Between traditional Christian theology and moral parables of African popular films: Communicating gospel values contextually

No Abstrac

From rituals to films: a case study of the visual rhetoric of Igbo culture in Nolywood films

Many reasons have been advanced as to why the video film industry in Nigeria has been so successful financially and in building loyal audiences among Africans around the world. The present thesis argues that Nollywood films help to provide a time and a place for resolving deep-felt tensions in an increasingly modern world while affirming an authentic African [Igbo] identity. The way contemporary video films are produced brings these films close to the dominant emotional and identity questions posed by the Igbos, Nigerians and Africans alike. Particularly in Nigeria, the Nollywood film industry has brought familiar symbolic rituals of cultures on to the screen for audiences’ pleasure. Exploring the recurrent themes of these films raises consciousness about Nollywood as a new and special site where cultures are generated and regenerated. Here, major questions of values and meanings of life are explored, which raise awareness of the Igbo’s journey as a people. This thesis uses textual analysis as well as indigenous audience focus-group analysis to explore cultural representations in Nollywood. A wide range of participants were interviewed in the eight focus-group sessions that were conducted. Two in-depth interview sessions were also carried out on some Nollywood actors. Broadly, this research objectives were: • to identify a conceptual framework for understanding the culture of Africa and Nigeria, in particular, using the concept of ‘communalism’. • to determine the range of reception and consumption modalities of Nollywood products in Nigeria by means of focus-group interviews. • to explore the impact of Nollywood as an industry in the wake of globalization and in the context of current global trends. In pursuing these goals, this study looked at selected key films including, Things Fall Apart (1986), Coronation (2004), Bless Me (2005), Igodo: The Land of the Living Dead (1999), Living in Bondage (1992), My Best Friend (2003), Oil Village (2001), Widow (2007), Last Ofala (2002), Fool at 40 (2006), Festival of Fire (1999) and a lot more as listed in this study’s filmography. At the end this research found that the experience of Nollywood films is something of a centripetal process of communication for the Igbo and Nigerian viewers who believe that these texts help build their societies, culturally from below

The iconography of belligerent atrocities in Nigeria and Nollywood video-films

No Abstrac

Between Traditional Christian Theology and Moral Parables of African Popular Films: Communicating Gospel Values Contextually

The assumption that films are works of arts that basically create illusion of realities can sometimes be misleading. Like every other communication tool in human history, they do not only interrogate the society but also chart its course as moral compasses leading to self reflection and conscience formation. Thus, they are at times theological communications salvaging the dark themes of human existence with integrating symbols and dramatic parables imbued with didactic narratives that challenge the epistemic ambivalences of traditional theologies. In this chapter that explores the interface between filmic parables and traditional Christian theology, the thrust is to showcase how African cinematic representations resonate with audiences contextually in a fusion of communion and communication that questions the critical faith statements and dogmatic doctrines of theological taxonomies in the presence of people’s everyday hardships. Thus by textualising key scenes in films like Cry Freedom (1987), Act of Faith (2008) and Onyebuchim (2010) this paper reviews the challenges of pastoral and theological communications in Africa and beyond; while calling for revolutionalised demonstration of the ‘search for values’ around cultural meanings.Key Words: Christian theology, Moral parables, Popular films, Communications and Context