Examples of stereotypes being reinforced through Nollywood films is by examining how Nollywood portrays different class structures in their films. A majority of Nollywood films portray the main characters as having luxurious cars and lifestyles that are unattainable to the majority of Nigerians within the upper class. The upper classes are portrayed to be westernized and modernized in a manner that discredits the actual traditions this class holds. In contrast, when lower classes are portrayed throughout Nollywood, their lifestyles are romanticized, simplified and they are portrayed as ‘unintelligent ’ individuals with ‘backward’ traditions. Where the nigerian class system is complex, these films provide a simplified and unrealistic illustration …show more content…
Within Nigeria, cultures differ amongst urban and rural residents. In rural areas tradition holds a heavier weight and the economy heavily relies on agriculture. About 70% of all Nigerians live in rural areas and work on farms, these farmers make up the lower class in Nigeria. The middle class consists of local teachers, storekeepers, and small landowning individuals and the upper class consists of large landowners and the villages’ chiefs and elders. In rural villages, class power is given to the wiser, elder individuals. Whereas the idea behind power many times revolves around the socioeconomic standing of an individual, in these villages and tribes authority is given to religious leaders and elders. As seen in the memoir “A Mouth Sweeter than Salt” by Toyin Falola, age is the leading factor in familial. The first wife is considered the leader of all the wives and the leader of the tribe and referring to village politics Falola he mentions the “civilized Yoruba and Europeans.” (Falola, 198) He states that they “split society into urban and rural, civilized and uncivilized” The “civilized Yoruba” had western education, lived in cities, while the villagers were labeled as …show more content…
Similarly to here in the United States, each class contains specific job and incomes and the culture and modernity of each class differs amongst income levels. The lower class in these urban regions contains unskilled workers such as maids, cooks, and drivers. These individuals live in communal apartments much like in the villages and many times only migrate to cities to provide for their families back in the villages. The middle class in these regions consist of skilled workers such as accountants, teachers ,and small shop owners and managers. Furthermore, a majority of these individuals live in rented homes or apartments and hold a more western approach towards Nigerian culture. Lastly, the upper class in Nigeria consists of businessmen, government officials and professors. These individuals are highly westernized and have received a western style of education, they make up the least of Nigeria’s population but hold the largest amount of power. From a brief overview of the Nigerian class system, it is evident that the traditions and dynamics of the different Nigerian classes are much more complex than Nollywood portrays them
In class, we watched a film called Ethnic Notions. In this film, it brought to light how devastating and powerful images can be. Due to exaggerated images and caricatures created pre-civil war era of black men and women, stereotypes were created and have negatively affected the black race in society. Caricatures, such as the Sambo, Zip Coon, Mammy, and Brute, have unfortunately been engrained in the minds of generations. So much so their stereotypes still persist today.
The class structure is built around four different categories of citizens. The lower class, which is made up of the unskilled and semiskilled workers, made up for one-third of the population. The lower middle class, who were the skilled workers, white-collar workers, farmers, and pensioners, made up another third of the Northeim population. The upper middle class that included the craft masters, civil servants, and businessmen made up a little over a fourth of the population. Finally, the upper class, which was made up of businessmen, self-employed, and professionals, made up barely four percent of the population.
(4) Conventional is easy. Whenever an idea is generally perceived by society as standard or traditional it becomes very easy to display to the public without the raise of an eyebrow. This is the basis on which stereotypes appear in films. You’d think in the 21st century where what once were radical notions like same sex marriage and recreational drug use are being legalized that something uncalled for like the constant portrayal of character stereotyping would come to an end. Alas, stereotypical characters continue to emerge in film and unfortunately have become a staple of Hollywood because they’re simple and straightforward, requiring little effort on the part of the writers or thinking from the audience.
On television today you will see stereyotypes of male and female roles in society. These stereyotyps are exemplified in many tv shows and even childrens cartoons. Some shows which stereyotype sex roles include, the flintstones, the jetsons, and almost every sitcom on television.
helping. Television is making the shows out to seem like one race is better than another. For
The film Reel bad Arabs reveal many stereotypes and racial prejudice throughout the film. these stereotypes are built on accepted truths which are then used to build a foundation for these racists beliefs and stereotypes. Image makers have constantly vilified Arabs, we see examples of this all throughout Hollywood and even in some of the today's biggest block busters. and there is a consistent pattern of Arab stereotypes. all aspects of the western culture portray Arabs as the bad guys.
One stereotype of men is the hypermasculine, gritty action star who is very muscular, has a large build, tall and rather intimidating as they are often the protagonist in action films who plots to save the world or his kidnapped love interest. Another stereotype found is the Father Figure who is often middle aged, has a beautiful young wife who does housework and has a couple of children who wait for him to come home before bedtime and read them a story. This common stereotype in film (for example: Mad Men, which is set in the 1960s-1970s) is (and was) a trope that is still true to reality and is a lot more common in domestic households than we think. This stereotype unfortunately on film is often prone to domestic abuse and violent tendencies
Non-white minorities make up 37.4% of the population (United States), but they only account for 23.6% of the speaking roles in all movies (Smith). These numbers are alarming considering that 44% of movie tickets in the United States are bought by people of color (Smith). The root of this problem is in Hollywood’s bad habit of casting white actors for leading roles, even in cases when characters have a different race in the movie’s source material. Audiences in America have become comfortable with seeing mostly white actors on cinema screens, but that does not mean that there is not a problem. Even though minorities may not make up a large percentage of the population, they purchase more media than white Americans.
The movie Arranged centered on the story line of both a Muslim and Jewish woman, who come to terms that they are more alike and different. The theme is that they are both teachers working in the same school, and both come from two different culture backgrounds, that are very conservative. After a year of getting to know each other, they find out that they actually have a lot in common. Both are in situations where they are set to be rearranged in marriage.
The prior history of Nigeria before the 1900’s is critical in exploring the effects of colonialism. During the pre-colonial era, Nigeria was mainly divided into three tribes: Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa Fulani. A female’s role differed according to kinship structure of the tribe and the status of the woman in the economy. Neither new nor peculiar, women have long been regarded as the “subordinate” class in Nigerian culture. Nigerian women were able to achieve high statuses by lineage or marrying into ruling class families. Under customary laws, a woman’s purpose was to be fertile and able to bear children. Tribes expected their women to marry into Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa Fulani patri-lineage and bear sons to guarantee the future of the tribe. A wife’s position improved as she gave birth to more children and gain approval from elder members. Women who could not were scorned just as Mama wa...
In Nigeria, women are inferior to men. They tend to them and do tedious household chores that need to be done. At four o?clock, women work especially hard. ?Four o?clock was the time when all housewives stopped plaiting their hair, when they finished off their gossiping because their men folk would soon be home, hungry, tired, and irritable, so the women would rush to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal? (20). Whatever task men asked their wives to do, women were expected to complete thoroughly.
Throughout the centuries, the roles of Nigerian women have continuously evolved. During the pre- colonial era, women in Nigerian tribes were not only child bearers and wives, but also free adults. They played critical roles in food preparation, weaving, pottery, and the economy. However, the impact of British rule in Nigeria made a significant shift from the pre-colonial to the post- colonial era. The influence of the Catholic Church, Western style education, patriarchal government and modern ways of making money took a major toll in a woman’s role in society. As demonstrated in the history and literature of Nigeria, society can clearly witness the setbacks and growths of Nigerian women experienced. This literary paper’s purpose is to analyze how these women came to be, what exactly caused to evolve, and where they stand in today’s society.
While watching movies, have you ever noticed that the villains in almost every single Hollywood film are of Middle Eastern or European descent? In a reoccurring theme of Hollywood, the villains in these films are almost always foreigners or people of color. This is a stereotype. On the other side of the spectrum, we often see that the heroes of these films are most often than not white males. This is another stereotype. Within the last few years, we’ve seen actors such as Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, and Zoe Saldana take the lead roles, so it can’t be said that there are no non-white heroes, but there certainly isn’t many. Hollywood action movies, moreover than other genres, are typically loaded with an abundance of stereotypes. The way these movies are composed and structured can tell us a great deal about the views held within the American psyche and who holds the social power. The harsh reality is that the media ultimately sets the tone for societal standards, moralities, and images of our culture. Many consumers of media have never encountered some of the minorities or people of color shown on screen, so they subsequently depend on the media and wholeheartedly believe that the degrading stereotypes represented on the big screen are based on fact and not fiction. Mary Beltran said it best when she stated in her “Fast and Bilingual: Fast & Furious and the Latinization of Racelessness” article, “ultimately, Fast & Furious mobilizes notions of race in contradictory ways. It reinforces Hollywood traditions of white centrism, reinforcing notions of white male master while also dramatizing the figurative borders crossed daily by culturally competent global youth – both Latino and non-Latino” (77). This paper will specifically look...
...’s depictions of both traditional and modern beliefs in varying degrees illustrate the importance of both in contemporary Nigerian culture, as well as the greater Africa as a whole, and how both are intertwined and cannot exist without the other. In effect, she skillfully subverts stereotypes or single perceptions of Africa as backward and traditional, proving instead, the multifaceted culture of Africa. She further illustrates that neither traditional African nor western culture is necessarily detrimental. It is the stark contrast of the fundamental cultures that inevitably leads to clashes and disagreements. In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
Okeke, Phil E. "Reconfiguring Tradition: Women's Rights and Social Status in Contemporary Nigeria." Africa Today 47.1 (2000): 49-63.