Nollywood's Impact on the African Consciousness

Africans in the 21^st century have found themselves in a rapidly changing world. The changes are evident in a variety of fields. There is change in the mode of communication; there is change in the way the traditional and modern coexist; there is also change in the African view of time and space, largely because of the conspiracy of science and technology in the African mind and in the African space-time continuum. Nollywood is one of these formidable changes in Nigerian life and culture. Prior to Nollywood Nigerians entertained themselves through variety of ways. There was the daily encounter with their imagination through the evening sessions between parents and grandparents, on the one hand, and children on the other. During those memorable days many children now of the old Nigeria remember nostalgically how their evenings were filled by local tales and fables of the ethnic group. Many Africans of the last century remembered those times with grandpa or grandma, listening to the stories about some mythical creatures widely celebrated in the tales passing down through the ages by our ancestors.       

Like Hollywood in America and Bollywood in India , Nollywood has emerged as the African equivalent of these two giant providers of global entertainment for people around the world. Nigerians and increasingly Africans across the continent are also beginning to benefit from the services of science and technology in the packaging of their memories and tales in DVDs and other technological gadgets known to man today.

But in order for us to understand and appreciate Nollywood there are seven areas of interest critical to the understanding of this phenomenon. At the heart of this trend are the rise and origins and the manner in which it has evolved and shaped the media world of Nigerians at home and abroad.

Like Hollywood and Bollywood, there is an ethnic character to the earlier manifestations of the Nigerian industry. Responding to the writings of Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka , Nigerian media devoted time to the study and understanding of drama, capturing the dramatic exercises in video form and the introduction of the video camera became a major transformation of how Nigerians will forever view themselves. Early efforts were ridden with limited funds and painful exercises of actors and actresses. Many of those who plunged into the business found themselves handicapped and their efforts usually ended in vain. However, like Hollywood and Bollywood there were enterprising pioneers who risked pain and headaches to champion this industry. Hollywood script writers would tell you how a class of Americans who were particularly Jewish took the bull by the horn and helped create the industry. There were certainly other non-Jewish individuals; Howard Hughes is still remembered for his contributions through his funneling of vast amount of wealth into this process. Similarly, Bollywoodians have their own financiers among the rich and the successful in the post independence generation. In their particular case, the ethnic or religious group that parallels the Jewish experience in the American industry is the Muslim stars. In the Nigerian case, there is the Ibo factor. A careful review of Nollywood credits would confirm the parallels between the Nigerian experience and the early American or Indian experiences.

In looking for an answer to the first question, one is struck by the fact that the transition from local drama in one theater to the other was made possible by the rise of the local entrepreneurs interested in the creation of locally viable movie projects. This Nigerian experience parallels with what happened in Senegal . Since the Senegalese in many ways pioneered this experiment in movie-making and Ousmane Sembane is widely recognized in this field, there is growing evidence that the efforts in African/Francophone world was in many ways closely followed by Nigerian and other Anglophone adventurers. The rise of Nollywood is a fact that deserves greater attention, but in this article our attention centers primarily on the impact of the media on Nigerians at home and abroad. There are several ways in which Nollywood has affected Nigerians. The first is in the creation of a vast and growing body of videos made and distributed worldwide. There has never been such a medium of communication with such delivery systems for Africans, Nollywood film makers are shaping the values and the consciousness of many Nigerians and others are also being exposed to it.

The second contribution of Nollywood rests in the creation of a national myth of Nigerian identity and Nigerian ways of living and doing things. These transformations in Nigerian life and culture are evident in the development of a new hierarchy of movie stars. Young people are beginning to identify with certain stars and the lifestyles and ways of behaving in society has impacted the young and sometimes even the old. Like Hollywood and Bollywood, Nollywood in Nigeria and overseas is also having its impact.

The second point here deals with the sources of funding for this enterprise and the manner in which young men and women have risen to the top of the Nigerian movie industry. As argued above, Nollywood financiers were risk-takers who with pain and perils pioneered the enterprise. The names of these individuals are now gaining greater attention and recognition in Nigerian media and many Nigerians can rattle their names in social circles. As a result of their difficulties and challenges, many Nigerians with money are beginning to explore the possibilities. As stated above, the Ibos were the original pioneers but their bold efforts are being complimented by some enterprising Yorubas, ethnic minorities from the East and Mid-west. Similarly, the popularity of the Nigerian entertainment industry has also rung the bells of anxiety and enthusiasm in northern Nigeria . Jos is emerging as a place where producers from the North interested in Nollywood-like movies go to produce a northern equivalent of the southern varieties.

The third question raised above centers around the issues of themes and topics covered by Nollywood. A careful examination of the hundreds of videos that I have had the opportunity to see and review, three points among many deserves our attention. The number one observation is the unique manner in which Nollywood producers juxtaposed the physical and metaphysical worlds.

In a creative African world, they have made life in video to correspond with the description of African life and culture as argued by African thinkers such as John Mbiti of Kenya . In Mbiti’s books and essays about Africans and their religions, he wrote “Africans are notoriously religious” This belief in the coexistence of the physical and metaphysical elements within the same space-time continuum of humans is deeply rooted in many Nollywood films. The way in which such performances are carried out leads the viewer to believe that the metaphysical world is as real as the physical world. Here the Western viewer of Nollywood movies would find it difficult because from his or her own movie background, such films are less likely to capture the native imagination and their success, if any, is largely brought about because of the association of such films with either science fiction or mythology. This is one fundamental difference between Hollywood and Nollywood.

Another area of distinction lies in the use of musical instruments and songs in their movies. Review of Nollywood movies is most likely to see the use of Nigerian and Western songs to emphasize or highlight events as the movie progresses. The different producers manipulate this aspect of their art work in a many ways.

Additionally, is the focuses of how rural and urban areas are drawn upon in the different films. Rural life is most often romanticized as a haven of traditional values, even though in the telling of traditional tales, the mystery and intrigues of life are captured as realistically as in the modern urban life of trickery and deception. Violence is more pervasive in the urban as opposed to the rural context; the role of violence in Nollywood movies is something that is likely to attract attention and critical review. In addition to the above-mentioned themes and topics one can also add love and romance play a critical role in Nollywood. Here the three global centers of entertainment in Africa , South Asia and the West share a common cause. Life without love and romance is empty and meaningless; the three centers have seized upon it and thousands of DVDs are nowadays available for anyone interested in tracking the seeds of love on Nigerian television and DVD.

The fourth area under discussion is whether Nollywood movies have Nigerian relevance in particular and African relevance in general. Again, it is an important art form that integrates the lives of many people within a social network. By watching a video at home or in a larger setting, one is given a microcosm of life in one’s society. The impact of Nollywood is bound to be as effective as Hollywood and Bollywood have been for Americans and Indians. Simply put, Nollywood creates a mental world where the imaginations of the average Nigerians are captured beautifully in words, songs and images. It makes life meaningful, entertaining and reassuring. Those who watch it see samples of their lives in it, either in biographical or in imagined forms as they see and dream about the luxury and fame associated with the characters. But Nollywood is not just a way station for fools and dreams yearning to meet Lady Luck on the road; it is also a source of rude awakening for the naïve and the less exposed to the pains and travails of life. Through their videos many uninformed Nigerians and others have come to appreciate the threat to life from the criminal politicians as well as fellow citizens who may be too close to home to be suspected and uncovered.

Accordingly, the fifth points to the impact of Nollywood in the socialization process of Nigeria and beyond. As I mentioned before, in the old Nigeria as in the old Africa, young people learned the stories of life through evening tales told by parents and grandparents under moonlight. With the benefit of science and technology, the new Africans now enjoy the products of Nollywood. Through the different movies they have the opportunity to learn about Nigerian citizenship, Nigerian cultural diversity, Nigerian cultural peculiarities, Nigerian body codes and the variation within the larger Nigerian society. Nollywood also serves an important part in the socialization of Nigerians. Many Nigerians are destined to remain in foreign lands almost forever. Through their movies Nollywood producers and actors are beginning to serve as preservers and maintainers of culture which various communities from different parts of Nigeria celebrate abroad. By doing so, they have stake a claim to the domain of custodians of Nigerian culture abroad. Such is the achievement of Hollywood for Americans abroad and Bollywood for Indians abroad.

The sixth question raised above centers on the need for greater study and understanding of Nollywood and its role in society. Two points need to be stated here. The first talks about the much needed collaboration between the universities and colleges on the one hand, and the producers of this body of popular cultural knowledge in Nigerian society. In order for the peoples of the society to benefit from the full weight of town and gown, university instructors teaching drama must exchange views and ideas to create a greater awareness and appreciation of this great industry. Through their collaboration much good could come out of this growing center of cultural power in the country. Similarly, their interaction would open new doors of possibilities for young Nigerians interested in drama and popular culture. In fact, if it is well done and much good is allowed to flow and circulate, it could bring the best and the brightest not only out of Nigeria but from all parts of the black World. If Nigeria and her peoples aspire to play a leading role in African and world affairs, Nollywood supported and guided intellectually by her universities and colleges, could be the bacon of light and enlightenment. It could also be the source of dreams, hopes and aspirations for African known in the western media for its bedridden suffering from deadly diseases as well as indignities from the hands of others who see no good coming out of this huge continent.

The seventh and last but the least point is about the role and place of Nollywood in the Nigerian and African imaginations. In order for this industry to excel, as it is doing right now, it needs to carve a distinct role for itself in Nigeria and beyond. Some of the writers and analysts already have envisioned that Nollywood is here to stay. Personally, I have no doubt about this. However, in assessing its role and place in the country, three points need to be born in mind. There is a need to effectively Nigerianize Nollywood. It is taking place and the producers are certainly conscious of it. Their choice of characters and their stories are gradually reflecting this dynamics. Through the gradual and effective Nigerianization of the industry, the different ethnic and religious communities would begin to see themselves positively. Nigerians should remember that Americans and Indians had similar challenges. For example, Italians and Black Americans have always complained that life in Hollywood was mean and rough when it comes to them. For the Italian the mafia was the buggy man and the source of ethnic shame paraded on television scenes. Blacks also lamented the caricature of their pride and dignity through the use of step-in- fetch-it and Amos and Andy movies.

In looking into the present achievements of Nollywood and prospecting about its future, one should say that the movie industry has to do many things but two deserve immediate attention. The first is the perfection and standardization of the form of English they have developed in their movies. Through such perfection and standardization, they are likely to create a global if not glocal world of views. Perhaps through careful and meticulous efforts the New African English emerging out of Nollywood, with blessings from Southern Africans, East Africans and West Africans might see new light from Nigeria . 

EUCHARIA MBACHU

Washington DC

Robot  Villager

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