Nollywood would definately go places, though its been making important strides towards this, but with better planning and investment. It would def make us proud! Read on, Taraji P.
Henson’s twitter rant last week is
definitely an
indication that
something is
amiss in
Hollywood when it comes to earned recognition for black actresses. After
being subbed from appearing along
with her “Person of Interest” co-stars
on TV Guide’s cover, Henson tweeted:
“WOW!!!! TV Guide is NOT including me
on the cover with my cast members……, I am the female lead of a
3 member cast and I’m not included on
the cover!!!!!! Do you see the shit I have
to deal with in this business…, I cram to
understand!!!!” As controversial as Henson’s tweet may
have been, considering the fact that she
scored a role on a much-anticipated
show on a major network, it certainly
brought to light frustrations that clearly
a lot of actresses of color seem to share in an industry that is still struggling to
figure out how to be politically correct
and creative at the same time. But this thread doesn’t run true in
Nollywood; in fact, it’s quite the
opposite. Nollywood is Africa’s answer
to America’s elite film industry —
without all the money and power,
which is still a work in progress. However, there are plenty of
opportunities to flex your acting
muscles and bite into juicier roles as a
black actress when you are cast in a
Nollywood film. The Nollywood film
industry originated in Nigeria and was inspired by the dramatic nature —
almost Shakespearean quality — of the
TV soaps. Someone had the ingenious
idea to translate the popularity of the
Nigerian primetime soaps to the big
screen, and so far, it’s paying off. The Nollywood film industry is currently
flourishing. It’s the second largest film
industry in the world and annually
produces more films than the U.S. —
just slightly less than the booming
Bollywood (Indian) industry. The only glitch? Bootleg DVDs, which is
ultimately hampering the financial
capabilities of the talented filmmakers,
churning out numerous movies yearly. Actresses Nia Long and Kimberly Elise
have both caught the Nollywood fever,
and earlier this year, were cast in“ Tie That Binds,” a film by acclaimed Ghanaian film director Leila Djansi. Their
roles are both challenging and vital to
the shape of the film. And their visual
factor is quite high. Compared to the
state of affairs in Hollywood, it’s hard to
ignore the roadblocks that black actresses have been struggling with for
quite sometime in order to make an
enduring impact in the world of film
and television. Yes, we have made
some strides — thanks to the talents of
actresses like Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, and Halle Berry
to name a few. But despite all that
progress, there is still that sense of
wasted talent and unfulfilled career
goals. Angela Bassett, an Oscar-
nominated actress with an impeccable film career, finally had to succumb to
the Tyler Perry movie factory, and Viola
Davis did a great job in the summer hit,
The Help. But after seeing her in
supporting roles, it would be nice to
watch her carry a movie for once, considering her wealth of talent. I can definitely picture a scenario where
Nollywood and Hollywood will merge,
and black American actresses follow the
footsteps of Nia Long and Kimberly Elise
— embracing an environment like
Nollywood where their talent is celebrated, and they are given the
opportunity to shine. Won’t that be refreshing? *forgv any typo, it was lost in transit*

Nollywood

The big studios in Hollywood favour White actors more than Black actors and they deliberately rate their own White actors than the blacks. The African American must refuse the white superiority complex and pool their resources to set up their own studios like Tyler Perry to break all the white barriers erected against them. They should break new grounds beyond Hollywood.

^^^^you r rite about blacks being discrimated against in hollywood to some extent, considering the fact that the big guns in hollywood are majorly whites *stands to b correctd though* however do u think somewhat of a 'collabo' btw african americans and their nollywood counterpart would b beneficial to us, considering the naija factor.