EVOLUTION OF REPRESENTATIONS OF IGBO MONARCHY IN NOLLYWOOD MOVIES (1996-2015)

INTRODUCTION

In our consumption-oriented and mediated society, much of what comes to pass as important is based often on the stories produced and disseminated by media institutions. Much of what audiences know and care about is based on the images, symbols, and narratives in radio, television, film, music, and other media. How individuals construct their social identities, how they come to understand what it means to be male, female, black, white, royal, common –even rural or urban, is shaped by commoditised texts produced by media for audiences (Brooks & Hebert, 2006). Media, in short, are central to what ultimately come to represent our social realities. The way certain groups of people are represented in the media can have a huge social impact on audience. When media producers want the audience to assume certain things about a character, they play on existing representations of such a character. At other times, media producers can change the way certain groups are presented, and thus change the way audience see that particular group. In the present information society, the image of monarchy in the eyes of the public is partly established by the media.

The institution of monarchy is a common phenomenon with states, empires, countries and other similar entities, which makes the institution a universal concept, with a long history. In Nigeria, a traditional ruler is identified as the paramount ruler in any community. Generally, he is recognized by his subjects as the chief custodian of the people’s culture and tradition, even though as Whiskey (2004, p. 78) observes “they may not wield political power in Nigeria and only honour the wealthy, the strong and the great, however, so long as men worship social titles, so also will the men (the traditional rulers) who confer these social titles wax strong, be relevant and command loyalty and respect.”

Perhaps, due to its resilience, the institution of monarchy is not only appealing to the wealthy that crave the social titles and privileges it confers; the artist and film maker is drawn to the institution to feed his creativity and imagination. Consequent on the foregoing, the manner in which this institution is represented in the media becomes important, being that such representation is critical to how people view and relate to this institution. In other words, representation shapes meaning (discourse) in relation to such institution and as a result, affects its place, functionality, impact and value as a component of the societal dynamics (Hall, 1997; Fairclough, 2003; McQuail, 2010).

Interestingly, monarchy has in recent times become one of the recurring themes in Nollywood productions (Uwah, 2009; Osondu, 2016). As a mode of representation, films have the capacity to make real and legitimate, certain ideas and beliefs through their portrayals, and, in so doing, structure our perception of the social world (Taylor & Willis, 2002). Amobi & Shaibu (2015) write that one unique and empowering feature of film is its ability to mirror society. They stress that, in fact, one of the reasons that the Nigerian movie industry, affectionately called Nollywood, has caught on so well on the continent and among blacks in Diaspora, is because most of the offerings of the industry, in spite of their flaws, have fairly well mirrored the challenges, hopes and aspirations of Nigerians.

The Igbo tribe is one of the three major and popular ethnic groups in Nigeria with the largest group of people living in southern Nigeria in their unique culture. The very fact that the topic of the Igbo monarchy exists so much as part of Igbo common sense makes it an important and worthy area for academic attention; for a culture's common sense represents a heterogeneous body of understandings, knowledge, values and practices into which members of that cultural community have been socialized (Malmood, 2013). When watching Nollywood movies, audience is forced to see characters of monarchy meeting civic dignitaries, performing some cultural and spiritual roles. The way royalty is constructed and portrayed in film thus matters. It is arguably compelling to empirically examine the way monarchy has been constructed in Nollywood films, the patterns, the evolution and the underlying themes.