Paul Schleifer

According to www.dictionary.com, aesthetics is “the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc., as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to establishing the meaning and validity of critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles underlying or justifying such judgments.” The website also defines it as “the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty.”

According to www.etymonline.com, the word came into the language in “1798, from German Ästhetisch (mid-18c.) or French esthétique (which is from German), ultimately from Greek aisthetikos ‘of or for perception by the senses, perceptive,’ of things, ‘perceptible,’ from aisthanesthai ‘to perceive (by the senses or by the mind), to feel,’ from PIE *awis-dh-yo-, from root *au- ‘to perceive.’” In English literature and art, the word is often associated with aestheticism, the art-for-art’s-sake movement of the latter half of the 19^th century.

On this day in 2015, General Muhammadu Buhari became the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, defeating the incumbent, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria). Nigeria has a government much like that of the U.S., with a president who is separate from the bi-cameral legislature. This system has been in place since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democracy after decades of a succession of military coups. The 2015 election was the first peaceful transition of power from one political party to another, a giant step toward the rule of law. Nigeria, a former British colony, is now the most populous country in Africa (which, by the way, is not a country, despite what many Americans seem to think), and is an oil exporter. Despite the growing freedom, Nigeria is still struggling to improve in the area of economic freedom.

One of the benefits of increased freedom and wealth in a society is the leisure and money to make art. This assertion has proved true of Nigeria. Back in 1992, the Nigerian film industry produced its first hit, Living in Bondage. Since then, the Nigerian film industry has grown to where it produces the second greatest total of films in the world, surpassed only by India’s Bollywood. American journalist Emily Witt published a book about Nollywood last October: Nollywood: The Making of a Film Empire.

In an interview with PBS, Witt explains:

“The industry came out of an extremely difficult time in Nigeria where all the movie theaters closed, state television networks couldn’t pay anybody and the currency had tanked so they couldn’t import movies anymore. Out of that they started shooting movies on VHS and copying and distributing them on the street because the hunger for local entertainment was so strong.

“There’s also a strong tradition of theater and storytelling in Nigeria — it’s a literary powerhouse. And there’s something unique about Nigeria in the sense that it has a really strong sense of cultural pride. Nigerians just like Nigerian stuff better than from other places. It’s true for the fashion, the music, the language, as compared to other countries in Africa. Nigerians also saw an opportunity to create content that has black people in it, instead of [those colonialist narratives].”

Further she says, “Nigeria is a country with a strong moral consensus: about what family looks like, what your sexuality looks like, what it means to be a man or a woman and what’s asked of you. You can learn a lot about how the country sees what a good person is. You can also learn a lot because it’s a country with extremes of wealth and poverty, and people are always making and losing these fortunes in the movies — it says a lot about the instability with which people live, and the lack of practical opportunities to advance. When people get rich, it’s sometimes misbegotten or feels like a windfall from a miracle.

“One thing I always found a little amusing while watching the movies is that people would have jobs, or be seen giving a presentation, but the jobs are never really identified — just a businessman showing an upward moving line graph. There’s a couple exceptions, but a lot of times the jobs are vague. So the economic anxiety comes through in the films, just as the religiosity comes through, or the views about children” (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/inside-nollywood-the-booming-film-industry-that-makes-1500-movies-a-year).

Here are blurbs on some recent Nollywood movies (http://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/movies/7-new-nollywood-movies-you-should-see-this-november-id7534709.html):

“In ‘Bandits,’ Fred is willed an ‘ugly’ painting by his late Uncle. His friends sell the painting for a cheap amount. He tries to recover the painting after he discovers that his Uncle left him a 90 million Naira cheque behind it.

“The comedy movie stars Joke Silva, Senator, FunnyBone, Chigul, Linda Ejiofor, Funky Mallam, Gbenga Titiloye and John Ukpe.”

“’Potato Potahto’ tells the story of a divorced couple whose plans to share their matrimonial home descend into chaos after the husband Tony brings in an attractive female house help.

“When his ex-wife Lulu then hires an attractive young man to help her out, a roller coaster ride of laughter, jealousy and tears ensue.

The movie … stars OC Ukeje, Joselyn Dumas, Joke Silva, Chris Attoh and Blossom Chukwujekwu.”

“In ‘Christmas is Coming,’ a tomboy has a string of ill-luck after being transformed to a ‘Lady’ by her mischievous flatmates just a few days to Christmas.

“She unintentionally falls in love quickly and has to deal with its immediate consequences.

“The movie stars Ufuoma McDermott, Sola Sobowale, Chioma Akpotha, Zack Orji, Deyemi Okanlanwon, Mary Lazarus, Gregory Ojefua and Michael Okon.”

Now, I have to admit that I have not seen any of these films, so I cannot comment on the aesthetics. But I just listened to a Ted Talk about “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story#t-1023695). I know that I am guilty of thinking of only the one story, the story of poverty and deprivation, related to Nigeria. I have learned two new stories about Nigeria today.

 

The image is of a poster for the Flint Public Library’s Africa/African Diaspora Series, specifically for  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Nigerian writer.