Oil and Nollywood: Nigeria's Diverging Wealth Gap (2014)

Undergraduates: Katherine Newton, Alison Hafera Meg VanDeusen

Faculty Advisor: Carol Magee
Department: Mathematics

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We argue that Pieter Hugo¿s photographic series Nollywood, 2008 - 2009, creates a complex portrait of 21st century Nigeria by highlighting the realities of daily life not illustrated in Nigerian films from which it is modeled. We focus our analysis on the image of Emeka Onu, which comments on the politicized nature of Nigeria¿s film and crude oil industries. In Nigeria, there exists a wealthy social elite that developed, in part, through the growth of the oil industry. However, 92.4% of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Another Nigerian sector, ¿Nollywood,¿ the nation¿s film business and the third largest movie industry globally, produces films that do not address the nation¿s poverty. It appears, theless, in Hugo¿s photographic series. Drawing on the vast literature on Nollywood, oil studies, and photography, we offer a careful, visual analysis of various photos from this series. We have identified several photographic conventions that emphasize the spectacle of wealth and consumption, including high gloss images and the poses of the actors which recall traditional portraiture representing social stature. These are juxtaposed with grotesque imagery and props that contradict this message of wealth. We therefore argue these photos highlight the tensions of modern Nigerian culture, caught between two distinct economies focused around mass consumption: the idealized economy of wealth in Nollywood films and the economies of those who consume the movies themselves.