OPINION: Nollywood and decency in the movie industry

Gone are the days when Africa’s number one movie giant Nollywood used to be people’s love and desire. Gone are the days when movie audience look up to Nollywood movies as models for moral decency in the country and beyond.

The Moral standard in Nollywood has largely fallen due to the proliferation of highly indecent movies by the industry in recent times.

These days the Nigeria movie industry broadcasts movies that promotes sex and nudity thereby forgetting our culture.

Before now, the Nigerian movie industry used to have a culture of decency in putting across its message to the society. Its actors were never nude-crazy as we find in the up and coming actors these days.

It is not out of place to say that this weird desire to appear almost nude in most movies stems from the desire of actors to impress fans instead of express themselves. These actors have this erroneous idea that turning our movies into near pornography catapults them to fame in the industry.

Little wonder, every young girl with a voluptuous body thinks only about how to go into the movies in order to make quick money. This makes them fall for the antics of the producers who sometimes ask to sleep with them before giving them roles.

READ ALSO: Adult contents has nothing to do with rape – Nollywood actress, Amara Maduka

The craze for nudity in Nollywood seems to have deepened due to the high percentage of immoral movies proliferated by the Ghanaian movie industry- Gollywood. It is obvious that Nollywood producers largely feel intimidated by Gollywood producers whose morally indecent movies seem to be making waves in the entertainment market. This is why local producers have jumped on the bandwagon thereby negatively influencing countless Nigerian youths and teenagers.

It is discouraging that instead of learning lessons from movies one ends up having one’s moral reservoir emptied. Too bad!

What people watch influences them. This is why we cannot nail Nigerian young men who easily imitate Jim Iyke’s movie dress sense and hairs, neither can we hail Nigerian young women who continually watch Nollywood screen divas such as Ini Edo, Mercy Johnson, Ruky sanda etc. repeatedly expose their tempting voluptuous breasts and curved hips and trying to imitate the way they dress and copy their lifestyle.

The hard truth is that most Nollywood movies such as “The Grand Player,” “Player No 1,” “Pleasure and Crime”, “deadly sex” etc are near pornographic movies and teaches little or nothing instead it teaches and encourages premarital sex and nudity among Nigeria youths and teenagers.

Interestingly, the moral value in Nollywood has far-reaching effects on the society most especially on youths and teenagers. Specifically, in the family. People no longer see any sense in dressing properly. What family members put on in the name of in-door clothes popularly called “house clothes” is massively revealing of sensitive body parts.

This phony fashion sense which is now common place in the home makes them loose their respect for the women’s body due to excessive exposure. It is very rife in Nigerian homes to find the man of the house, who doubles as the husband and father often bare-chested, tying wrapper on the waist or putting on their rather revealing boxers.

What about the women? They are basically not left out here. What wives and daughters of the home put on these days as house clothes terribly exposes their sumptuous bodies thereby reducing their pride as women. Even at the workplace, the immoral influence people get from the Nollywood movies makes a lot of people especially the womenfolk dress so indecently. Most women now go after corporate fashion which at least expose their breasts.

Our campuses are not spared either from the morale. In the campuses we find young girls (students) put on clothes that are either too tight-fitted with emphasis on their hips or laying their breasts. No wonder, they easily fall into the waiting hands of immoral lecturers. What a pity!

Regrettably, our churches have also been turned into a warehouse accommodating indecent dressings. People do not take long to replicate the near-nude dress sense of Nollywood actors which has found its way into the church, after all many pastors preach “dress hot for Jesus” in numerous churches.

The consequence of immorality in Nollywood is innumerable. The increased rate of immorality among youths is caused by the incessant pornographic scenes in Nollywood movies.

Imagine what happens in the mind of an aroused young man after he has watched these loose Nollywood actresses expose irresistible parts of their bodies. The answer is simple, he hastily scouts for any girl close by to sleep with or possibly rape.

Let me say the movies being displayed now encourages pedophiles i.e men that forcefully have sexual intercourse with underage, for example if a full grown man is watching a movie that makes him sexually aroused and he cant control his libido or urge for sex as at that period, he can forcefully sleep with any girl he sees whether old or underage.

It cannot be argued that these practices have made our youths vulnerable and poor copycats. Perharps that is why rape cases have gone up and men are constantly enticed even in public vehicles where young women expose their buttocks in the name of fashion. These resultant effects cannot be overlooked because what the women delight in flaunting. The men are bold to possess either forcibly or surreptitiously.

Nollywood producers must learn to cultivate some sense of moral decency in the way actors dress and interpret sex roles. Since the youths look up to Nollywood actors as models, they should put up some sense of moral decency. Pornographic scenes must be expunged from the Nollywood.

The question here is, what moral values do we teach our children if moral bankruptcy continues in Nollywood?

By Bukky Bamigbetan, for Daily Times

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