Every film industry, across different countries, appears to have a central narrative. More often than not, these narratives are shaped by the collective narrative aligned by key stakeholders in key industries in their respective countries.
For Hollywood, it’s selling the American dream. Regardless of the country being portrayed, America is positioned as the dream destination and the centre of civilisation.
For Bollywood, it’s family. In India’s booming movie industry, amidst love stories, thriller-centred shows and chick flicks, the underlying team is to set an agenda of the interconnectedness and sometimes complexities of the family bond with their films. Although cinema narratives change based on the state of society, the central narrative remains unchanging.
From Hollywood to Bollywood, and Korea’s Dramas, there’s always a part of the films from these countries that speak to a central narrative. Which brings the question: What is Nollywood’s central narrative?
For decades, Nollywood as an industry has retained its title as the second biggest film industry in the world in terms of output. But what sort of stories do we tell and what is the central narrative in these stories?
To what extent does focusing on the negative aspects of Nigerian culture while pandering to Western narratives become a repetitive storyline? Do we do due diligence when telling our stories by not misrepresenting historical facts?
On one too many occasions, filmmakers have told stories that whitewash historical figures as opposed to telling their stories as it is. This singular act has continued to cause controversy and many Nigerians are saying, tell the stories of these figures but explore the good, the bad and the ugly things they did during their lifetime.
“All Indian stories are family based, even when it is action it’s still family based. Italians with all their Mafianso, it’s usually family and respect for family and culture. But we? What we originally had we discarded because of westernisation, not civilisation,” veteran actress Tina Mba mentioned in an interview on what needs to be done for the industry to tell better stories.
The pertinent question that needs to be answered and a viable answer provided is; What central narrative should the Nigerian entertainment industry portray?
Should our film industry tell the relatable and exceedingly interesting story of the Nigerian resilient spirit, often widely spoken of as hustling – the tenacity of the average Nigerian to continue to believe and strive for a better day against all odds?
Here are the facts: Nigeria is in an unprecedented state of economic downturn, one many predicted but never fully came to a realisation of how difficult it would become. Regardless, Nigerians thrive. That’s a result of this ‘hustle’ culture that has become our doom and our saving grace.
To hustle and survive, what system do Nigerians lean on? There’s the family and community system that has served us for generations that we are discarding for individualism that has not served Nigeria as a people. Not to be a boomer, but back in the day, people valued their community and in turn their community protected them. Currently, we have a different reality.
As Nollywood, what stories should be told to bring us back to that state? The answer to this question is simple, relatable stories that tell our hustle story but in the right way. It’s important to tell our stories as they are without altering the narrative. When we tell stories around age-old systems, there is a need to consult with custodians of these cultures to get the facts right.
For many years, we’ve told our stories with a huge influence from foreign realities. While telling our stories we need to continuously showcase how our version of civilisation can lead us to economic boom as opposed to what was imposed on us.
Decentering themes that play into the American dream and telling our stories, accurately and in the right context, is what we need as an industry. We need to move beyond seeing our systems as primitive – culture, beliefs and everything else.
This is not to say that some key stakeholders are not already in the business of championing a positive central narrative for the entertainment industry in Nigeria.
When Showmax released their original series Flawsome it was to spotlight and showcase female friendships in a positive light. As opposed to the constant narratives that push that women do not like each other.
When Africa Magic released Slum King showcasing how trauma has shaped the experiences of people in the slums. But while spotlighting the Slum King’s story, they told a story of redemption. There was also the Igba Boi documentary titled Freemen by Showmax that told the story of a system that fostered businesses in Southeast Nigeria and helped alleviate poverty.
In an interview with the lead cast of Africa Magic’s My Fairytale Wedding, Ini Edo, she highlighted the need to tell relatable stories while feeding the next generation with stories that reorient them and point them in the right direction.
At this point, intentionality has become important, especially with the accessibility of social media, where truth can become a lie and the lie can become the truth in a second based on who has the biggest influence. “Because of the advent of social media it’s so important that we are intentional about telling stories through film because that’s the only departure from social media,” Ini Edo added.
There’s no doubt that Nollywood filmmakers have tried to tell the right stories and it’s in no way diminishing the progress that has been made. But can more be done? Yes. Independently, filmmakers have taken matters into their own hands telling a range of stories, based on their beliefs and what their narrative is.
At this moment, there has become a need to create a unionised industry that speaks in one voice with the active involvement of the government. This is why companies like MultiChoice are important for the ecosystem, as they bridge that gap and are bringing about a centralised narration due to their portrayal of purely African stories.
The creative industry, especially film, is usually most people’s first contact with our culture. They shape the cultural narrative and are ambassadors that represent us worldwide. Through our movies, we communicate our notions, tell our stories and shape narratives about our culture. The world may not think much of us as a society, but with film, we can tell our authentic stories while shaping our own narratives, owning our voices and building our image. All our filmmakers need to do is the due diligence.
What stories should people see and how can they be told in terms of the central Nollywood narrative?
