African Womanist Film

Gender Issues

The role of African films in the advancement of human rights is probably nowhere more important than in the advancement of African women towards their liberation. The concept of ‘Diaspora,’ therefore, takes on a double sense for the African woman, as she at once distances herself from patriarchal systems as well as the national identities in which they are embodied. Film plays a critical role in allowing the African woman her own identity vis-à-vis African men. Social change depends on role models. And clearly the movie industry is among the most prominent producers of role models, thereby playing a role of enormous strategic importance with respect to progressive social change towards women’s liberation.

In Nigeria, gender varies across tribal groups even within a single tribal culture; the meaning of gender varies over time. Applying the African womanist film shows that African women are speaking out and organizing around five key issues: "marital rights, reproductive health, female genital mutilation, women's role in the economy, and political rights"(California Newsreel, para. 1). Some Nollywood films are perhaps the clearest contemporary example of how African women are organizing at the grassroots level to insure participation in the continent's current move towards democracy. A film about African women is a rarity in the international film community. Yet, they do exist and some are even beginning to be made by African women themselves.

Many women have contributed tremendously in the development of the Nigerian videofilm industry and they have made an impact on videofilms in recent years. Some of those who have contributed to the industry are Lola Fani-Kayode, Amaka Igwe, Clarion Chukwura-Oduneye, Lucille Ayorinde and Ameze Imhariagbe. Uhakheme states that these women all share one thing: they are shining stars in the ever-growing Nigerian movie industry. Works like Mirror In The Sun, Mind Bending, Fuji House of Horror, Ripples, Flesh and Blood and Checkmate are some evidences of their great contributions to the videofilm business in Nigeria.

African Cinema

Nollywood: The Nigerian Movie Industry

The Nigerian film industry is very much integrated with Nigerian popular culture. The emergence of the Nigerian videofilm industry is a cultural phenomenon and Nigerian videofilms serve as a representation of Nigerian culture. The emergence of Nollywood might be the answer to many people with an African heritage who seek solace and reconnection with their heritage. They resolve this by watching Nigerian videofilms.

Nollywood has been generally beneficial in terms of promoting African culture, dignity, and the need for greater levels of social justice in Africa and for Africans who live abroad. Movies that are made in Africa and about Africa help to bridge continents and the people who live on them, providing critically important points of reference for immigrant people who are struggling to reconcile dual identities as citizens of their countries of origins and citizens or residents of the new society in which they are trying to adapt and build new lives.

African Languages

Decolonizing African Langauges

There is a need to decolonize African languages and it is important to have a lingua franca for the African peoples. Language can be regarded as the most significant element of ethnic identity. Loss of a language is loss of cultural inheritance; therefore, African mother-tongue languages should be encouraged and passed on to the next generations. Africans should liberate their languages. African languages are facing possible extinction and there is a need to restore them.

Language gives meaning to an ethnic group because it ties the present with the past through its oral traditions: literary forms, music, history, and customs. In essence, it may be said that language gives an ethnic group its distinctiveness; therefore, decolonization of African languages is very necessary in preserving African cultural heritage.

Swahili should be adopted as the lingua franca for Africa in the case of changing the now dominant French, English and Portuguese. Swahili is the most widely spoken African Language in Sub-Saharan Africa. Swahili is the only official African language of the African Union and it stands as a lingua franca in the east and central African region, which makes it an important language to learn.