological problems for the victims, perpetrators, and society. The study recommended that Nollywood film practitioners should use their works as weapons against all forms of sexual violence, and concluded that social and cultural institutions have a major role to play in the intervention and survival of victims of rape by intensifying awareness of the dangers of sexual violence in Nigeria.

In the world of today, technology has become an ordinary component of everyday living as it has influenced almost all facets of life and is no longer seen as a luxury. Its influence has been evident in most sectors of the Nigerian economy particularly in the entertainment sector. The Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood has experienced its own share of technological upheaval. Having a past dating back to over 45 years, Nollywood films were watched on television and then video cassettes, Pay TV,CD and DVD plates respectively. As time went on, technology became more sophisticated and digital movie and online series streaming platforms for viewing movies were introduced. This study therefore sought to establish the place of you-tube in accessing nollywood films online amongst the likes of Netflix, Ibaka TV, Netnaija, Iroko TV, Nollyland and others which are equally used to access online nollywood movies. What is the relevance of you-tube in the midst of these other platforms? This study was designed as a qualitative study and adopted Focus group discussion as a method of data collection. Anchored on the Technological Acceptance Model, eighteen participants who were purposively chosen were involved in the study. Findings from the study indicate that the place of You-tube platform for accessing movies is threatened mostly by the Netflix platform. Data also showed that though the you-tube platform has not lost its popularity completely for accessing nollywood films online, the audience seems to be more tilted towards Netflix for accessing current and standard nollywood films. The study therefore recommends amongst others that nollywood film producers should equally upload standard and current films to you-tube since the app is generally perceived to be more utilized by the audience for not just accessing movies online but also seeking for other relevant information on issues than other online streaming platforms which are basically for streaming and downloading movies.

The study aims to identify the ways to produce text production process by Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN, or State Islamic University) students in Padang on Facebook. Documentations, observations, and in depth-interviews were used to collect data. There were 1,214 discourses found on group and personal accounts of 27 informants, and 400 discourses were taken as data of the research. The analysis was conducted by following Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis, (CDA), with the Critical Linguistics approach. The research findings show that the text production process by UIN students on Facebook were done in three ways, namely producing their own text, spreading other people’s texts that are shared from the site, and producing text as a result of consumption of other texts. Producing text itself is a way of producing text by creating its own status as a form of expression of thoughts, feelings, and experiences, without referring to other texts or texts that have been published on other walls. The form of production by spreading text from other website is the most common form of text production. Production status is a form of the author’s reaction to the text he or she understood.

RESISTING THROUGH CITIZEN JOURNALISM: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ON THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT ON TWITTER

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis bridges the literature on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and critical policy analysis to provide a practical guide on how to combine these major approaches to critical social science. The volume gives a clear introduction to concepts and analytical procedures for critical policy discourse analysis. Utilising ten international case studies, the authors explain and critically reflect upon the methods and theories that they have used to successfully integrate CDA with critical policy studies across a diverse range of policy issues. Case studies are used to explore issues in economics, health, education, crisis management, the environment, language and energy policy. Analysing these through discursive methodological approaches in the traditions of CDA, social semiotics and discourse theory, this book connects this discursive methodology systematically to the field of critical policy studies. This is an essential read for researchers wishing to practically combine methods of CDA with critical policy studies. It provides key insights for politics scholars looking to gain a more in-depth understanding of the impact and analysis of discourse.

ABSTRACTThis essay examines South to South connections between Brazil and Nigeria through a situated reception study and content analysis of two Nollywood films. The audiences are located in Salvador da Bahia and in São Paulo, Brazil, and the essay analyses audience reception of Domitilla: The Story of a Prostitute (1996) and extrapolates themes by examining Black Night in South America (2007). The themes of both films and various spectatorial responses reveal the observation of stark contrasts between rich and poor, capitalist desires, and different patriarchies – echoing those themes in Brazilian telenovelas. This thematic coincidence is a site for exploring cross-cultural similarities and intersections between aspects of Nigerian and Brazilian life. It is also an avenue for a further symbolic exploration of cultural and historical contiguities within the Global South, particularly with regard to religious practices, gender relations, and socio-economic hierarchies. This paper combines audience responses with the close film analysis to reveal correlating narratives about ethnicity, class, gender and urban survival, as well as the moral storylines in both Nigerian films and Brazilian telenovelas.