Action! Nollywood in Cyberspace
Anietie Isong delves into the online world that supports, dissects and feeds the current boom in the Nigerian film industry.
The appellation ‘Nollywood’ has been adopted as the official title of Nigeria’s home video business. With the production of over fifty movie titles per week, the industry is fast commanding global attention, and is being seen as a great cultural contribution to the international community. The ‘Nigerian Phenomenon’, as Nollywood is sometimes called, is believed to be the third biggest film industry in the world. Analysts say it is worth over £80 million annually.
The early 21st century heralded the birth of ‘pro-Nollywood’ websites. Shrouded in anonymity, fans and critics assemble in an online forum to articulate their hopes and aspirations of the film industry. Some of the popular sites include: “Naijarules”, “Nollywood.net” and “Nairaland”. In these virtual spaces, fans are able to post ‘threads’ and replies about anything relating to Nollywood. There are moderators that monitor interaction and members have private message boxes and avatars.
In Naijarules members discuss movies in an agreed pattern. Usually, someone posts a general thread and the replies pour in. The threads could be informative, hilarious, expository or simply educative. In recent times, these are some of the most popular threads: “Movies That Came Out This Week”, “The worst Nigerian Movie You Ever Saw”, “What Nigerian Movie Have You watched More Than Once?” “Movie Scenes That Got You Rolling On The Floor”
In the thread, “Movies That Came Out This week” members inform one another of the movies that have been released. Most times, this informative thread is made active by members at home (Nigeria).
In “The Worst Nigerian Movie You Ever Saw” Naijarules members amuse one another by describing movies that are of very poor standard. The discussion borders mostly on the plot, characterization, setting, acting and location. But a particular movie that riles one member may well appeal to another.
“What Nigerian Movie Have You watched More Than Once?” Here members talk freely about the movies that they cherish. Reasons for choosing a particular movie are also given.
In the thread, “Movie Scenes That Got You Rolling on the Floor”, members reveal scenes that they found hilarious. Someone makes reference to a scene in the movie "One Dollar", where actor Jim Iyke gave his father in law a slap and the man replied, "That is an American slap". Another member also refers to a funny scene in “Aki n' Ukwa”, where the major character, Chinedu was caught stealing meat from a pot.
The internet has been seen as a veritable arena for social interaction, and a market place of some sorts. Members of online communities have tapped the advantage of this new medium to entertain, educate and inform one another about the home video industry that is Nollywood.