Naija Diaries: Nollywood And Their Past Mistakes

You all know I watch Nollywood movies. My love for Nollywood grew after several painful evenings with my mum, being forced to watch Nollywood as it made her feel closer to Nigeria. I think she liked it because Nollywood movies was a gateway to the lives of Nigerians living in Nigeria. I called it painful for several reasons. They were emerging/growing back then and bored the heck out of me. As Nollywood grew, I grew and subsequently, Nollywood movies grew on me. Like Bollywood, Nollywood got better each year. I'm loving Nollywood now, as it is one of my favourite past times. I look forward to a good, meaningful movie with popcorn and green tea in tow.

I've thought about where Nollywood went wrong, and i've come up with my list again. Sorry guys but this is the only way I dissect and organise my thoughts.

If you watched Nollywood back in the day, you will totally understand this.

1. The movies were too long. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. 2 hours each. At the end of the movie, it will say To be continued...

2. I noticed everything. I noticed every microphone that dropped into the scene. It was like that for every movie.

3. The music was always louder than the character's voices. I never heard what they said.

4. I always heard the director's voice directing the actor when they wanted to change scenes, for example "Oya, keep pounding".

5. From my previous Naija Diaries post, almost every movie had something fetish and evil in it. It really portrayed Nigeria in a horrible light. I'm happy we have moved on from that era. It's still there but it is not as much.

6. Ok, this point was something that annoyed me really. The actresses will wear the same hair and nails 15 years later in the movie. Or when an actor wants to claim he/she is in London/Germany/wherever, they will shoot the scene inside a room and wear hat and gloves, pretending to be cold. How many people wear hat and gloves indoors? We all know you are still in Nigeria.

Anyway, thats enough knit picking for now. Thats it. Only 6. Thank God Nollywood movies has evolved since then.

xoxo