Abstract

Since its emergence at the turn of the twentyfirst century, the Nigerian movie industryNollywood has had a profound influence on African culture. The Nigerian accents,style of dress, and behavioral idiosyncrasies, all of which are distinctly Nigeria, are now being transmitted as images around the globe. The medium of film has come to bedirectly associated with the culture industry. In Nigeria such a role for the film industry isstill evolving. However, certain factors are altering the profile of what could be regardedas the countrys culture, while the film industry itself is undergoing a crucial transition.The corpus of songs and oral literature, festivals, rituals, the traditional religion, performing arts, music, dance, and indeed, the entire range of artifacts constitutingtraditional oral performance of Nigerian culture are represented in Nigerian movies1.1.Introduction

This work highlights the Nigerian movie industry and demonstrates how itimpacts and influences African culture. We are often reminded that film is a powerfulmedium of entertainment and the transmission of cultural values Orewere, p.206. Inthis study, Nigerian films will be viewed through a relevant theoretical framework deeplyrooted in Nigerian cultural traditions and social texts and a comprehensive methodologythat focuses on the intervening mediations between community life and representation.Cultures are the creation of human interaction. Culture is something we learn; weare not born with it. He writes that changes in human society reflect the dynamism of culture. This dynamism is responsible for constant change in patterns associated withgiven cultures, and the multicultural character of most, if not all, societies substantiallywidens the range for influence on such cultures Hall, 2005.

The meeting of cinema and television has created a new reality called videofilm.There are numerous reasons why Nigerian movie production shifted from celluloid tovideofilm including political, cultural, and economic reasons. However, a primary reasonwas concern for safety, as Faris 2002 of Time International noted, With cities plagued by armed robbers, few wanted to risk a nighttime outing just to see a movie p.1.

Celluloid roll film, also known as motion picture film or raw film stock, consists of longstrips of perforated cellulose acetate on which a quick succession of still photographsknown as frames can be recorded Barsam, 2004. As the term video film implies, Haynes 2000 says they are something between television and cinema, and they do notfit comfortably within the North American structures of either p.1. In many ways, video film itself stands for an example of technology that can be used for cultural explorations and representations mostly for the individuals or groups who cannot afford celluloid. Nigerian video films provide video filmic I define video filmic as relating to or resembling motion pictures just like cinematic or filmic representations of Nigeria.

Nigerian video films are deeply rooted in Nigerian cultural traditions and social texts that focus on Nigerian community life. Nigerian video film stories are told using African idioms, proverbs, costumes, artifacts, cultural display, and the imagery of Africa. The common Nigerian video film genres include horror, comedy, urban legend, mythic parable, love and romance, juju, witchcraft, melodrama, and historical epic. Movie production helps to determine the differences and transformations that have occurred in Nigeria. As Roger 1995 states that every society changes over time. Some change rapidly; others seem to stay virtually unchanged for generations. However slowly, change does occur. Haynes 2000 affirms, The study of Nigerian video films does not fit easily into the structures of African film criticism in still another way. Studies of African film have tended to be panAfrican, for marketing as well as ideological reasons p.9.

Pearson 2001 notes that Nigeria is one of only three countries, alongside India and the U.S., where domestically produced movies dominate local viewing. The emergence of the Nigerian video film industry Nollywood is a cultural phenomenon and Nigerian movies serve as a representation of Nigerian culture. The movie Living in Bondage produced by Ken Nnabue in 1992 set the pace for emergence of Nollywood Haynes, 2005; Mbamara, 2004; Onuzulike, 2007; Servant, 2001.