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

Abstract

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