Taking its place as the second largest film industry globally, Nollywood, unfortunately, still has a lot to learn.
Compared to old school Nollywood, new school Nollywood has seen several changes, many good, others not so good.
With the growing interest of global streaming platforms and productions in the Nigerian film industry, budgets have increased, and the audience pool has grown even larger.
BUT! Some recurring themes find their way into Nollywood, which we honestly would rather stop seeing every time we pick out a Nigerian film to watch:
- Not every film needs an outrageous display of affluence:
Do you know what’s ironic? Watching flamboyant displays of wealth in almost every Nigerian film when more than 82 million Nigerians live on less than $1 dollar a day.
With $ fast rising into the 700s and used Toyota Camry cars costing x2 of their former prices, things are hard and painting them differently doesn’t take away this reality.
Before you argue that it’s just a film, it becomes a problem when every single film has the same “rich Lagosians” but with different characters. We want to see a typical Lagos party, but Nigerians know how to party on a budget, so give us something realistic sometimes, throw us a bone, and we wouldn’t mind.
- Not every film needs a part 2:
Many people would agree that once a film gets a second part, it somehow belittles the awesomeness that the first film brought. Think of it this way; some stories are better left unsaid and questions left unanswered.
The unsaid parts of any film are usually the best for film lovers who like a challenge and those who love to tell their own stories. For instance, Marvel won’t tell us why earth suddenly has hands sticking out of it but prefers fans to start up their conspiracies.
In conclusion, all we’re saying is to leave a good ending without a spin-off.
- The same actors:
On one hand, we can name the cast of any Nollywood film before the producers share the cast list because they cast the same people.
We know the “bad boys” and “bad girls,” and we can also correctly guess who “chief” would be just from the film’s plot.
Leave some element of surprise, please.
- Same scriptwriters & plots:
Same as above, and this time pay them well. Getting affordable work done to cut budget costs throws even the best of plots out of focus.
- Finally, strangled creativity:
Creativity never runs out, and there’s always someone somewhere with fresh ideas on how to make things better.
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
