My
childhood was awesome, thanks to many beautiful sceneries of nature which I was
exposed to in the hinterland community which I grew up. However, several other
factors added to the glitz and glamour with which my childhood was enamoured,
one of which were the Yoruba movies we watched back then. Numerous Yoruba
movies came from stables of hard-working producers as presented by their makers
then.
Up till this present moment, I remember with nostalgia; those emotional scenes in Yoruba movies, those didactic story lines in movies, the captivating suspense in Yoruba films, and to cap it all, the display of professionalism by the crew.
Up till this present moment, I remember with nostalgia; those emotional scenes in Yoruba movies, those didactic story lines in movies, the captivating suspense in Yoruba films, and to cap it all, the display of professionalism by the crew.
What I perceive in the actors of those days was commitment and rare
display of hardwork in them, while they may be out to make money, they were
also there to satisfy their audience to the best of their ability. They
promoted our cultural values too.
Sadly, those good qualities and
features that made Yoruba movie industry outshined every other bloc of
Nollywood are no longer seen in their story-writing, film-casting and
professional duty any more. Alas! What has become of Yoruba film industry?
Mediocrity is now the order of the day. A movie maker’s major concern is to
make money, not mindful of the criticisms and scrutiny from audience and movie
experts out there. No element of suspense, diction, and some other attractive
features.
Apart from what some people termed “soft porn” which Nollywood has been selling out to the public, Yoruba movie industry has even sank deep into the of abyss of teaching the young ones bad character. This latest trend has further worsened the already bad situation. Nollywood has joined the band of series of factors that have influenced the entrenchment of immorality in our society.
Apart from what some people termed “soft porn” which Nollywood has been selling out to the public, Yoruba movie industry has even sank deep into the of abyss of teaching the young ones bad character. This latest trend has further worsened the already bad situation. Nollywood has joined the band of series of factors that have influenced the entrenchment of immorality in our society.
The current trend is the abuse of
beautifully crafted religious names, and the portrayal of bad characters
through such names. Names like Sunday, Kudirat, Aminat, Monday, Jonathan, Munir,
Jeleel have been corrupted by Yoruba film makers under the portrayal of
different ridiculous and debilitating characters. Characters under most of
these names are depicted through many social vices ranging from hooliganism,
armed robbery, prostitution, drug abuse hence, further compounding the woes of
a morally bankrupt society which we find ourselves. They often portray characters of criminals
with these sacred names which mostly have their roots in the Holy Books. But our
movie makers care less about this in as much as they are smiling to the bank.
All in the name of entertainment, they have neglected the sacredness of
religion as peculiar to the Nigerian society.
The pioneers of acting and movie
making profession; dead and alive never had the aim of turning religious tenets
to laughing stock neither did they have the intention to swindle their audience
by producing movies unworthy of the Nigerian society. As much as they were out
to entertain, they also sought to educate their audience. But what do we have
today, mockery of religious values under the guise of acting comedies. When
current set of movie-makers are supposed to look into the mistakes of their
predecessors and improve upon them while availing themselves of the opportunity
of modern technology in promoting their work, they are shamelessly
retrogressing. This retrogression and lack of professionalism is manifestly
developing into a malignant cankerworm which if not checked, it may pose a
dangerous threat to the development of movie industry. Already, most kids of
today are becoming big fans of foreign movies because they see Nigerian films
as lacking those captivating scenes.
Summarily, this piece is a
passionate appeal from a fan of Yoruba movie industry that all stakeholders
heed the popular call and make amends where necessary. I am sure I have spoken
the mind of many fans who do not know where to direct their complaint. I
emphatically call on Nollywood stakeholders and Yoruba movie-makers in
particular, to please take necessary steps to arrest the ugly trend. I believe
with this, Yoruba movie industry can rub shoulders with any industry in the
world as it gets back on track. They should help in building our society and
not further worsening the societal maladies through their movies.
Quadri
Tunbosun Ganiyu is reachable on Twitter via @Tunbolity
Explosive pulsating and beautiful dance steps by joke Joshua in London at a special rccg concert ,she also sang and appeared on a couple of Yoruba movies and nollywood movies sountrack
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57QJpgrKLSI