Nollywood also known as Nigerian Film Industry, is a term coined by a New York Times journalist in the early 2000’s.
However, the Nigerian Film Industry had been in existence long before then, dating back to the early 1990’s, in the days of the theatre and the onset of VHS tapes.
Nollywood has a broad scope of showcasing Nigeria’s history, culture, language and artistry. We have moved from just showing traditional practices, to more engaging love stories and action films that incorporates today’s trends.
Nollywood does not just incorporate the stories of Nigerians living in Nigeria, it has given voice to citizens in the diaspora, allowing them to tell their stories. Moreover, we also have actors from other neighboring countries like Ghana and South Africa, becoming a part of the growing industry.
The industry is steadily improving, and more opportunities have been provided for youths in positions such as actors, actresses, producers, directors, filmmakers and many more. Nollywood is not just a thing for only the older generation, the younger generation is beginning to find expression through the industry, to relay their daily struggles. the younger generations are now beginning to identify with Nigerian movies and series.
This is just as Nigerian youths have continued to prove our successes like Mrs. Funke Akindele’s A Tribe Called Judah, which broke records in 2023 and grossed over 1 billion naira in the Nigerian Box office.
With this increase in youth involvement in Nollywood, it brings to mind the stereotypes, bias and authenticity of the industry. When movies and series are being released to youths of today, who can be easily influenced, what then are we exposing them to?
Table of Contents
STEREOTYPES IN NOLLYWOOD
Here are most of the common stereotypes in Nollywood films;
- Representation of women.
- Cultural Representation.
- Marriage.
- National Branding.
- Comic Relief.
Representation of Women
Most Nigerian movies often portray a bad representation of how women are treated and perceived in Nigeria. Nollywood showcase women as beneath men in movies. These movies tend to lean in support of stereotypical gender roles, where women are perceived as weak and as sex objects, who are more often than not dependent on men.
Additionally, a good percentage of women in Nigerian movies are portrayed in physical and emotional abuse situations, where they are totally dependent on their abuser. Women are also objectified and exploited in Nollywood movies and this creates a negative attitude towards women. Only a small percentage of women are portrayed as independent and self-sufficient, who consequentially face backlash from the community and also end up having a problem with their male counterparts in such movies.
This reveals the idea that Nigeria is unsafe for women and women are seen as low and weak. It also fosters the idea that the Nigerian community does not appreciate an independent woman . This could raise questions in the minds of independent girls and boys getting exposed to such movies. It then, questions the morals being taught to the generation livi in an evolving world.
Cultural Representation
As Nigerians making movies, the nation’s cultures are definitely going to be showcased to the audience. This is a good development but it comes with the danger of stereotyping. Nigerian actors and filmmakers have to apply caution when producing movies, to avoid cultural clash and misrepresentation.
Division is inevitable when most movies being released portray people of different origin to play specific stereotypes of their culture. Stereotypes like Igbo people being portrayed as having excessive love for money or Hausa people being presented as uneducated, will only damage the unity of the country.
Nollywood should be a tool to debunk harmful stereotypes and strengthen cultural bond within the nation.
Marriage
Most Nigerian movies foster the image of bad mother-in-law relationships with their son’s wives.
This seem to be a common storyline in Nollywood movies, where there is always a tussle for the affection of the man between the mother and daughter-in-law. This creates a harmful perception of marriage among the Nigerians .
Through this stereotype, a possibility of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law disagreement has been ingrained in the minds of Nigerian girls. Nollywood should stop fostering such ideologies to curb or avoid future family problems.
National Branding
Nollywood movies have been criticised for continually damaging the nation’s image. Nigerian movies have the ability to showcase the nation’s beauty, thereby, attracting tourists and investors to the country.
Nollywood can serve as an opportunity for national branding through showcasing the country’s culture and values to the rest of the world.
Comic Relief
In recent times, most Nollywood movies have only been focused on one genre and that is comedy.
Nigerian movies are mostly focused only on making people laugh and ‘catching cruise’ as we all call it. Though comedy is not bad, it should not be the only genre that the industry will be known for. The country is blessed with versatile actors/actresses, who can flourish in different roles, and should not be reduce to only comedians.
It portrays the industry and country at large as insufficient and unserious. Nollywood movies should be vast and carry on other genres like action, horror, animation, science fiction, crime film, adventure, mystery and thriller, among others.
Bias in Nollywood
Nollywood films exhibit many bias such as:
- Ethnic Bias: Nigeria is a vast cultural country, having different cultures. The constant representation of only three of its major people tends to leave the rest feeling left out and unimportant. This could breed disunity amongst our people.
- Class Bias: Most Nollywood films portray only negative image of poor people or the lower class, always depicting them as criminals and insufficient. This only leads to reinforcement of economic and social inequalities.
- Regional Bias: Many Nollywood films from the past and recent times have mostly been focused on places like Lagos, Asaba or Aba, neglecting other regions. Consequentially, this creates an underrepresentation of the country’s diversity.
- Cultural Bias: Only certain traditions from certain communities and tribes are represented in Nollywood films. This breeds inequality and unfairness to the vast number of cultures in Nigeria.
- Gender Bias: Nollywood films always depict women as weak and vulnerable, while men are portray as strong and in control. This only reinforces negative gender norms.
Authenticity in Nollywood
The subject of authenticity as related to the Nollywood space is still an ongoing debate, due to the harmful stereotypes and bias that plague the industry.
There have been arguments of movies portraying Nigerians in only one light or in a stereotypical way, that is harmful and inaccurate. There is distortion of cultural practices, misrepresentation of traditions and reinforcement of social inequalities such as classism, gender bias and ethnic discrimination.
Therefore, in a bid to appeal more to the western audience, most critics have criticised filmmakers for the lack of authenticity and plagiarising the western culture.
From its inception, the Nigerian film Industry’s goal has been to always tell the story of Nigeria and its people. In achieving this, most filmmakers have done marvellously well in showcasing the Nigerian culture through appropriate traditional representation, the right clothing for the characters and even the choice of music.
Many Nollywood movies have presented core traditional stories, focusing on the myths and legends.
As nollywood and its stakeholders keep evolving, new stories are being told. There is a hope that with the growth being experienced in the sector, negative stereotypes and bias will be curbed or eradicated, to allow for the authentic and originality of Nigerian stories.
