Is Nollywood the new national cake?

Whenever I listen to Nigerians debate any issue, I see the two sides of Fela's personality and the pitfalls that the late erudite scholar Professor Tejumola Olaniyan described as “charming and repellent pedestrianism.” His charming pedestrianism, Olaniyan argues, allowed him to distill salient truth and complex ideas into everyday language and commonsense that is comprehensible, accessible, and relatable to the masses. On the other hand, his repellent pedestrianism made him oversimplify and, in the process, demystify himself, thus revealing his astonishing ignorance and gross pedestrianism.

Not long ago, when Nigerians debated who “started” Nollywood, I saw the repellent pedestrianism. As Nigeria went at it the way we do on any subject, the history of screen media, and specifically Nollywood, soon became imbricated in ethnicity and divisive politics as all tribes lay claim to it. I asked myself if Nollywood was now the new national cake, as it seemed everyone was claiming ownership.

I even saw someone write that Herbert Ogunde started Nollywood. Even some intellectuals who ought to be able to say, ‘Thank you for the question; I am sorry, it is outside of my expertise’ like I do when people ask me questions about 13th-century Asian medicine when I am talking about celebrity culture at a conference or guest lecture were revealing their own repellent pedestrianism.

Thankfully, I refrain from making a post about this since someone who knows the history of the compelling yet complex industry that is screen media in Nigeria and, by extension, Africa has done it in his very riveting book.

It gives me great pleasure to present my review of Matthew H. Brown's Indirect Subjects: Nollywood's Local Address. Duke University Press, 2021.

The author shows, among others, the neoliberal and colonial roots of Nigeria's screen media and, by extension, Nollywood. Brown explores the cultural economy that undergirds Nigeria's screen media, its mode of address, and how it addresses spectators on different subjects such as gender, nation, wealth, and development.

While sharing the review, I am thankful to the Lagos Studies Association (LSA) and its leadership for their vital work in bringing authors and books about the country and the continent to their conference that enrich scholarly insight, advance scholarship, and address knowledge gaps.

Posted on Facebook on  December 5, 2023

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