Abimbola Fashola Condemns Nollywood's Image of Women
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Farayiola
Jul 9, 2010, 4:41:51 AM7/9/10
to USA Africa Dialogue Series
Abimbola Fashola Condemns Nollywood's Image of Women
The First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, has joined other
Nigerians to condemn the exploitation of women in Nollywood. She
therefore wants an improvement on the prevalent themes in our movies.
Mrs. Fashola’s call to "do something about this in the near future"
set the pace for the series of sessions at the first African Women in
Film Forum (WIFF), at the Colonades Hotel, in Ikoyi, Lagos on the 17th
of June, 2010.
Convened by the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) and organized by
the Lufodo Academy of the Performing Arts (LAPA), the two-day event
brought together practitioners from within the industry and members of
the academia as discussants in various sessions of the programme.
Zimbabwean film maker and writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga, a highly
anticipated discussant at the forum, was unavoidably absent.
Other foreign based speakers in attendance were Dr. Abena Busia who
delivered the lead presentation; Akin Omotoso South (Africa based
filmmaker); as well as Bunmi Oyinsan and Nollywood scholar Onookome
Okome (both based in Canada).
The various discussants during the two- day forum included Tunde
Kelani, Mahmoud Ali-Balogun, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Emem Isong, Amaka
Igwe, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Biodun Ibitola, Omoni Oboli, Dakore
Egbuson, Reuben Abati, Funmi Iyanda, Iretiola Doyle and Emma Isikaku.
Also in attendance were Nollywood stars such as Chioma Chukwuka, Bimbo
Manuel, Uche Mac-Auley, Monalisa Chinda, Saheed Balogun, Rose Odika,
Carol King, Ego Boyo and Dupe Jaiyesimi.
In a paper titled 'Women and the Dynamics of Representation', Dr.
Abena Busia called for proper representation of women in Nigerian
movies saying, "There is a need to redress the discrepancies about how
we are seen.
We should never underestimate the differences between how we are seen
and how we see ourselves because when it becomes abuse, we fight."
The First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, has joined other
Nigerians to condemn the exploitation of women in Nollywood. She
therefore wants an improvement on the prevalent themes in our movies.
Mrs. Fashola’s call to "do something about this in the near future"
set the pace for the series of sessions at the first African Women in
Film Forum (WIFF), at the Colonades Hotel, in Ikoyi, Lagos on the 17th
of June, 2010.
Convened by the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) and organized by
the Lufodo Academy of the Performing Arts (LAPA), the two-day event
brought together practitioners from within the industry and members of
the academia as discussants in various sessions of the programme.
Zimbabwean film maker and writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga, a highly
anticipated discussant at the forum, was unavoidably absent.
Other foreign based speakers in attendance were Dr. Abena Busia who
delivered the lead presentation; Akin Omotoso South (Africa based
filmmaker); as well as Bunmi Oyinsan and Nollywood scholar Onookome
Okome (both based in Canada).
The various discussants during the two- day forum included Tunde
Kelani, Mahmoud Ali-Balogun, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Emem Isong, Amaka
Igwe, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Biodun Ibitola, Omoni Oboli, Dakore
Egbuson, Reuben Abati, Funmi Iyanda, Iretiola Doyle and Emma Isikaku.
Also in attendance were Nollywood stars such as Chioma Chukwuka, Bimbo
Manuel, Uche Mac-Auley, Monalisa Chinda, Saheed Balogun, Rose Odika,
Carol King, Ego Boyo and Dupe Jaiyesimi.
In a paper titled 'Women and the Dynamics of Representation', Dr.
Abena Busia called for proper representation of women in Nigerian
movies saying, "There is a need to redress the discrepancies about how
we are seen.
We should never underestimate the differences between how we are seen
and how we see ourselves because when it becomes abuse, we fight."
kenneth harrow
Jul 10, 2010, 1:40:12 PM7/10/10
to usaafric...@googlegroups.com
i once had a student who objected to the ending of Things Fall Apart
becausse okonkwo committed suicide. what kind of a model was that?
the achebian answer to this is well known: we create literature not
so as to promulgate only positive, and ultimately anodyne images, but
so as to push our possibilities. for achebe, the possibility was an
african humanity not limited to colonial images--not the noble
savage, not the evil native.
we all push in different ways: i cannot say i am crazy about the
current craze for zombie movies; i cannot say i would embrace
District 9 with its reprehensible images of nigerians; i cannot say i
place value on the ideological patterns that underlie hollywoodian films.
but i would not censor them
i would critique them; argue with them; not prohibit them.
the power of the state is ultimately more to be feared than that of
the independent nollywoodian producer and director.
much more could be said about this in terms of the history of cinema
and representation of black people in the united states; the efforts
at censorship wrote out black roles for the better part of half a
century. instead of negative roles, there were no roles of
significance until harry belafonte and sidney poitier came along in the 1950s.
nollywood directors have been trying to avoid dependency on the
state, including its call for positive images. they are generating
popular imaginary works, filled with millions of things we could and
should critique. but not shut down.
ken
becausse okonkwo committed suicide. what kind of a model was that?
the achebian answer to this is well known: we create literature not
so as to promulgate only positive, and ultimately anodyne images, but
so as to push our possibilities. for achebe, the possibility was an
african humanity not limited to colonial images--not the noble
savage, not the evil native.
we all push in different ways: i cannot say i am crazy about the
current craze for zombie movies; i cannot say i would embrace
District 9 with its reprehensible images of nigerians; i cannot say i
place value on the ideological patterns that underlie hollywoodian films.
but i would not censor them
i would critique them; argue with them; not prohibit them.
the power of the state is ultimately more to be feared than that of
the independent nollywoodian producer and director.
much more could be said about this in terms of the history of cinema
and representation of black people in the united states; the efforts
at censorship wrote out black roles for the better part of half a
century. instead of negative roles, there were no roles of
significance until harry belafonte and sidney poitier came along in the 1950s.
nollywood directors have been trying to avoid dependency on the
state, including its call for positive images. they are generating
popular imaginary works, filled with millions of things we could and
should critique. but not shut down.
ken
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Kenneth W. Harrow
Distinguished Professor of English
Michigan State University
har...@msu.edu
517 803-8839
fax 517 353 3755
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