Papers by Uchenna Onuzulike
This article analyzes Nigeria’s Nollywood film Osuofia in London [Ogoro, K. (Producer & Director)... more This article analyzes Nigeria’s Nollywood film Osuofia in London [Ogoro, K. (Producer & Director). (2003/2004). Kingsley Ogoro Productions] to understand how the film synthesizes African and Western cultural identities via the prisms of hybridity and postcolonial theory. The paper uses a critical approach within the contexts of three tenets (African, Western, and hybrid) to read the film. The analysis resulted in five themes: African/folk belief systems and Christianity; traditional Igbo attire and English garb; African/folk music and Western music; African and Western food and drinks; and African/traditional medicine and modern medicine. The analysis indicates that unequal power relations and the forces of globalization are inescapable. Even though the protagonist, Osuofia, challenges the Western ideology, he reproduces it as well.
Between 1992 and 1999, Sierra Leone was engaged in a civil war which was blamed primarily on a ‘s... more Between 1992 and 1999, Sierra Leone was engaged in a civil war which was blamed primarily on a ‘scramble for diamonds.’ This paper critically analyzes the related film Blood Diamond (2006) in order to locate the portrayal of Sierra Leone and of Africa in general in the context of transnationalism. In addition, the analysis seeks to understand how Africans and Westerners contributed to conflict diamonds. Reading the film via transnationalism indicates that African environments were compromised by colonialism. It also shows that transnational forces contributed to conflict diamonds – which resulted in wars and other atrocities. The implications of a colonial legacy suggest that Africans and Westerners (in)directly participated in blood diamonds.
This article examines how Nollywood video films impact Nigerian and other African cultures and en... more This article examines how Nollywood video films impact Nigerian and other African cultures and environments by connecting an oral culture such as Nigeria quickly through the literate phase to membership in the global village. It also contributes to McLuhan’s hot–cool model by applying it to Nollywood video films, which is complex because the term ‘video film’ connotes a combination of cool (i.e., television) and hot (i.e., cinema) media. Applying the hot–cool model to Nollywood productions suggests that quick and cheap productions are likely to distort African environments and cultures negatively, unlike the well-planned and larger budget productions that are likely to be made on celluloid. Finally, this article explicates two Nollywood video films in order to ascertain how the Nigerian and other African environments and cultures are impacted in light of the complexity of hot and cool media. The article concludes that quick productions are better viewed and decoded via a cool medium, while well-planned productions are better viewed and decoded via either a hot or a cool medium.
There is a growing concern about the decline and possible extinction of the Igbo language. The Ig... more There is a growing concern about the decline and possible extinction of the Igbo language. The Igbo are primarily located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria. This study analysed four interviews on Igbo Radio, an Igbo Internet radio station, to ascertain how Internet radio is being utilized in discussing the decline of the Igbo language. Drawing on ethnolinguistic vitality theory, this qualitative study triangulates four selected interviews on Igbo Radio, the website, and personal observations for the analysis. Three salient themes emerged: (1) decline and challenges of the Igbo language, (2) second-generation immigrants and the Igbo language, and (3) sustaining the Igbo language. The findings suggest that Igbo parents appear to have less vitality; as a result, they tend not to teach their children Igbo.
Second-generation Igbo (SGI) young adults are a rapidly growing population in the United States, ... more Second-generation Igbo (SGI) young adults are a rapidly growing population in the United States, yet the role of Igbo culture in the construction and negotiation of their identity remains little studied. The aim of this pilot study is to begin filling this research gap by examining SGI young adults’ identity construction and negotiation in the United States, to serve as a template for a larger project. Responses were gathered through a qualitative research approach, using data from face-to-face, in-depth interviews with two participants. They recount how children born in the United States to Igbo parents attempt to articulate their identities. Eight themes emerge from the analysis. Even though the findings demonstrate that the participants encounter identity struggles, they also found Igbo culture empowering because it stands out among their multiple identities. The participants offer suggestions for how to teach the Igbo language, a central component of Igbo culture, to Igbo children born in the diaspora.
This essay analyzes online news media reactions to the labeling and stigmatizing of children as w... more This essay analyzes online news media reactions to the labeling and stigmatizing of children as witches in Eket, within the state of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. The paper was triggered by Governor Godswill Akpabio's August 30, 2010, appearance on CNN, during which he stated that the situation of these stigmatized children is exaggerated. This essay seeks to understand what perspectives the online news media created in response to Akpabio's interview. Three themes -the children accused, the behavior of the gatekeepers (i.e., among others, parents, guardians, religious leaders, and government officials), and the practice of witchcraft -emerge from the data. The results reveal the following: (a) the Governor is defensive and in denial, (b) the involved pastors are opportunists, and (c) the accused children are abandoned, maltreated, and sometimes murdered. Results also show that none of the analyzed online news media specifically blame the parents of the accused children; rather they blame the Governor and pastors, and specifically Helen Ukpabio. Further analysis indicates that poverty is not necessarily the root of the problem as the Governor claims. The essay recommends acknowledgement of folk belief systems in the training of gatekeepers.
Nigerian videofilms reflect the economic, political, and cultural transformation in Nigeria. This... more Nigerian videofilms reflect the economic, political, and cultural transformation in Nigeria. This article discusses Nigerian videofilms as a cultural and technological hybridity. The Nigerian movie industry, known as Nollywood, resorts to shooting movies in video form due to the high cost of celluloid. The term videofilm implies something between television and cinema. This article extends the definition. I define the term videofilm as any movie or motion picture produced mainly in the video format while adhering to particular cinematic values and conventions. Videofilm has transformed the way in which Africans tell their stories. Regarding cultural hybridity, this work evaluates Nigerian videofilms’ influence on the African diaspora and on African religion. Regarding technological hybridity, this paper investigates the videofilm revolution in Nigeria. This work employs postcolonial theory for a vivid analysis of videofilm culture. Videofilm can be used for cultural explorations and representations, or by individuals or groups who cannot afford celluloid.
Mimesis, translated as “imitation,” is the process by which a poet, artist, or imitator incorpora... more Mimesis, translated as “imitation,” is the process by which a poet, artist, or imitator incorporates chosen features of an original into his or her own work (mimema) in such a way that the work has a greater effect, which the guardians, who are the leaders of tomorrow, are likely to copy. Plato illustrates that mimesis is an emulation of the natural world. This paper discusses Plato’s views on imitation in both art and actual human conduct, while attempting to find the relationship between the two forms of imitation. Specifically, it will examine the similarities and differences between these two types of imitation. The paper concludes that imitation is dangerous when a poet falsifies his or her art, but is beneficial when the poet truly depicts the gods and the heroes who have a significant influence on guardians.
This paper focuses on the conflicts between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Althou... more This paper focuses on the conflicts between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Although there are other religions in Africa such as Islam and Judaism, this study concentrates on African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Religion is the strongest element in traditional African culture and exerts great influence upon the conduct of the African people. Religion is closely bound up with the traditional way of African life; therefore, religion has shaped the lives of Africans, at the same time life has shaped religion as well. Whenever two or three cultures meet, there is potential conflict. Spiritual conflicts exist between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. It is difficult to separate African culture from African Traditional Religion because religion is embedded in African culture. African Traditional religion is part of the African’s ethos and an understanding of it should go hand in hand with Christian evangelization. Ignoring these traditional beliefs, attitudes and practices may lead to a lack of understanding of African behavior and problems. This paper work uses Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry, to showcase the clash between African Traditional Religion and Christianity.
Abstract Since its emergence at the turn of the twenty-first century, the Nigerian movie industry... more Abstract Since its emergence at the turn of the twenty-first century, the Nigerian movie industry “Nollywood” has had a profound influence on African culture. The Nigerian accents, style of dress, and behavioral idiosyncrasies, all of which are distinctly Nigeria, are now being transmitted as images around the globe. The medium of film has come to be directly associated with the culture industry. In Nigeria such a role for the film industry is still evolving.
Book Reviews by Uchenna Onuzulike
Conference Presentations by Uchenna Onuzulike
This paper reads Nollywood’s film Osuofia in London Parts 1 and II (Ogoro, 2003 and 2004). This p... more This paper reads Nollywood’s film Osuofia in London Parts 1 and II (Ogoro, 2003 and 2004). This presentation juxtaposes Nigerian and British cultures through the protagonist Osuofia, who faces culture shocks including dress codes and the inavailability of his native food and non-acceptance of Nigerian currency in a fast food restaurant.
This theoretical paper locates second-generation Africans (SGAs) in the United States in the cont... more This theoretical paper locates second-generation Africans (SGAs) in the United States in the context of Afrocentricity, in order to understand how SGAs articulate their ethnic and transnational identity struggles in the diaspora. I build the paper on available studies relating to Afrocentricity and second-generation Africans in the diaspora. To address these struggles, I do the following: introduce the paper and reflect on the background, discuss Afrocentricity as a theoretical and methodological framework, highlight the Afrocentric discourse of African children, and articulate identity struggles that affect SGAs. Finally, I conclude by synthesizing SGAs with Afrocentricity.
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Papers by Uchenna Onuzulike
Book Reviews by Uchenna Onuzulike
Conference Presentations by Uchenna Onuzulike