Female Narratives in Nollywood Melodramas

Dr. Elizabeth Johnson is an Associate Professor of History and Social Sciences at Governors State University. She is the author of Resistance and Empowerment in Black Women’s Hairy Styling. She has published articles in the following journals: World Literary Review, MP: An Online Feminist Journal, and Southwest Journal of Cultures. Her research and speaking interests are grounded in group identity and critical race theory including hair aesthetics, body image, nineteenth-century U.S. history, and media representations of ethnicity and gender. Dr. Donald Culverson is a University Professor of Political Science and Justice Studies at Governors State University. He is the author of Contesting Apartheid: U. S.  Activism, 1960-1987. He has published articles in the following journals: Political Science Quarterly, Race and Class, and Transafrica Forum. His research focuses on globalization and its relationship to racial inequality.

I. Introduction

II. Alternative Frames for Viewing and Thinking about Nollywood Films

III. The Women of Nollywood: Suffering and Agency

IV. Differential Access to Nollywood Films

V. Female Directors and Producers

VI. Concluding Thoughts

Appendix A: Themes of suffering in the nine selected films

Appendix B: Themes of agency in the nine selected films

Appendix C: African/African Diasporic Film Festivals

Appendix D: African female filmmakers

Filmography

Bibliography

About the Authors