Tackling Nigeria's Image Crisis With the Aid of Popular Cinema

Abstract

Knowing whether Nollywood filmmakers are conscious of their double role as Nigeria's image makers and cultural ambassadors has always been an interesting question to ask. However, only very few empirical studies have provided a forum for answering such a question. Most of the authors who have focused on Nollywood's contribution to the Nigerian image crisis have tended to dominantly relegate Nollywood filmmakers to capitalist “videastes” who are more driven by financial gains than by the desire to build or launder the image of Nigeria. This chapter censures this myopic tendency arguing that inasmuch as Nollywood filmmakers have be contributing to the Nigerian image crisis, a good number of Nigerian film directors and producers have, in their modus operandis sought to deconstruct the negative stereotypes of Nigeria in the international scene, thereby contributing to the rebranding of Nigeria. The chapter highlights a number of ways in which Nollywood filmmakers and the Nigerian government use cinema to deconstruct the negative image of Nigeria in the international scene.