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Formalizing Nollywood: Gentrification in the Contemporary Nigerian Film Industry

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Formalizing Nollywood: Gentrification in the Contemporary Nigerian Film Industry FORMALIZING NOLLYWOOD: GENTRIFICATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN FILM INDUSTRY. EZINNE IGWE A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Birmingham City University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. June, 2018. Birmingham School of Media, The Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the help and support of some important persons without whom this thesis wouldn’t have been possible. I will start by thanking and blessing God my maker for all blessings, resilience and grace. I am not without Him. While I was rounding up my Master’s study at the University of Birmingham, Ozlington recommended Birmingham City University for my PhD. Following his advice remains one of my best decisions in life. I am very grateful for having the right people in my way at all times. Thank you to my supervisory team who assessed me and saw the potential: John Mercer, Oliver Carter and Ayo Oyeleye who left on sabbatical leave. John Mercer’s support as supervisor was invaluable. Although busy with many responsibilities, he found time to provide feedback, offer suggestions and research into new fields. Oliver Carter remains exceptional – patient, persistent, supportive, empathetic and most importantly, generous with his time – providing feedback on the minutest detail. I appreciate John and Oliver for boosting my confidence, looking out for me, supporting me through challenging periods in the course of this study and helping direct my proposal and research into what it now is. I wish to acknowledge Jacqueline Taylor for making this PhD journey interesting with the ADM PhD mentoring scheme. I extend my gratitude to Khulod Mohammed and Sarah Raine for their friendship and times spent together and the valuable pieces of advice they offered. To those interviewed for my study, friends who opened their doors to me, filmmakers who allowed me on their set, bodies that let me into their meetings, this would not have been possible without you. Thank you. Thank you to the University of Nigeria for making this dream come through by offering me sponsorship. Thank you to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the scheme that made this sponsorship possible. I say thank you to the entire Igwe’s family for all the love, prayers and support. To Ezepue’s family I say thank you immensely for being such a blessing and for giving me reason to laugh even in hard times. And finally, saving the best for the last, thanks to my loving husband, Ikechukwu Snr and son, Ikechukwu Jnr who arrived just at the perfect time. ii ABSTRACT Formalizing Nollywood: Gentrification in the Contemporary Nigerian Film Industry. Ezinne Michaelia Igwe A thesis submitted for the degree of PhD Birmingham City University 2018 Supervisor: John Mercer Director of Studies: Oliver Carter This study investigates transformations in the Nigerian film industry, focusing specifically on a segment of the industry known as Nollywood. Typically characterized as an informal industry due to its low budgets and unofficial modes of distribution, Nollywood is regularly referred to as a success story, accounting for $7.2 billion (1.42%) of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Because of this success, the Nigerian government, under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration (2010-2015), introduced various mechanisms to formalize and economize Nollywood in the quest to maximize its potentials and diversify the Nigerian economy. This endeavour availed the industry of film fund, professional training and enhanced distribution. My study focuses on this specific area, addressing wider issues of debate relating to how countries seek to economically benefit from their film economies and the role policy plays in the formalization of film industries. Existing studies on Nollywood have concentrated on a point in the evolution of the industry, an era now labelled the old Nollywood. Whole studies on political economic matters, national cinema discourses and individual and corporate efforts and motivation towards these transformations remain lacking. In this study, I examine as gentrification the efforts of the state, corporate organizations and individuals to transform Nollywood. Adopted from urban studies, gentrification is applied figuratively to examine the motivations propelling these transformations in order to determine its implications for the industry and the industry players. I draw on primary data sourced using a method I term econo-ethnography that combines forms of ethnography, economic base theory and political economy analysis. This data is interrogated using a theoretical framework that incorporates literature from the fields of political economy, gentrification and national cinema, the intention being to understand the development of evolving film economies, particularly Nollywood. I argue that with the right policies, sustained state and corporate support, Nollywood would be gentrified. However, this attempt to gentrify Nollywood impacts on the economic processes of the industry as well as the practices of the industry players. I find that with deep-rooted informality, inefficiencies in policymaking and implementation and sporadic nature of state support, gentrification will further sector Nollywood creating new and varied opportunities for filmmakers, distributors and consumers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………1 1. Political Economy and the Media Industry …………………………………………........8 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………….....8 1.1 Political Economy …………………………………………………………….....9 1.2 Political Economy of the Media ………………………………………………..15 1.3 Approaching Film Industries ……………………………………………….......23 1.4 Political Economy of the Nigerian Film Industry ………………………….......33 1.5 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….......41 2. Gentrification and the Media Industry ………………………………………………….43 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….......44 2.1 The Concept of Gentrification …………………………………………………45 2.2 The Political Economy of Gentrification …………………………………........51 2.3 Gentrification in the Media …………………………………………………….57 2.4 Gentrifying Nollywood? ……………………………………………………….64 2.5 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………...69 3. Towards a National Cinema ……………………………………………………………...72 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...72 3.1 The Concept of National Cinema ……………………………………………....73 3.2 Cinema in Nigeria ……………………………………………………………....83 3.3 The Nigerian National Cinema ……………………………………………....…89 3.4 Nollywood: Form and Boundary ………………………………………….........94 3.5 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………...98 4. Econo-Ethnography: Researching Nollywood’s Political Economy …………………..100 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………..100 4.1 Researching the Nigerian Cinema …………………………………………..…102 4.2 Defining Econo-ethnography …………………………………………….........104 4.3 Data Collection and Interpretation: Doing Econo-ethnography …………….....112 4.3.1 Setting ……………………………………………………………….....115 4.3.2 Research Participants ………………………………………………......117 4.3.3 Observation ………………………………………………………..…...118 4.3.4 Data Interpretation and Writing ………………………………..............120 4.4 Ethical Considerations ……………………………………………………........123 4.5 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………......125 5. Nollywood in the Contemporary Nigerian Film Industry: Current Debates ..……......128 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...128 5:1 Old Nollywood in Context ………………………………………………..........129 5.1.1 Old Nollywood: Production, Distribution and Consumption ………….132 5:2 The New Nollywood in Context …………………………………………….....141 5.2.1 New Nollywood: Production, Distribution and Consumption ……........144 5:3 Old or New: Restructuring Nollywood? …………………………………….....150 5:4 Crippled Cinema of a Crippled Nation? ……………………………………….155 5.5 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………......160 iv 6. Structure and Power Struggles in Contemporary Nollywood …………………...…….163 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...163 6:1 The Transforming Face of an Informal Industry ……………………………....164 6:2 MOPICON: Bail Out or Hindrance? ………………………………………......171 6.2.1 Structure …………………………………………………………….....176 6.2.2 State Involvement …………………………………………………......177 6.2.3 Bill Content ……………………………………………………………181 6:3 State/Corporate Financing: A Step Towards Sustained Regeneration ………...186 6.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………...…...192 7. From Living in Bondage to Queen Amina: A Gentrification of Nollywood? ……….…194 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...194 7.1 Re-Evaluating the Nigerian Video Industry …………………………………...195 7.1.1 Hollywood …………………………………………………………......197 7.1.2 Technology …………………………………………………………….199 7.1.3 Film Schools …………...………………………………………………200 7.1.4 State & Corporate Bodies ……………………………………………...202 7.1.5 Publicity & Distribution …………………………………………….…203 7.2 Living in Bondage and Queen Amina: Stylistic Discourse ………..…………..205 7.2.1 From Living in Bondage to Queen Amina: Practices of Distinction …………209 7:3 From Old to New Nollywood: Displacement and Sectoring? ………………....217 7.4 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………..223 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………....226 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………….……231 Interviews ………………………………………………………………………………..…252 Filmography ……………………………………………………………………………..…253 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………..…….255 v vi INTRODUCTION This study investigates transformations that in recent times, have been reshaping Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry typically defined as an informal, “shadow economy of cinema” (Lobato, 2012:1). The Nigerian film industry is made up of several segments producing
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