From Rituals to Films: a Case Study of the Visual Rhetoric of Igbo Culture in Nollywood Films
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FROM RITUALS TO FILMS: A CASE STUDY OF THE VISUAL RHETORIC OF IGBO CULTURE IN NOLLYWOOD FILMS By Innocent Ebere Uwah, B. Phil, B.Th, P.GD, M.A. A Thesis submitted to Dublin City University, Ireland, for the award of PhD in the Faculty of Humanities Supervisor: Dr Pat Brereton June, 2009 1 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of the PhD is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: ID No: 56113161 I.E.Uwah Date: 30th Sept, 2009. 2 ABBREVIATIONS NFVCB – National Film and Video Censors Board FESPACO – Festival Pan Africaine Du Cinema (Festival of Pan African Cinemas) FESPACI – Federation Pan Africaine Des Cineaste (Federation of African Film Makers) CFU – Colonial Film Units FU – Film Unit NFC – Nigerian Film Corporation NFDC – National Film Distribution Company IMF – International Monetary Fund WB -- World Bank SAP -- Structural Adjustment Programme DNA – Deoxyribonucleic acid COMACCO – Compagine Africaine Cinematographique Industrielle et Commerciele SECMA – Societe D’Exploitation Cinematographique Africaine AMPEC – American Motion Picture Export Company AFRAM – Afro-American Film Inc NYSC – National Youth Service Orientation 3 NTA – Nigeria Television Authority VCR – Video Cassette Recorder VHS – Video Home System VCD – Video Compact Disc DVD – Digital Versatile Disc/Digital Video Disc AU – African Union NCC -- Nigeria Copyright Commission UIS - Unesco Institute For Statistics UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization IMDB - Internet Movie Database USA - United States of America UK - United Kingdom ATR - African Traditional Religion EFCC - Economic and Financial Crimes Commission GSM - Global System of Mobile Communications FROM RITUALS TO FILMS: A CASE STUDY OF THE VISUAL RHETORIC OF IGBO CULTURE IN NOLLYWOOD FILMS Table of Contents..............................................................................................1 Chapter One 1.0 Introduction and Research Question..........................................................5 1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................5 1.2 Objectives of Research..................................................................................8 1.3 The Representations of Africa in Film.........................................................10 1.4 Implications of Study...................................................................................17 4 1.5 The Concept of Culture................................................................................18 1.6 Turner’s Ritual Process and Nollywood Films............................................19 1.7 Structure of the Study of Rituals in Nollywood ..........................................25 1.8 Chapter Conclusion......................................................................................26 Chapter Two 2.0 Nollywood and Representations.................................................................29 2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................29 2.2 Background and Emergence of Nollywood ..............................................30 2.3 Lived-in Characteristics of Nollywood Storylines........................................34 2.4 Ethnicity in Nigeria and Nollywood..............................................................38 2.5 Nollywood Aesthetics....................................................................................43 2.6 Communalistic Communications in Nollywood............................................47 2.7 Political Economy in Nollywood...................................................................53 2.8 Genres and Audiences....................................................................................59 2.9 The [Nollywood] Igbo Films........................................................................63 2.10 Chapter Conclusion......................................................................................64 Chapter Three 3.0 Reception Analysis.......................................................................................70 3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................70 3.2 Film as a Meaning-Making Site of Cultures.......................... .......................70 3.3 Reception Studies in Mainstream Cinema.....................................................73 3.4 Reception Analysis in Nollywood.................................................................79 3.5 Audiencing and Cultural Competence...........................................................86 3.6 Explicating the Visual Rhetoric of Cultures..................................................89 3.7 Chapter Conclusion........................................................................................96 Chapter Four 4.0 Research Methodologies.............................................................................99 4.1 Introduction...................................................................................................99 4.2 Methodological Framework..........................................................................99 4.2.1 Textual Analysis.......................................................................................100 4.2.2 Selection of Films......................................................................................106 4.3 Audience Primary Research...........................................................................110 4.3.1 Selection of Research Participants..............................................................112 4.3.2 Questionnaire...............................................................................................117 4.3.3 Question Guide for Students........................................................................117 4.3.4 Question Guide for Nollywood Film Actors...............................................118 4.3.5 Focus-Group Interviews..............................................................................118 4.3.6 Transcription of Data...................................................................................124 4.4 Chapter Conclusion........................................................................................125 Chapter Five 5.0 Textual Findings: Rituals in Nollywood.....................................................127 5.1 Introduction....................................................................................................127 5 5.2.1 Iri-ji Festival................................................................................................128 5.2.2 Funerals and Widowhood Rituals................................................................133 5.2.3 The Ritual of Kola nut (Ime Oji)..................................................................141 5.2.4 Symbolic Dancing and Rituals.....................................................................145 5.2.5 Ritual of Faith and Religion in Worship......................................................149 5.3 Chapter Conclusion.........................................................................................158 Chapter Six 6.0 Qualitative Findings.....................................................................................163 6.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................163 6.2 Communalism................................……………………………………….....165 6.2.1 Societal Values.............................................................................................174 6.2.2 Therapeutic and Educational Values............................................................182 6.2.3 Proximity to Storylines, Stars and Locations..............................................187 6.3 Chapter Conclusion.........................................................................................193 Chapter Seven 7.0 Culture-Conflicts..........................................................................................195 7. 1 Introduction...................................................................................................195 7.2 Negotiating Texts...........................................................................................199 7.3 Tradition versus Modernity in the Films........................................................201 7.4 Communalism and Hybridity.........................................................................206 7.5 Globalizing Nigerian [Igbo] Cultures.............................................................210 7.6 Some Flaws.....................................................................................................218 7.6.1 Largely Predictable......................................................................................219 7.6.2 Mimicking Hollywood.................................................................................221 7.6.3 Poor Quality and Editing..............................................................................222 7.6.4 Repetitive and Overly Exaggerated..............................................................224 7.7 Chapter Conclusion.........................................................................................226 Chapter Eight 8.0 Conclusion......................................................................................................228