NOLLYWOOD: PRETENTIOUS CRITICISM BY NIGERIANS

I don’t mean to act the devil’s advocate but I don’t think I can stand silent on this issue. I have had to read opinions and articles on how our beloved Nollywood is gradually turning into Pornywood according to some quarters. When I saw this, the first question that came to my mind was what exactly defines porn in the average Nigerian’s mind? I have been unable to get a satisfying to this question because all I seem to get are answers coming from close-minded people.

First the issue of the intensity of movies being released these days have been raised. Many people are of the opinion that most of these movies contain too many pornographic looking scenes with maybe the characters (actors and actresses) in the movies going to deep in romantic scenes. I am perplexed at what exactly Nigerians want because in times past I have been bombarded with complains about how movies in Nollywood are so unrealistic. I can still recall vividly as if it were yesterday when one of my friends complained that Nollywood presents couples who barely kiss or touch in movies and expect us to believe they are in love. Now we get such things and we cry out that the movies are set out to corrupt the society.

This brings me to my next issue, which society is being corrupted? The already corrupted society with little or no more respect for traditional institutions or value for customs and traditions. After all, it is the traditions of our people that the pretentious critics claim they are fighting for. A good population of the youths watched such movies like ‘Spartacus’, ‘True Blood’, and some others to mention but a few. These series movies all contained explicit nude scenes in them and I don’t hear any word of complain from anybody about it. Rather they received such raving reviews and acceptance by the public that complaints about such movies like ‘Dirty Secret’ and ‘Strippers in Love’ only portrays us as a two-faced society. The criticism that met ‘Strippers in Love’ for example was so high that some media channels even went as far as taking clips from the movie where one of the actress, Tonto Dikeh was kissing another girl and presented it in such a way to make the actress look like a lesbian.

Nobody complains about the way some so called celebrities dress for red carpet events where the females have more than a good portion of their breasts out and some other unmentionables. They are glamorized on the front pages of magazines and we have television shows dedicated to who looked the best. Tell me the decency in all of this? Then this same people bring it to our television screens and we raise up feeble protests of decency; who really are we deceiving? I am therefore irritated about arguments of decency in a society where we accept immorality to some parts and then complain if it seems to come too close to home.

Another favourite complain about Nollywood is the lack of depth of mostof the movies but it is without saying that this problem is in every movie industry including everybody’s favourite Hollywood. I have seen more than enough movies about shootings and bombings, rescue missions, rival clash and love to last me a lifetime released in Hollywood but what makes up for the lapses and shortcomings they may seem to have is the technology and good acting which is what I will tell Nollywood to work on. Give some of the old timers a break and give fresh blood to show what they have got. Yes the society is made of humans and we sure can get tired of seeing Ramsey Nouah in a lover boy’s role or Jim Iyke as a bad boy. However, as hard as the people that make up the industry try, Nigerians are ever ready to tear down everything national. This in its own way also affects the productivity of this people which is one thing many people don’t seem to realize.

Like I earlier stated, in don’t mean to be Nollywood’s advocate, rather the essence of this write up is to call on Nigerians to be real in their criticism of the  movie industry. Let us come up with constructive criticism that will help to build the industry up and not trivial issues in which most people are perpetrators themselves. Lets come up with tangible solutions; you want a movie that has depth, meaning and good acting, then let those that are good scriptwriters write good scripts instead of sitting back and finding it easier to point accusing fingers. Nothing can be done through complains and baseless criticism without no action to back it up.