Nigerian Film Industry Research Articles

The Influence of the Portrayal of Godfatherism in Nollywood Films on Nigerian Voter Behavior

Politics in Nigeria is considered as a huge investment; and so the political lords and godfathers , financially sponsor their political ‘godsons’ to political positions so as to be directly or indirectly in control of power. Since this trend started, people in political positions are no longer accountable to the citizenry, rather to their sponsors. Corruption becomes a direct consequence of godfatherism . Public enlightenment therefore, is required to create the awareness needed to understand how godfatherism influences political elections. This study is hinged on the Social Cognitive Theory and adopted survey methodology with questionnaire as instrument to examine the role Nigerian Film industry as an agent of public enlightenment plays in sensitizing the public on the dangers of politics of godfatherism . Do Nigerian Films portray politics of godfatherism ? Is the portrayal consistent with the reality on ground? What is the direction of the portrayal? Is the audience able to identify the subject matter as to help them in making wise decision during political elections? These are the questions this study seeks to provide answers to. Key words: Film, Politics, Godfatherism, Nollywood, Portrayal, Voter

English

When the seminal home video movie, Living in Bondage, burst into the market and Nigerian homes in 1991, it literally hit the ground running! It was such an instant hit that it caused a revolution in the Nigerian movie industry akin to the literary revolution set off by Chinua Achebe with Things Fall Apart fifty-six years ago. One aspect of the novelty, mystic, charm and great promise of the great movie was that it was rendered in Igbo language with English sub-titling. It triggered a rash of home video productions in several Nigerian languages notably Igbo, Ibibio, Edo, Hausa and Yoruba in English sub-titles. For the Igbos and their language – still to recover sufficiently from the debilitating effects of the Nigerian civil war, the Biafran War – that seminal movie seemed to herald the beginning of a much awaited linguistic and cultural renaissance. But that was not to be. The Nigerian home video industry did grow from its humble beginnings in Living in Bondage to become a world renowned industry called Nollywood – named and rated third after the Indian Bollywood and the American Hollywood. Unfortunately, the Igbo language component of the revolution soon petered out like a flash in the pan – an unfortunate victim of the dictate of the profit motive and yet another evidence of the free fall of the Igbo language from its previous position of strength in the era of Tony Ubesie, hailed as ‘probably the most gifted and accomplished Igbo writing fiction today in any language’ (Emenyonu, 2001:3 &nbsp

“As there are hyena-men and panther-men …”: Chris Abani, Pieter Hugo, and the shocking life of images

This article looks at the combined work of South African photographer Pieter Hugo and of “global Igbo” author Chris Abani in the volume Nollywood (2009). In their creative work both artists usually strive to see beyond established aesthetic and ethical paradigms and to bypass conventional modes of representation, in order to zoom in on adventurous and often shocking areas of existence in both life and art in Africa. In his collection of photographs known as the Nollywood series, Hugo engages with the Nigerian video film industry in collaboration with local actors and make-up artists in order to recreate the workings and general atmosphere of Nollywood films. Their cooperation produces a series of violently surreal, hallucinating tableaux. The volume features an introduction by Chris Abani which aptly evokes Nollywood’s history and production, and provides a key to reading Hugo’s creative rendition of the phenomenon. Marked by an incessant effort to move beyond the limits of both literary and cultural representation, Abani’s work is a highly appropriate contribution to the artistic experimentation in the collection. This article argues that the visual and textual works of Hugo and Abani both revisit and remove – through sometimes disquietingly violent aesthetical intervention – the borders that are kept in place by societal control on culture and the arts.

Creating the Locale for Nigerian Film Industry: Situating Nollywood in the Class of Global Cinema

The impetus providing the drive into the paper titled: “Creating the Locale for Nigerian Film Industry: Situating Nollywood in the Class of Global Cinema” arises because this article denounces the views held in some quarters, seeing Nigerian videos as a mere curiosity, detesting an underlying lack of respect for Nollywood. In the view of this article, in contrast to the wide spread criticism against Nollywood, this film genre is popular because it speaks to aspects of social life that many people live. It speaks and debates cultural anxieties of Africa and Africans, in a way no other media had done before. It engages in political discourses, in varying degrees. It invests the individual especially, the individuals living in the city with a new sense of person. Nollywood, the Nigerian film has really become a global phenomenon, but regrettably, very few persons can talk competently about it. Thus, in view of the prevailing situation in which Nollywood faces stiff criticism to the point of rejection in some quarters, yet the industry continues to thrive, at least, in terms of the number of movies churned out annually, there is therefore, need to undertake an analytical as well as historical studies of Nollywood to determine the strength and weakness as well as obstacles and challenges of this new global film genre. This would of course, requires indirect comparison of Nollywood films with other major classes of world films. Ultimately, the article can suggest ways of enhancing the status of Nollywood. This is because; it will be futile to reject the proposition that Nollywood has dramatically affected the global cinematic environment. The article adopts the historical-analytical approach to the discussion. References to Nollywood will cover all Nigerian movies in English and all major languages in Nigeria. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n6p155

Sociological Analysis of Money Rituals as a Recurrent Theme in Yoruba Films

The film, though a relatively modern innovation, is rooted in the age-long human tradition of telling stories. Today, the film has transcended being a tool for ‘twilight enjoyment’. Globally, it is being used to highlight the state of nations folklorically or contemporaneously; portraying their struggles, worldviews, hopes, aspirations and economic, political and social experiences. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has rated Nollywood (the Nigerian film industry) as the second largest producer of films in the world, with Hollywood (America) and Bollywood (India) being in the first and third positions respectively. The loudest criticism of the Nollywood films however, is that of overt and undue emphasis on the supernatural. The apparent downward trend in the socio-economic conditions of the average Nigerian, has led to increase in the number of people using occult practices to come to terms with contemporary socio-economic demands. The focus of this paper therefore is to critically analyze the recurrence of money ritual as a theme in Yoruba films. Pivoting the theoretical framework of the study on Marxism and drawing upon the works of Max Weber; to the effect that many groups apart from class stratification, can be in conflict for the scarce resources in the society. The paper concludes that money rituals’ recurrence as a theme indicates the signs of times. Apart from this, it is a form of voice-lending to demands for a more positive, meaningful and people-focused egalitarian governance. The punishment/negative aftermath of the vice is didactically used as deterrence to portray the ritual as illusionary. Keywords: Economy, Poverty, Social Honour, Governance, Ritual

“New Nollywood”: Kunle Afolayan

“New Nollywood” is a phrase being used to describe a recent strategy by some Nigerian filmmakers to make films with higher budgets, to screen them in cinemas both in Nigeria and abroad, and to enter them in international film festivals. This is a major structural shift in the Nollywood model of film production and distribution. Kunle Afolayan exemplifies this trend: his restless experimentation as a director and producer reveals the current structure of opportunities, and his situation as a filmmaker informs his films culturally and thematically. There are practical limits to the current possibilities of New Nollywood, and there is less to its apparent convergence with the rest of African (celluloid) cinema than meets the eye, but New Nollywood is likely to prove to be an invaluable preparation for coming transformations in the Nigerian film industry as Internet streaming and the construction of movie theaters in Nigeria displace the sale of films on discs as the central mode of Nollywood distribution.

Nigerian movies – the next blockbuster?

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsFirst Hollywood in the USA, then Bollywood ‐ the Indian film industry centred on Mumbai ‐ and now Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry. With revenues of over US$70 million in 2009, Nollywood is Nigeria's second highest revenue earner. It is one of the country's largest employers of skilled and semiskilled labour, driven solely by private initiative and operating without government support or intervention. Judging by the scale of bank transfers into Nigeria every year, there are a great many Nigerians living outside the country and a big prospective market for “Naija” films ‐ but there has yet to be a Nigerian movie premiere in the USA. In London, there are large immigrant populations of African origin – but no Nollywood movie theatres. This is a multimillion dollar industry with considerable growth prospects – but no coherent strategy for the marketing and distribution of its products.Practical implicationsThe paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

Commodifying the “Sacred,” Beatifying the “Abnormal”: Nollywood and the Representation of Disability

This paper examines the representations of disabilities and the disabled in the Nigerian film industry. It explores the contiguity between disability and sacrifice in Evil Agenda, Ti Oluwa Ni Ile, and Land of the Dwarfs, and interrogates some commonsensical assumptions about disability and the disabled in Nigeria and Africa. I argue that disability in Nigeria is a “socio-cultural and as well as a physical” problem and contend that its representations in Nollywood exploit and simultaneously beatify disabled actors. While Nollywood perpetuates some myths about disability and the disabled, it economically empowers disabled actors and increases their social status and privileges.

Nollywood Consensus: Modeling a Development Pathway for Africa

This paper is about sociology of development. It discusses Nollywood (the Nigerian film industry) not as a springboard of an alternative popular culture in Africa but rather, as a model for African economic development. The paper argues that the growth of the Nollywood industry has been phenomenal, especially in Africa and that the social mechanics of this growth should serve as a template for the economic development of the continent. China’s recent economic success has often been associated with an indigenous development model described by some as the “Beijing Consensus.” In a similar way, a new (and an alternative) model of development for Africa should emerge from the Nollywood experience.

The Rebirth of a Nation: Nollywood and the Remaking of Modern Nigeria

With over 2000 movies produced annually, and an estimated $200 million in U. S. earnings in 2006, the Nigerian film industry is now the third largest in the world after those of the United States of America (Hollywood) and India (Bollywood). The unprecedented rise of Nollywood in the past two decades attests to its successes in uniquely telling African stories from the perspectives of Africans, a storytelling role that had for too long been left in the hands of many who portrayed the continent as the bastion of dangers and backwaters of human civilization. However, despite Nollywood’s contributions to the telling of African stories to the rest of the world, the need to contribute to the remaking of Nigeria – its home base – has now become necessary at a time when the country is beset with numerous social, economic, cultural and political problems that threaten national unity. In the three sections of this article, a short history that provides a background to Nigeria as a state and highlights the taproots of the current problems being encountered in the country, an argument for a redefinition of the Nigerian state which supports the idea of remaking the country as a viable postcolonial African state in the 21 st century, and the role of Nollywood in Nigeria’s national rebirth are presented.

Features of Informal Firms: Insights on improvising and organizing in the Nigerian movie industry

In this article, we argue that the extant representations of the concept of informal firm are underdeveloped because they do not identify the distinct characteristics of these firms thus constraini...

Global Nollywood: The Nigerian movie industry and alternative global networks in production and distribution

While Nollywood, Nigeria’s video industry, is largely separate from dominant global cultural industry networks of production inputs and distribution, it is an industry that is still globally linked in a number of ways. In this article, I investigate the nature and layout of these connections via interviews with those populating these networks, from key Nollywood producers to shop owners thousands of miles from Lagos. I conclude that, instead of the formal links of dominant cultural industry networks, these links are mostly via alternative global networks, forged on the flipside of – or the gaps between – the connections that link the Network Society. Some formal international institutions have a presence, but these are largely mediated through Nollywood’s situation in global cultural industry networks. I argue that this renders Nollywood as situated in an alternative media capital, central to alternative networks, while too informal to integrate into dominant networks, and it is from this position that we can best understand Nollywood’s position in global media flows.

Out of Africa: Trends and Themes of Nigerian Home Videos

Since its emergence, the Nigerian movie industry “Nollywood”1 or “Naijawood” has had a profound influence on African and world cultures – through the transmission of the distinctly Nigerian accents, idiomatic expressions, style of dress, and behavioral idiosyncrasies as images worldwide.

The Nigerian movie industry “Nollywood” – a nearly perfect marketing case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the marketing challenges facing the Nigerian movie industry – Nollywood. The paper also attempts to make a case for due recognition to this multimillion dollar industry in management research as opposed to being pigeonholed in the domain of media, film or cultural studies.Design/methodology/approach – The case study benefits from a mixture of survey questionnaires, in‐depth interviews and focus groups drawing on a range of themes from Nollywood's target audience in the diasporas over a three‐year period (2005‐2007).Findings – Explanations for why African movies – as epitomized by the case of Nollywood – continue to lack box office appeal cannot be detached from the poor marketing‐mix strategies adopted – notably weak marketing communications and poor product quality.Research limitations/implications – The paper is restricted to a convenience sample of respondents and may arguably suffer from a weakness of generalizability.Practical implications – Nollywo...

From Celluloid to Video: The Tragedy of the Nigerian Film Industry

Research Article| October 01 2007 From Celluloid to Video: The Tragedy of the Nigerian Film Industry ABIODUN OLAYIWOLA ABIODUN OLAYIWOLA Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Film and Video (2007) 59 (3): 58–61. https://doi.org/10.2307/20688569 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation ABIODUN OLAYIWOLA; From Celluloid to Video: The Tragedy of the Nigerian Film Industry. Journal of Film and Video 1 January 2007; 59 (3): 58–61. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/20688569 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressJournal of Film and Video Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 2007 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois2007 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.