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Diplomarbeit DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit “(Video)Film in Africa and its relevance for development: the Nigerian film production industry as a case study” Verfasserin Julia Margarethe Krojer angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra (Mag.) Wien, April 2011 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 057 390 Studienrichtung lt. Zulassungsbescheid: Individuelles Diplomstudium Internationale Entwicklung Betreuerin: Mag. Dr. Birgit Englert My special thanks go to Dr. Foluke Ogunleye, who enabled my research, for her commitment, contacts and support in Nigeria, and to all members of staff from the Department of Dramatic Arts, Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who supported me greatly with their input, ideas and explanations. I would also like to express my gratitude to all of my interviewees for their time and the information given on film. Furthermore, my sincere thanks to Tunde Kelani for his interview and discussion on his film Arugbá. I am additionally grateful to my supervisor Birgit Englert, for her input, suggestions, support, and for our productive discussions. A big thank you goes to my hosts in Nigeria, Omotayo Fakayode in Ile Ife and Raphael Oloke in Lagos, for always making me very welcome in their homes and for their varied assistance. ESE PUPO! I would also like to thank all my relatives, flatmates and friends, who have endured my ups and downs throughout this process, as well as for their critiques and assistance with everything. The biggest DANKESCHÖN goes to my parents and my sister for always being there for me. Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. The geographic, economic, political and social background of Nigeria ................ 2 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................. 5 3. Theories ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.1. Popular Culture ....................................................................................................... 9 3.2. Entertainment-Education ...................................................................................... 13 3.2.1. Definition of Terms ....................................................................................... 16 3.2.2. History ........................................................................................................... 17 3.2.3. Challenges of Entertainment-Education ........................................................ 18 4. The Nigerian Film Industry ...................................................................................... 21 4.1. From celluloid to video format ............................................................................. 21 4.2. How free are Nigerian film-makers? .................................................................... 25 4.3. Different types of film and genres ........................................................................ 32 4.3.1. Entertainment ................................................................................................ 32 4.3.2. Documentaries ............................................................................................... 34 4.3.3. Edutainment .................................................................................................. 35 4.4. Differences between the film pioneers Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa ......................... 37 4.4.1. Yoruba (from theatre to film) ........................................................................ 38 4.4.2. Igbo ................................................................................................................ 40 4.4.3. Hausa ............................................................................................................. 42 4.5. Languages and Translation ................................................................................... 44 4.6. The Name “Nollywood” ....................................................................................... 46 5. Critical Analysis of Arugbá ....................................................................................... 49 5.1. The director ........................................................................................................... 49 5.2. The film ................................................................................................................ 50 5.2.1. Content ......................................................................................................... 51 5.2.2. Exhibition form ............................................................................................. 52 5.2.3. Narrative form ............................................................................................... 53 5.3. Techniques ............................................................................................................ 61 5.3.1. Mise-en-scène ................................................................................................ 61 5.3.2. Cinematography and editing ......................................................................... 68 5.3.3. Sound in the film ........................................................................................... 71 6. Interpretation ............................................................................................................. 72 6.1. HIV/AIDS ............................................................................................................. 73 6.2. Other aspects for social and political awareness .................................................. 82 7. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 87 8. References ................................................................................................................... 90 9. Appendix ..................................................................................................................... 97 9.1. National Film and Video Censors Board Criteria ................................................ 97 9.2. Segmentation ........................................................................................................ 99 9.3. Glossary .............................................................................................................. 105 9.4. Zusammenfassung .............................................................................................. 111 9.5. Abstract ............................................................................................................... 112 9.6. Curriculum Vitae ................................................................................................ 114 1. Introduction The Nigerian film production industry, known outside of Nigeria as “Nollywood”, is one of the biggest film production industries in the world, alongside Hollywood in the USA and Bollywood in India. The film production industry in Nigeria has come to represent an important economic sector since the 1980s. It is also a cultural and social phenomenon. These are the issues on which I will focus in this thesis. It is a cultural and social phenomenon due to the fact that society is reflected in the films and a large proportion of the population has the opportunity to watch and understand the films as they are featured in the three main languages of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa, as well as other languages apart from English. According to Foluke Ogunleye (2007: 42), television has the advantage of being able to reach a mass audience and as a result, it is important to think about the power and possibilities of this medium. With the intervention of the eye of the camera, a “world of possibilities” will be opened up. In this way, film has the advantage of being able to communicate in a way that is understood as the truth of life (cf. Sontag 2006: 221-227). Therefore, a recovered truth is mostly demonstrated. Ogunleye (2007: 51) points out that realistic settings and topics that are close to reality in Nigerian films refer to a kind of truth. Here the question of the power of propaganda in the film medium is important because a target audience could be influenced in a positive or negative way. “Media practitioners owe the society a measure of responsibility. There has always been advocacy for freedom to express ideas through the media; but there is a need to realize that there could be an abuse of freedom.” (Ogunleye 2007: 52) How free Nigerian filmmakers are and how they deal with their responsibility is an important part of this thesis. Furthermore, the critique on Western models will be discussed in particular in terms of the title “Nollywood”. “Nollywood”, as I have already mentioned, is the name of the Nigerian film industry as it is known abroad. The people I worked with are unhappy with this title and as such, the discussion here of this title will be of particular interest. However, before I discuss these issues, an overview of popular culture in general will be given. I will introduce various definitions provided by different researchers. I do not wish to emphasise regional differences but rather to represent the discussion of popular culture and 1 how it is related to politics, as well as the role of entertainment-education within this field. Entertainment-education programs are interesting aspects in terms of social and political responsibility and awareness. Following
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