An Open Letter to Prof. Dora Akunyili – Nigeria’s Information and Communications Minister - by Oliver O. Mbamara, Esq.,

Negative Depiction of Nollywood / Nigeria on Time.com – A Test Case for Rebranding

"There are other books, films and fair pictorial depictions coming out of Nollywood, why would Prestel Publishing, and Time.com choose the most negative and shocking pictures made up by Pieter Hugo? That is not what Nollywood is about..."

Your Excellency,

My attention and that of some other Nigerians have been drawn to a collection of dark negative disturbing pictures by a so called photographer in the name of Pieter Hugo, in a book titled “Nollywood” published by Prestel Publishing and freely published online by Time.com.

That is not Nollywood
It is very sad that even in this age and time, some western writers, photographers and publishing houses are bent on propagating negative stereotypes and dark imagery about Africa and in this case, Nigeria which happens to be pioneering a new age resurgence of African creativity through films. The pictures in question are so disturbing that even many Nigerians including the filmmakers in Nigeria find such depiction nauseating and intolerable. Even if such depictions were used in any films in Nigeria (Nollywood), the percentage of such depiction would certainly be in the very minority. That is not what Nollywood is about, period.

On September 28, 2009, Oprah Winfrey featured a clip about Nigeria’s popular actress, Genevieve Nnaji in Oprah’s “Famous peoples of the world” program alongside Bollywood’s top celebrity couple and popular Chinese talk-show host, Lulu. The next day we wake up to this dastard depiction on Time.com (partners with CNN) of our rising Nollywood industry as barbaric, devilish, and dark. A direct misrepresentation of Nollywood and a lowly classless blow that is reminiscent of the past days of Western propaganda against Africa and the kind of misrepresentations that were made about Africans centuries ago to justify trans-Atlantic slavery.

Many Nigerians have been shocked and baffled by these pictures and they have wondered what else Pieter Hugo has included in the book in question even though with these pictures it would not be hard to imagine. Yet, many Nigerians wonder – is Pieter Hugo in it for the money and the cheap fame or for something else? They also worry if Prestel Publishing took up the publishing of this book because of the money and cheap sales that such shocking pictures would garner? And then we wonder why Time.com would publish such pictures. Did Time.com bother to check the background and intentions of the photographer or is this a staff photographer?

There are other books, films and fair pictorial depictions coming out of Nollywood, why would Prestel Publishing, and Time.com choose the most negative and shocking pictures made up by Pieter Hugo?

Lies, Deception, and Character:
Yes, I said “made up” because in its description of the collection of negative pictures, Time.com says: “To create these images, photographer Hugo asked teams of actors and assistants to re-create Nollywood myths and symbols as if they were on movie sets.” This statement confirms that these pictures were not even taken on real Nollywood movie sets. People were convinced or tricked into devilishly making themselves up to take these pictures. Although this raises questions about the gullible nature and character of “some” of our people who sometimes easily agree to things even detrimental to their image and integrity when enticed by the likes of such strangers as Pieter Hugo but that will be a topic for another time.

To cement the lies, the descriptive notes of these pictures on Time.com go ahead to say “Many of the movies are produced and marketed within the space of a week.” Lord have mercy! It does not take a smart person or even a filmmaker to know that it is impossible to produce and market a film in a week. How could one audition, cast, rehearse, shoot, edit, finalize, market and release a feature movie within a week? Why such blatant lies?

Proof:
Agreed some Nollywood movies have been done in very short duration but that actually attests to the creativity of these filmmakers considering that they work with very low budget and under very stringent conditions which sometimes compel them to work very fast – but of course, not in a week. This is not a defense of the practice but an acknowledgement of fact. Yes, some of these films may have depictions of dark image and while we continue to call on such filmmakers to brighten their approach, we have to acknowledge that such filmmakers belong in the very minority (category).

There are many African filmmakers who have made very good movies with positive stories, didactic plots, bright pictures, and uplifting conclusions. While I may not have the first hand authority to speak for every Nigerian filmmaker, I have my own works and experience to attest to as credible facts that contradict the submissions of Pieter Hugo. I am a filmmaker and have shot a number of films in Nollywood/Nigeria’s film industry. My latest film was shot last year mostly in Nigeria and it took a year to be edited and completed before its recent release. Before that, I had shot an epic film also in Nigeria and the post-production took a year before the movie was released. And even though the story of the epic movie was about the slave trade era in the 17th century, no image in the entire film was anything close to the gloom and darkness depicted by Pieter Hugo, in the said book insultingly titled “Nollywood,” published by Prestel Publishing and freely published online by Time.com.

What Intentions?
One cannot help but wonder about the intentions of a photographer who goes to Nigeria to convince people to pose in dark costumes and bloody make-up treatments and then come to a world-wide reaching outlet like Time.com to publish such misrepresentation of Nollywood, the fast growing Nigerian film industry. These Nigerians should be contacted to know if they were tricked into submitting to such humiliating pictures.

If Pieter Hugo, Prestel publishing, and Time.com have any iota of good intentions, they would have at least shown equal number of positive pictures depicting beautiful Nigerians, costumes, locations, and more. Even if they have any axe to grind with Nigerians, couldn’t common sense have at least allowed them to put up a few positives to somewhat balance or dilute their extreme negative position about Nollywood? Of course they were too eager to propagate such dark images that they threw common sense and caution to the wind. If not, did they ever think of the damage they would be causing the industry? Did they pause to question the intentions of the photographer?

What to gain:
I am not sure what the perpetrators of this propaganda against Nigeria stand to gain apart from some sleazy sales money and cheap publicity. Is this an outright intention to stifle something positive coming from Africa? Are they unhappy about the fact that Nollywood/Nigeria is ranked third largest filmmaking industry in the world? Are they afraid that other African nations like Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda are jumping on board the African filmmaking phenomenon, providing jobs for many who would have been unemployed, as well as telling their stories through their films? What do they stand to gain? Who are the sponsors? This whole thing is so outrageous that it smacks of a smear campaign against the image of Nigeria and the growing film industry – Nollywood. This piece humbly urges your Ministry on behalf of the Nigerian government to investigate these concerns.

Action:
I know many Nigerians have read this piece and probably cried about the lies and negativism but still moved on with their lives, believing that Time.com is too big to challenge or that it is just another remnant of negative media and Western imperialism against Africa (Nigeria in this case). But how long are we going to stand aside and watch while these negative imageries and smudge are lobbed at our people and our growing movie industry. Your Excellency, in the spirit of your rebranding Nigeria campaign, the Nigerian people would want to see some action against this type of negative media and propaganda attempting to drag Nigeria’s image to the mud. Pieter Hugo, Prestel publishing, and Time.com all have to apologize to Nollywood and the Nigerian people in general while the so called book “Nollywood” has to be discontinued or the dark pictures purged.

This is obviously an attempt to stifle the effort of Nollywood to thrive and thereby halt the lift Nigeria and Africa would thereby have enjoyed. While I continue to believe that rebranding Nigeria needs to start at the top, this Time.com photo publication is a blow and drawback to the good intentions of your rebranding Nigeria campaign. Nevertheless, this offers your Excellency an opportunity to show the efficacy of your rebranding campaign. To let this thrive is to give room for more of such trash to be thrown against Nigerians and Africans in general. I am certain your Excellency agrees that enough is enough!

 

About the Author: Oliver O. Mbamara, Esq., is a filmmaker, director, and freelance writer. He is also a judge with New York State, OAH.

©September/October  2009 Oliver Mbamara

 

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