Don't View Nollywood with the Rose-Tinted Glasses of Hollywood

 

Don't View Nollywood with the Rose-Tinted Glasses of Hollywood

I have previewed a new Nigerian drama on the psychological consequences of rape in the life of a teenage girl sexually violated by a Roman Catholic priest at a convent in south- eastern Nigeria.
If you replace the leading roles with the famous Hollywood icons, Nicole Kidman and John Travolta and have the location in America, the crime thriller will be nominated in the next Oscars for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress in a leading role, because of the accomplishments of the cast and crew in the production of the movie. But many Nigerian and other African movies have been viewed with the rose-tinted glasses of the American film industry, popularly called, Hollywood and in most cases, viewed by White Americans who did not understand the nuances of the peculiarities of Black Africans in dialogues and mannerisms.

Are there racial biases in international film acquisition and distribution with the superiority complex of white curators who esteem white filmmakers highly in comparison to black African filmmakers without comprehensive analysis of the content and context of subject and without the broad-minded considerations for diversity and inclusion in the existential dramas of life on earth?
"Our films are good enough for you, but your movies are not good enough for us. "
Is Hollywood the global standard for the best storytelling on motion picture?
The Economist published a selection called, "The Best Films So Far in 2024" without any consideration for the best movies so far in Bollywood and Nollywood on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showmax and other streaming platforms, cable TV networks and cinemas.

I have seen many crappy Hollywood movies repeatedly shown on M-NET Movies Channels without any consideration for the viewers who paid for the subscriptions.

Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have paid over 200 percent more for the acquisitions of American and Korean films than what they paid for African films.
Showmax of the MultiChoice Group pays more for South African productions than Nigerian productions.
Are these differences in the valuations based on the quality of the movies or racial bias against black African filmmakers by Western standards? But the French are an exception to the stereotypical views of Africa by Hollywood, because the French have a better understanding of African Cinema than Hollywood and the British which can be seen in their broad-minded Official Selections of the annual Cannes Film Festival where several African filmmakers have won coveted awards, including the most coveted, the Palme d'Or.

Can a white curator of films understand the interpretations of the soundtracks of the Talking Drum in different scenarios of the scenes in the Yoruba political drama of "Saworoide", produced and directed by Tunde Kelani in 1999? 

Can the curator understand the soundtracks of the great Ikoro drum of Igbo people in a film adaptation of Chinua Achebe's all time classic novel, "Things Fall Apart"?

What of the different lighting techniques in Nollywood and Hollywood?

Do you know that the sunlight is brighter in Africa than in America?

The sunlight is the same everywhere on earth?

The colour of the moonlight is more romantic on Bonny Island in the Niger Delta than on Long Island in southeastern New York State.

There are different hues and shades of the colours of the rainbow and the narratives of the movies should be viewed in the different perspectives of the origins of the filmmakers to see the big picture of the different stories of life on motion picture.

"The Black Book", the 2023 Nigerian crime thriller of Editi Effiong, starring Richard Mofe-Damijo, Sam Dede, Shaffy Bello, Femi Branch, Alex Usifo, Ade Laoye and Ireti Doyle, released to Netflix on September 22 was the number one on the global rankings and "Òlòtūré", the 2019 Nigerian crime drama on human trafficking by Kenneth Gyang starring Sharon Ooja, Beverly Osu, Ada Ameh and Blossom Chukwujekwu was on the top rankings in several countries and were better than several American and Korean films in accomplishments in filmmaking, but Netflix paid less for the acquisition.

I have always insisted that a great movie is a great movie no matter the location or race of the filmmaker. The quality of the content should determine the price for the acquisition and not the location or race of the producer.

---- By -By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,.
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

The Signature of God Mystery Cubes Series

The Signature of God 1

Mystery Cubes Series

The Mathematics and Mystery of The Signature of God

The Signature of God is the name of God in Aramaic.
The name of God once written cannot be erased.

This is the ultimate from my Mystery Cubes Series in painting, digital art and NFT.

The geometry and symmetry of The Signature of God

The construction of the 144ft monument of The Signature of God.

Read Revelation 7:1-12
144÷6=24
24÷6=4
4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the Earth holding the 4 winds.

As we know the following facts:

Cubes appear in Abrahamic religions. The Kaaba (Arabic for 'cube') in Mecca is one example. Cubes also appear in Judaism as tefillin, and the New Jerusalem is described in the New Testament as a cube.
Why?

Lateral Surface Area of Cube (LSA) = 4a2

LSA = 4 × (6)2

= 4 × 36

= 144 m2

Hence, the length of the diagonal is 6√3 m, and its lateral surface area is 144 square meters.

Cube shape is one of the fundamental shapes of mathematics and is observed very often in our daily lives. We can assume the cube is a polyhedron with equal length, breadth, and height. It can be easily stacked on one over another without leaving any spaces. We say about a cube that,

It has Twelve (12) Edges
It has Six (6) Faces
It has Eight (8) Vertices

We see various types of figures in our daily life that are shaped like cubes that include, boxes, ice cubes, sugar cubes, etc.

https://nigeriansreportng.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-signature-of-god.html

by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
whose artworks have been exhibited in Nigeria and Japan since 1983 and co-curator of the first Art Against AIDS exhibitions at the National Museum and National Arts Theatre in Lagos in 1993 featuring his mentor, the famous printmaker and sculptor, Prof. Bruce Onobraekpeya and other Nigerian artists, including himself.

#God
#signature
#cubes
#art
#artworks
#artists
#religion
#faith
#mystery
#exhibition
#curator
#sculptor
#printmaker
#onobraekpeya
#bruce
#mentor
#museum
#nigeria
#japan

Please, Don't Return Nigerian Artworks in Foreign Art Galleries and Museums

Please, Don't Return Nigerian Artworks in Foreign Art Galleries and Museums

#art #history #gallery #contemporaryart #painting #artgallery #fineart #heritage #nigeria #artist #education #arts
#museums #artcollection #curator #conservation #preservation #drawings #artexhibition

If you see the dilapidated buildings in the National Museum and National Gallery of Arts in Lagos, you will not want the Nigerian artworks in foreign museums to be returned to Nigeria.Because, Nigerians cannot preserve or protect our artworks. They are better preserved and safer in American and European art galleries and museums.

My masterpiece of painting, "Blessed Mother" I made live in the Education Unit of the National Museum in Onikan on the Lagos Island was later missing from the museum and never found till date. Some of my colourful illustrations were missing at the UNICEF in Nigeria in 1988 and not found till date.

The private art galleries don't have the funds and management for the preservation of artworks and many of the galleries have incompetent staff without certification in art curation or preservation. Many galleries have  closed without any any records of the whereabouts of the artworks. I have lost priceless works without trace when custodians relocated without notice.

Nigerians cannot preserve our artworks.
Please, don't return them to Nigeria.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi

Happy Birthday Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya

Happy Birthday great man of the arts.

I am happy for you with all the thanksgivings to Almighty God for blessing you with long life and prosperity.

Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya is one of the greatest artists of all time.

I am proud to have been tutored by him and I made him proud by representing Nigeria as an illustrator at two international book fairs cosponsored by the UNESCO in Japan in 1983. I was the youngest participant among lecturers, including professors. Then in 1993, I had the honour as a curator to include his unique artworks in the 1993 World AIDS Day Art Exhibitions at the National Museum and National Arts Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria. If there was a Nobel Prize for fine arts, he would have won it.

He is also the most published African artist in contemporary modern art.

International Civil Rights Center & Museum Appoints Curator

4 Nov 2009 16:30 Africa/Lagos

International Civil Rights Center & Museum Appoints Curator

Bamidele Demerson looks forward to mining historical gems in Greensboro's backyard

GREENSBORO, N.C., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Civil Rights Center & Museum (Museum) announced today that it has named Bamidele Demerson as curator and program director. Demerson will be responsible for overseeing the Museum's exhibits, artifacts and educational programming. The Museum, located in downtown Greensboro, N.C., will open Feb. 1, 2010, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins.


"Bamidele has an extensive leadership background in African-American museums," said Melvin "Skip" Alston, chairman of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. "We received interest from candidates across the country, and Bamidele's proven record for creating relevant and thought-provoking experiences for museum visitors stood out in our selection process. We are delighted to have him on board."


Demerson comes to Greensboro after serving as the executive director of the Harrison Museum of African American Culture in Roanoke, Va., where he planned exhibits and educational programs focused particularly on the history and creative experiences of people in that city. Prior to that, Demerson was curator of education and director of exhibitions and research during a 10-year tenure with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Mich.


As an anthropologist, Demerson believes he has something unique to offer the Museum and Greensboro. "The international aspect of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum caught my attention in a special way, because African Americans have had a profound impact on the quest for freedom, which has benefited everyone," said Demerson. "On many levels, Greensboro has always been a part of my consciousness whether reviewing a period photograph or document, creating a new exhibit or examining an historical object. I'm intrigued by the cultural dynamics behind social change, and my anthropological lens is always on."


Demerson brings more than 35 years of administration, instruction, research, collections' management and exhibition development to the Museum. In his visits to museums across the globe, Demerson has observed the practices of other acclaimed institutions and honed his knowledge of exhibit installation, as well as artifact collection and preservation.


"Museums are houses of memory and should help us not only to understand social change, but also make it," said Demerson. "From a curator and educational programming perspective, we have to be careful that visitors appreciate that we are not telling an exclusively African-American story. The narrative here in Greensboro, for example, is about a quest for freedom, and that is a human story."


Demerson believes one of the fundamental purposes of a museum is to provide service to the community through educational programming, exhibits and archival workshops. He actively worked with principals, superintendents and teachers in Virginia and Michigan to provide meaningful educational experiences for youth.


"One of my favorite things to do is create treasure hunts for kids," said Demerson. "I purposely don't call them scavenger hunts because we don't scavenge for history; history is filled with treasures. This Museum should be an active resource for teachers, youth and the community. It may take a whole village to raise a child, but it takes an entire community to support a museum."


Demerson's undergraduate and graduate studies at his alma mater, The University of Michigan, included a concentration in cultural anthropology, as well as a focus on African-American and African studies. While the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican in Rome, and the Ghana National Museum in Accra, Africa, are some of Demerson's favorite museums, it's the smaller museums and historic houses he frequents that resonate with him as an anthropologist. His extensive fieldwork also includes expeditions in Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil and the Southern United States.


"A museum should mine its own backyard," said Demerson. "We have a responsibility to both teach and work in the community; there are gems here in Greensboro that must be recognized as part of a national narrative."


The International Civil Rights Center & Museum will open Feb. 1, 2010, and function as an archival center, collecting museum and teaching facility devoted to the international struggle for civil and human rights. For more information about the International Civil Rights Center & Museum's grand opening schedule of events, visit www.sitinmovement.org/savethedate.


About the International Civil Rights Center & Museum


The International Civil Rights Center & Museum will function as an archival center, collecting museum and teaching facility devoted to the international struggle for civil and human rights focusing on the nonviolent protests of the Greensboro sit-ins. The 43,000 square-foot museum is located in the former F.W. Woolworth retail store where four courageous students from North Carolina A&T University began their protest at the whites-only lunch counter.


The Museum complex features educational exhibits, a gallery, auditorium, archival center, and a proposed Joint Center for the Study of Civil and Human Rights.


The International Civil Rights Center & Museum was founded by Melvin "Skip" Alston and Earl Jones in 1993 under the auspices of the Sit-in Movement Inc.


Editor's Note: Photo of Bamidele Demerson available upon request. Email mwallace@rlfcommunications.com


Source: International Civil Rights Center & Museum

CONTACT: Mary Leigh Wallace, +1-336-553-1802 (office), +1-336-307-9340
(mobile), mwallace@rlfcommunications.com


Web Site: http://www.sitinmovement.org/savethedate