IGBO CULTURE IN NOLLYWOOD FILMS AND THE PROBLEM OF CONCEPTUALIZATION OF IGBO IDENTITY IN DIASPORA COMMUNITIES

Abstract

There exists today a thriving Nollywood entertainment enterprise whose patronage spans Nigerian geographical space. In most of the Nollywood films, one notices indepth innovativeness in both thematic and artistic excellence and relevance, particularly issues that express the Nigerian/African culture and experience. Films embellished with the cultural practices of the locale in which they are set, as it is the case with Nollywood Igbo films could, apart from their entertainment value, also be veritable means of cultural transmission to the younger generation, particularly to those in diaspora communities. Nollywood films set in Igbo society are largely consumed outside Igbo homeland. The implication, therefore, is that when the diasporic Igbo youths/children who have had no contact with Igbo culture, or non- Igbo consumers, watch such films, they are likely to see whatever is portrayed as the culture of the people as true reflection of what obtains in the Igbo society. Such assumption may be misleading as a good deal of the traits some of the films ascribe to the Igbo tends towards misrepresentation of, or is inconsistent with, the Igbo culture and identity due to elements of conscious or unconscious culture corruption in the films. Existing critical studies on Nollywood films focus mainly on their sociological relevance or their function as cultural index, with none seemingly paying attention to the distortion and corruption of Igbo cultural practices in the films and the implications for the uninformed consumers. It is against this background that this paper interrogates the representation of the Igbo world in some Nollywood films. Through random sampling, the paper selects, for illustrative purposes, five works considered to be representative of such Nollywood Igbo films and explores their content to expose the actions, incidents or episodes that are not in tandem with Igbo culture and, therefore, present negative picture of the Igbo society. The study is largely expository and analytical with the five selected works providing the essential primary data. The findings of this study would place certain Igbo cultural issues in proper perspective and disabuse consumers of the misrepresentations and misconceptions occasioned by the production of such films.