The ornamentalization of masculinity in selected Nollywood films

Abstract

The study evaluates the spatial politics of ornamental masculinity in Nigerian movies and how representation contributes to a culture that harms gender. Highlighting how creative content and language demonstrate power, the study explores the complex realities shaping narrative experiences and how patriarchal prescripts of normative behaviour evolve in a conservative space. Based on findings culled from visual research and dramaturgical analysis, the paper explores how three Nigerian movies, Sobe Umeh’s Backup Wife, Biodun Stephen’s Let Karma, and Paschal Amanfo’s Celebrity Marriage, pioneer social change through stories of privileged male protagonists. The research establishes the link between creative performance, masculinity, and the consequences of a social process that perpetually frames minorities as auxiliaries of a dominant gender. The paper applies Connell’s gender order theory which advocates that masculinities vary across periods and cultures with characteristics presumed to be absolute and fixed in nature. Arguing that such masculinities, like gender and sexuality, are products of human classification and interpretation shaped by cultural contexts, the study finds that sexist behaviour is concealed in movies through a language of discourse that marks the female gender negatively while projecting masculinity as a shield.

Keywords:

• Masculinity
• gender
• ornament
• sexuality
• toxicity
• hegemony

1. Introduction

From antiquity to the contemporary period, and with the ubiquity of movies, men have evinced an inclination to control fictive narratives and dominate women in cultural spaces. In many gripping narratives of ‘violence, trauma, and loss, women are the perpetual subjects silenced by shame, faced with no other choice but silence as a strategy of survival, or an agential act’ (Porter, 2016, 35). In modern Nigerian society, yet tied to the apron strings of conservatism, the media largely frames the language of discourse and meaning, and nowhere is this palpable as cinematic productions (Zaichenko, 2019). Popular culture has largely shaped social behaviour, people’s perception of others, and their own unique place in society. Watching movies is a popular pastime in Nigeria with its film industry, dubbed Nollywood, quite massive, ranking second to Bollywood in terms of numerical film production annually and third behind Hollywood and Bollywood in terms of revenues (Brock, 2009). The first wide-release Nigerian film was Kenneth Nnebue’s popular thriller “Living in Bondage” in 1992 which prepared the ground for other successful indigenous films. As Schultz (2012) affirms, “the massive success of Ken Nnebue’s movie confirmed the potential of a large market for Nigerian films, and following its release, Nollywood has rapidly grown in size, producing over 1,500 films annually and largely following the first blockbuster’s style.

Films comprise essential components of the cultural template for decoding socio-cultural trends. Evidently, many Nigerian movies depicting masculinity themes like braveness, sexual promiscuity, violence, materialism, social privilege, misogyny, etc. are popular with the Nigerian audience. Although there has been much research on gender realities in contemporary Nigeria, critical insights on the application of masculinity as a development theory for analyzing victims of masculinity and expanding the proposed aims of marginalized groups have received a modicum of scholarly interest. K. Onyenankeya et al. (2019, 86) aver that many Nigerian films depict women in occupations that position them most often, as subordinates to men, without status or power. The content and influence of these movies are just as important as their economic contributions to Nigerian society as large segments of the viewing public identify with their stated narratives. Central to this study’s analysis are critical questions of what men’s perception of ornamental masculinity is and control of gender. The study explores the reference movies to explicate women’s responses to sexist behaviour and how creative artists use vulnerable male characters to drive change agenda. Though not wholly positive, the Nigerian movies used in this study buttress the toxic effects of ornamental masculinity and how society inadvertently enables sexism under the guise of the cultural norm. The selected movies recreate typical realities that frame vital behaviour toward the “other” gender as well as how power determines assumed knowledge which in turn translates to accepted truths.

Since 1980, theoretical perspectives to comprehend gender performance and construction have largely tilted toward the study of masculine social norms and the social construction of masculinity (Levant & Wong, 2017). Ornamental masculinity, a sort of hegemonic masculinity, describes a process through which men exert and maintain dominance in social roles over women and other gender minorities. This type of masculine ideology most specifically refers to attitudes and belief systems regarding how men should think, behave and feel. In most male-focused Nigerian movie plots, women are likely to be depicted as more morally irresponsible than men and desirous of male intervention for maximal functionality in society. Through a creative handling that labels and holds young women accountable for their tragic fate, the instances of toxic masculinity in the movies are highlighted. Masculinity is a perceptible sexist operation in many Nollywood films reflecting gender paradigms that frame content, social value, and meaning in the entertainment industry. Iyengaar and Kinder (2015) declare that although the media does not appear to tell people what to think, it however tells us what to think about and how to think about it. With the growth of cinema, social media, and technology in Nigeria, the entertainment media has appropriated the task of advancing the masculinity culture. Sprafkin et al. (1992, xii) observe that the screen “is now a part of nearly every child’s earliest experiences and a considerable force in shaping the way nearly all children and adults think about human conditions and human relationships”.

Nigerian movie plots embody the tension between the values Nigerian directors have represented in our culture while revising the antiquated nature of such misogynistic values in contemporary society. Biodun Stephen, who made her first directorial debut with her movie, The Visit (Stephen, 2015), has since become one of Nigeria’s movie chat toppers with her films which usually focus on the consequences of sexist behaviour. A cursory review of her oeuvre reveals a woman on a mission to correct the existing narrative by centring women in the most intimate aspect of society and elevating the woman’s status in the family and society. A subsequent analysis would show how Stephen’s and Mohammed (2019) Let Karma presents a corresponding plot pattern in which her male characters are punished for their sexist deeds and how the male chauvinists in Amanfo’s and Mbunabo (2017) Celebrity Marriage and Ume and Oguamanam (2017) Backup Wife believe they have the rights to own females as commodities. As a set of cultural attributes related to men and boys, masculinity norms vary from culture to culture and across various ages and Nigerian movies offer an important artistic space to review how gender issues are projected culturally.

2. Literature review

Critical research in gender study has tilted toward the idea that conformity to masculine norms and gender role conflict is linked to men’s psychological and interpersonal problems which are largely of a toxic nature (Gerdes et al., 2018; Griffith et al., 2012; O’Neil, 2008; Wong et al., 2017). The individual disposition of such men and the response of society could shape or define socialization. Kendall (2000, 79) corroborates that “socialization is a two-way process between society and the individual. Just as the society in which we live helps determine what kind of individuals we will become, we have the ability to shape certain aspects of our social environment and perhaps even the larger society”. As Judith Butler (1999) explains, “the female body is marked within masculine discourse, whereby the masculine body, in its conflation with the universal, remains unmarked” (17). Hegemonic masculinity as a behavioural concept has been used in gender studies since the early-1980s to explain men’s power over women. As an attribute emphasizing the rightful power of consent to achieve compliance, it has served to explain men’s use of violence. Similarly, “feminists have adopted toxic masculinity as shorthand for characterizing homophobic and misogynist speech and violence by men” (Harrington, 2021, 349). Marcotte (2017) labels toxic masculinity an act, not affection-oriented but domination-minded. Various scholars (including DiMuccio & Knowles, 2020; Vandello & Bosson, 2012; Vandello et al., 2008) have argued that anxieties associated with manhood contribute to the inclination of masculinity to a constant struggle for “social proof and validation” and ”male-typed behaviours, such as physical aggression” (Vandello et al., 2008, 1325) which signals a level of insecurity. This insecure state suggests that manhood is not innate but learned. Okunna (1996), Ogunleye (2003), Ezeigbo (1996), and Azeez (2010), state that Nigerian films portray and position Nigerian women stereotypically and negatively. Osakpolor (2021) demonstrates that this negative portrayal of women in Nigerian films remains a current trend akin to the manner of portrayal in the early years of Nollywood. Osakpolor (2021) submits that Nollywood’s history of women’s misrepresentation has left the industry with an audience that perpetually looks forward to seeing films that portray women negatively. Through an investigation of the Nollywood films, Isoken (2017) and King of Boys (2018), Osakpolor further shows how even female Nollywood film directors are guilty of the negative portrayal of women in films for pecuniary benefits. Alola and Alola (2020) identifies the pros and cons of the representation of African womanhood through Nigerian films and potential anti-cultural stereotypes. Uchendu (2007) argues that “masculine gender expressions cannot be generalized. Individual views can vary widely and are strongly affected by traditional practices as well as environmental and other realities” (279).

Adesina Azeez’s (2010) audience perception study of female portrayal in Nigerian home video films explores the differences in the way various individuals and groups interpret creative representation. As Azeez (2010) explains, “Nigerian films, as a form of the culture industry, are devoted to controlling and dominating women and they do this in such a way as to make the control and domination seem natural and given, but with the power to propel women to internalize their objectives. So, they serve men and serve the purpose of sustaining the cultures and discourses that provide women negative subject positions”. As the culture shifted towards an ornamental one, popular symbols of ideal masculinity and economic prosperity have become normative with the implicit language of most Nigerian movies sustaining the misnomer that women are inconsequential and disposable. In such Nigerian movies, women’s identities, antithetical to masculinity notions of deism, are formed by various situations, especially with their contact with the male characters. Social psychologists attribute the media’s influence partly to the social scripts they provide, the social scripts provided by our culture (Peter Gray, 2007, 520). Gray, 2007, 361) states that “Historically, the use of the masculinity term to stand both for human males and for human beings, in general, was no accident. Historically, and still among many people today, men have been considered quite explicitly to be the primary humans and women have been considered to be secondary”. This is the simplest interpretation of masculinity but it appears that Nigerian society infers it differently hence various dimensions and expansive use of passive language in Nigerian movies. This language dominance can be best understood in terms of the notion of “linguistic hierarchy” and of the social, political, and ideological dimensions of attributing power and prestige to particular language varieties and their speakers (Gal, 1989; Grillo, 1989; Silverstein, 1998; Woolard & Schieffelin, 1994). Notionally, the attendant minorization could be conceived as a social process occurring within and across nation-states which assigns minority groups less socio-economic and political power than other dominant groups. It is a practice that measurably reflects the DNA of elite protection.

Sonia Livingstone (2002, 199) posits that “among a number of key cultural institutions, the mass media are central mediators of this new model of the family, both because they convey powerful and appealing imagery of family diversification and the individualization of lifestyles within the family”. Livingstone’s (2002) position delineates the key role of the family in gender building and identity acquisition. In the analyzed films the markers of gender relations and masculine identity are a toxic marital life and an unhealthy exertion of masculinity, characterized by abuse and violence. In Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019), Anthony engages in extra-marital affairs arrogantly believing he is a smart Alec. Daniel, his pal also engages in the same act and also subjects his wife to domestic abuse and sexual violence. In Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017) Tade exhibits the same sexist traits in his family dealings as he is shown to play his “man card” well. Farouq does not act differently either in Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017) exhibiting chauvinist traits as he physically and emotionally abuses his wife who has almost become his slave. It could be argued that such portrayals reflect reality and are targeted at possible victims of such squabbles. That is, for men with similar traits to observe their toxicity, and the women victims to explore film media for self-realization and an idea-shaping experience. What is pertinent, however, is how the resolutions in these films on the contrary, validate the sexist ideology prevalent in all the selected films.

3. Theoretical framework

The outlined theoretical framework helps illustrate how the male gaze re-creates reality and perpetuates gender abuse through a male primacy institution. Gender implies all the attributes comprised in the process of socialization such as self-group identity, and appropriation of social roles and values in the relationship between men and women. Raewyn Connell’s (Scott, 2015) gender order theory as applied in this study distinguishes multiple masculinities that differ across time, culture, and the individual. Connell (2020) reiterates that gender is socio-culturally constructed and masculinity derives from individuated behaviours. Nikki Wedgewood (2009) describes Connell’s theory of masculinity as the most influential theory in the field of men and masculinities. Following the publication of Connell’s book, Masculinities (1985), translated into more than five different languages, his theory has been applied to and has influenced a wide range of other disciplines such as “education, psychotherapy, violence prevention, and international relations” (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005, 853). Also, Courtenay (2000) and Scott (2015) interrogate how constructions of masculinity and hegemonic masculinities shape the health outcomes of the sexes and particularly, the health risks of men. A notable aspect of Connel’s masculinity theory is that it offers a vital feminist study of historically specific masculinities at the same time as it acknowledges the varying degrees to which individual men partake in its reproduction. Masculinity has become not just a recurring trend among different societies but a behavioural concept connected to the budding importance of money in Nigerian men’s lives as evinced in the movies under review. Egocentrism and male chauvinism are prevalent in the studied movies with male protagonists living smugly in the belief that female partners would tolerate their misbehaviours without complaint.

Rydstrom (2022) believes that pervasive masculinity is not common in all men; however, ‘male privileges and powers are intertwined with violence. Smith (2017) analyses the challenges of masculinity in Nigeria as men traverse the intersecting areas of economics and social relations. In examining the monetary pressures placed on Nigerian men by their relatives, Nigerian men perceive the challenges of manhood as precarious and demanding a rugged response most often exclusionary in nature. Smith (2017) links this behavioural trait to economic anxieties. To Connell, this masculinity type implies a societal pattern whereby stereotypically male traits are idealized as the masculine cultural ideal. It explains how and why men sustain dominant social roles over women and other groups considered feminine (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005).

4. Methodology

Critical Discourse Analysis was used in this research as a relevant research method providing an adequate definition for the problem of the study. CDA provides theoretical explanations for the gender abuse phenomenon and pervasive identity. Furthermore, the study argues the importance of analyzing Nigerian movies through a theoretical prism that comprehends sexism and its social impact. Additionally, the relative nature of Connell’s masculinity theory informs its application in the critical analysis of sexism and the visual representation of men as a dominant gender. Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis is highlighted in the research to show how narrative methodology, through deceptively entertaining allegories, subtly challenges social power asymmetries, structural inequalities, sexism, and exploitation. Critical Discourse Analysis emphasizes how the important concepts of power relationships and gender constructions are reinforced through the narrative methodology. The applied theories would expectedly provide substantial credibility and elicit scholarly rationales for the findings at the end of this research while creating a pool of valuable information for scholars, content creators, and movie audiences.

The three Nigerian movies under review have culturally articulate characters with individuated emotions and logic. The specific methods used in the research include, observation, archival research, and specific theoretical perspectives employed in the analysis and explanation of performance and content. The selected movies were critically analyzed to yield meaning to the reader. The study emphasizes how the anti-sexist plots of the selected movies highlight a toxic masculinity emblematic of a morally insolvent society and also the ways authentic experiences of Nigerian women are transformed creatively against sexism.

5. Scope of the study

The scope of this research is limited to three movies: Sobe Umeh’s Backup Wife, Biodun Stephen’s Let Karma, and Paschal Amanfo’s Celebrity Marriage. However relevant references were made to other movies reflecting the prevalent themes in the selected movies for this study.

6. Synopses

6.1. Sobe Umeh’s backup wife

Sobe Umeh’s Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017) examines the life of Tade who is facing an emotional breakdown after his wife’s departure due to his demanding nature. His best friend, Paul advises him to move on with his life, and based on that advice, Tade settles for a new wife, Wuraola, this time not on the basis of love but for the primary purpose of getting domestic help of sorts to cook his meals and tend to his sexual needs, some veritable relics of ornamental masculinity. Paul forbids Wuraola from engaging in petty trading or any type of economic empowerment. Instead, he locks her indoors when he leaves for the office. Wuraola deifies her husband and strives so much to be the ideal wife as she has been trained. Ultimately, Wuraola gains enlightenment when she comes in contact with a neighbour, Aunty Tilda who is fond of her and proceeds to do her a Cinderella makeover to avoid Tade sending her back to the village on account of her naivety. On the day of her proposed departure, Wuraola tidies their house and is about to leave when Tade rushes in to stop her, apologizing profusely for mistreating her. Tade’s change of mindset is central to what appears to be Umeh’s artivism to address discrimination and interrogate the parameters that frame masculinity in Nigerian society.

6.2. Biodun Stephen’s let karma

Stephen’s Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019) x-rays the lives of men caught in the web of ornamental masculinity. Anthony, a chronic womanizer returns home after cheating on his wife, Gabriella, laden with gifts. When Gabriela discloses Anthony’s largesse to her friends, she gets a mixed response. Meanwhile, Chima and Daniel, Anthony’s friends, reprimand him for his low opinion of women and his randy lifestyle but he discloses his vow to pay women back with a bad coin since they treated him poorly when he was broke. Anthony attempts to influence Daniel, imploring him to control his nagging wife, be more assertive, and generally avoid getting emotionally involved with women. However, events turn awry for Anthony’s disciple when Daniel’s wife catches Daniel cheating, and abandons him on his sick bed. Anthony is shot by his girlfriend’s cultist ex but his wife initially stands by him appearing impervious to his randy past as she nursed him back to health. However, once he is fully recovered, she dumps him.

6.3. Paschal Amanfo’s celebrity marriage

Paschal Amanfo’s Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017) explores the lives of celebrities whose life goals are to achieve fame and riches. Rita, the protagonist, is shown as an astute manager of her home, image, and all sorts of crises. Her husband dominates and harangues her constantly in a bid to control her and maintain his alpha status. Her friend, Victoria, advises her to quit the marriage but Rita, more concerned about her potential fall in social ranks as a single mother, fanatically clings to her husband believing he would change. The movie explores single ladies’ traumatic encounters with conceited men while struggling for career advancement and job security.

7. Analysis and discussion

7.1. Socializing sexism

Susan Faludi (1991) argues that an often ludicrous overreaction to women’s modest progress has prevailed among men whose real sources of current disillusionment appear deeper and more obscure. Faludi reiterates that the feminist drive for economic equality and the gender clash is only a surface manifestation of other struggles. Smith (2017) reveals that money and intimacy are deeply bound together in Nigerian men’s lives explaining that Nigeria’s still-ubiquitous male-dominated society reinforces the belief that money makes a man. He believes unravelling these connections will enable a better understanding of both masculinity and Nigerian society as money paradoxically symbolizes suspicions about men’s motives, and threatens emotional intimacy and moral social relationships. Biodun Stephens and Pascal Amanfo are directors clearly against sexist behaviour. Their films challenge traditional masculinity that essentially conceives manliness on the basis of aggression, stoicism, dominance, and competitiveness. Although Amanfo explores a lot of themes in his films, his advocacy for women’s empowerment and equality is unequivocal. In his movies, his male characters are directly or indirectly made to pay for their misdeeds or made to come to terms with women as human beings of equal standing deserving a voice in society. Sobe Charles Umeh is another prolific Nigerian director, with over ten years of experience in the business, with a soft spot for the womenfolk whom he portrays positively in his movies.

The three protagonists in the selected movies encapsulate the central idea of female liberation in a gender-threatened landscape. Biodun Stephen ensures her audience understands the need to reassess women’s perceptions and the way they are treated as the excerpt shows:

ANTHONY:

That is not the problem Daniel, you are the problem. Yes, the problem is that you are too emotional. You want to behave like a woman when a Woman starts behaving like a woman. Women are like children. When she Starts misbehaving, you have to pamper her, pet her, talk to her, pat her on the back, buy her gifts, buy her presents or something and before you know it, she is back to normal, everything is back to square one, normal.

CHIMA:

That is the lowest opinion I have ever heard in my entire life and anyone Who thinks about women like that has no respect whatsoever for women. (16:46–17:34).

In Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019), Anthony attempts to balance his family life and career as well as his numerous liaisons with women. It is a near-impossible balancing act as other social factors come to play while Anthony struggles to meet the social standards of an elite man. Anthony strives to live up to the notion that men of affluence usually maintain a harem of concubines whether they are married or single. Fixated on complying with various social expectations he abandons his family and other important existential aspects thus losing everything he worked for and subsequently committing suicide. In Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019), Anthony believes as a successful businessman, he is entitled to indulge himself unfettered. In his prime social circle, he prides himself as a “man” of reputable means; a connoisseur of women. He is what his society would call a “proper man” while Daniel, his friend aspires to be like Anthony and attain his level. This trait is also perceptible in Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017), where Tade, the protagonist, solely makes all the family decisions brashly believing he has fulfilled all the needed cultural criteria. It is in reaction to the chauvinist state of affairs that these movie directors articulate their cinematic responses.

Bryant Johnson (2019) observes that “as Nigeria emerges as a major entertainment and media market, more attention is being paid to what values or beliefs Nigerian popular culture transmits. Media is a powerful influence in what social issues people focus on and what options they think are available for social change” (Happer & Greg, 2013). Foucault (1991, 15) theorizing agency asserts that “all human subjects are constructed and human action is necessarily a symptom of ideology, language or discourse”. Foucault (1991) asserts that ornamental masculinity and the atmosphere of intolerance it breeds can only embolden the minority movement’s march to emancipation. The inherent ornamental masculinity in the Nigerian movies under study could be found in the way the male protagonists brazenly hypersexualize gender through rationalized abusive behaviour. In Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017), Farouq feels insecure because of his wife’s celebrity status and superior earning power. There are traces of jealousy and frustration in his personality and like other male protagonists in this study; he obviously slakes his thirst from the same cultural fountain of man-woman dominion. He abuses Rita psychologically and also indulges in adulterous flings with numerous female partners. In Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017), the film’s setting prominently established the cultural backdrop for the men’s actions and sets the tone for their response to coming to terms with the traditional structure. In this social scheme, they are impelled to fulfil their cultural mandate torn between being the permissive modern person or the rigid traditional man. In this schism, they invariably opt for the latter bracket which purposively has cultural approval. The few men who tilt towards a liberal stance like Ben see their female partners as human but are derided as “women” by their men folk. In her movies, Stephen fails to itemize the qualities of manliness but she depicts her male characters as bodies in search of self-image who exploit their vulnerable partners unmindful of the significant impact of such misogynistic treatment.

Parent et al. (2019) find that toxic masculinity results in depression among men. Such depression is most suggestive of the feeling of failure and insecurity associated in this context, with not meeting certain gendered social and cultural demands. A popular socio-cultural norm in Nigeria is that men and women appear to have “clear age-specific expectations of men’s roles” and indeed, women’s roles. Men are, however, constantly assessed as to whether they live up to these expectations”(Barker & Ricardo, 2005, 4). More men, therefore, tend to assert themselves in the forms of control and domination to prove their “manliness” and as a signal of how well they live to the societal expectation of staying in charge. In Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017), the same fractious family issue rears its head when Tade seeks to mould his wife into the desired shape. When his wife refuses to submit to him as he feels a “real African woman” should, the stage for their separation is set. Tade quickly contracts another marriage believing that as a man he has the inalienable right to acquire as many women as he wants and convert them as he wishes. Tade settles for Wuraola, a “village girl” who lionizes him and whom he believes is easier to manipulate as excerpted below:

PAUL:

You went to get a wife from the village in 2017?

TADE:

Well, what was I supposed to do? Get a city wife and suffer the same way I suffered with Betty.

PAUL:

I know. Betty was a bitch but you replaced her with a village girl.

TADE:

Oh yes! And I think that was a wise choice. Because with her, she doesn’t do makeup, she doesn’t wear skimpy clothes. She doesn’t advertise herself to the world and am sure she can cook better.

PAUL:

But, you don’t love her.

TADE:

The more reason I will be better off this time (10:04–10:42).

The excerpt also suggests that the tendency of manipulation that informs Tade’s choice of Wuraola might include further stereotypical objectification. For instance, it implies that a wife from the village would be more modest, cheaper to cater to, and have less trouble than one from the city.

Having relocated to the city to live with Tade, Wuraola pulls out all the stops to ensure her “dream wedding” becomes reality. Tade re-married primarily because of his plan to keep his self-image socially compliant. In reality, the movie’s antagonistic force is his ego which he regards as an essential defining quality for a true man but which unbeknownst to him blinds him to realities and puts him on the brink of losing his new wife. In Celebrity Marriage also Farouq parades himself as his wife’s “lord and personal saviour”. Rita, Farouq’s wife, a successful actress despairs over her husband’s obsessive control of all aspects of her life. This toxicity affects her family life, career and intimate relationship with Farouq who believes that a woman must be submissive to her husband and that violence is an acceptable coercive instrument. Evidently, Farouq’s bias is in full mode as he pushes to assert himself while setting himself up as a villain.

7.2. Serving patriarchy

Diana Kendall (2000) identifies the entertainment media as a powerful source of gender stereotyping and for shaping ideas. Livingstone (2002) further analyses the consequence of media representation and its influence on society, especially young ones. This influence is most powerful on their “identity, culture, education and consumption” (Livingstone, 2002, 173). K. Onyenankeya et al. (2019, 84) insist that “Nollywood films frame men as victims in sexual relationships; often, the female is cast as seductress”. The entertainment media is thus a prime suspect in imprinting established societal stereotypes and gender behaviours on the minds of the audience. This is evident in the movie’s characters’ representation of themselves and their personalities. O. Onyenankeya et al. (2017, 300) assert that “Nollywood’s thematic thrusts and plots are underpinned by socio-cultural dynamics which appear putatively in congruence with the everyday experience of most Africans”. The cultural perceptions in the movies are prevalent and form the crisis leading to the downfall of the male protagonists. Anthony and other male characters in the films are primarily focused on living up to societal expectations which insist they cater and provide for their families, hook up with more than one female partner, and be egocentric, smart, courageous, violent, and emotionless. These characteristics are fully imbibed and reflected by the male protagonists. According to Nonso Okafor (2017), An appraisal of the content and context of Nollywood films shows that the films are created in a linear ideological perceptive; owing to its home-video aesthetic preferences. This preference, allows screenwriters, the director, the director of photography to follow a conventional (or traditional) line of storytelling which reveals the lifestyles of the ordinary (emphasis mine) Nigerian, their joys, happiness, fears, pains and sadness etc and blows it out of proportion through glamour presentational style (emphasis mine). In this relationship between the actor and his art, the tendency to represent the characters as portrayed stereotypically is inevitable.

Okafor (2017) lists the major character portrayal by male Nollywood actors as the roles of fathers, sons, husbands, and kings whereas the female roles according to him consist of mothers, sisters, daughters, prostitutes, wives, queens, etc. Okafor (2017) notes the popular reception of these gender roles by different social groups which have over the years informed various audience perceptions and shaped the ideological constructs that dominate society today. Such ideological constructs motivate the characters of Anthony in Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019), Tade in Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017), and Farouq in Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017), preoccupied with infidelity in marriage and violence against women.

Barker and Ricardo (2005, 1) restate that “too many women and girls have been made vulnerable by the behaviour of men and boys in conflict settings and in sexual relationships”. There is a common strand in all three reviewed movies to shun, demean and taunt men who are still single based on the cultural belief that marriage assigns full manhood. Similarly, the movies promote the narrative that womanhood is incomplete unless it accommodates a husband. Thus, it finds women accepting the ills meted to them to satisfy a social and cultural definition of womanhood. This is a truism for the dramatic characters, Chima and Theresa in Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019). In the reviewed movies the women are proper victims bearing the brunt of whatever violent proclivity of their husbands and resigned to play whatever auxiliary roles assigned to them. As culturally bound persons, they appear resigned to fate. Female characters like Ene and Rita attempt to be independent. Both women are, however, subdued by society’s collective firepower, and their voices drowned in the arena of cultural expectations. In Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019), Gabriela, Anthony’s wife, is portrayed as a woman who lives for her man and dances to his tune. She is non-confrontational, and non-complaining, and accepts his failures, inadequacies, and toxic behaviour. When his philandering is eventually exposed toward the movie’s close, she is heartbroken but subconsciously attempts to prove to her husband that she is not as materialistic as he believes before she finally backs out of the union. Daniel’s wife, Ene, is a home keeper who allows her husband free rein as a stud, but her reward is his contracting a second wife due to his extra-marital misadventure. This spurs Ene to take him to task and deny him further extramarital space. The home front becomes uncomfortable for him but in conformity to his cultural prescript as a male, he makes her the grovelling fellow citing traditional norms of obeisance and loyalty. Daniel is disdainful, picks offence at will, and regularly harangues Ene on non-existent affairs. In the movie, Nnenna, Michael, the notorious cultist’s girlfriend constantly lives under the watchful eyes of her man who controls every aspect of her life leaving her psychologically unhinged. The women in these films are shown practically living for their husbands and boyfriends alike caught between making their marriage work by kowtowing to their husbands’ expectations or asserting their rights and alternatively losing their homes. They are resigned to the clichéd reality that it is a man’s world.

Barker (2000, 4) observes that “In Africa and worldwide, prevailing norms about sexuality and manhood suggest that young men are expected to be knowledgeable, aggressive, and experienced regarding sexuality and reproductive health issues”. Barker (2000) believes that when men adhere to these prescribed gender roles they wield disproportionate power and voice in intimate relationships with women. In Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017), Wuruola plays the faithful wife as she has been brought up to be although her man fails to appreciate her value and virtually converts her to a servant. Initially, Wuruola gushes about her ideal husband and exemplifies the ideal woman trained according to the cultural prescript of women but with the passage of time, Wuraola becomes resigned to the reality of an abusive husband. Rita, Farouq’s wife in Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017) is an emotionally drained woman who actually sees her husband in his real robes of insecurity largely due to his awe of her star power and large male fan base. She is anxious about her husband’s jealousy and fear of her possible infidelity which has led to his exacting violence on her. Rita is also afraid of her own personality and accepts the warped argument that as a man, he has inalienable rights over her.

The selected movies utilize plotlines whereby the abusive victims’ friends provide a window into the minds of the major characters. In Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019), Gabriela, and her friends Ene and Theresa, are seen discussing the joys and woes of their marriages in recent times. Gabriela informs them that her husband gave her a gift because he has denied her his time and attention. Theresa seeks to confirm from Gabriela whether his apology is rendered over any specific issue but she replies in the negative. In the preceding scene, the discussion between Theresa and Ene reveals her previous conversation with Theresa when she intimated her that any man who buys gifts for his wife in such a manner is definitely attempting to cover up. On the contrary, Ene believes Gabriela is the luckiest woman on the planet to have such a doting husband. However, when Ene discloses her problems with her husband, Daniel, Gabriela promptly informs her she is too hard on her man. She advises her that “men do not like being caged, do not like being told what to do and when to do it. Let him do whatever he wants to do. No arguments” (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019, 35:46). Gabriela urges Ene to let her husband do as he pleases as men do not like to be controlled. Gabriella makes this refrain in virtually all the scenes she converses with her friends until the penultimate scene where she adjusts herself and walks out of her sham marriage, revising her earlier stance about accepting that men would be men. Although Theresa is nominally single, she is quite contemplative and circumspect regarding the existing power imbalance admonishing Gabriela for advising Ene to be subservient. She states categorically that Ene has every right to be concerned about her husband’s whereabouts. Chima, Anthony’s friend makes Anthony understand that his lifestyle is undesirable and requires a drastic overhaul, whereas, Daniel hails him for his illicit affairs, lauding him for emulating Anthony and being an ardent disciple. It is evident Chima and Anthony have disparate views of how men should treat their wives.

In Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017), Paul, Tade’s friend, initially praises him for getting another wife albeit a bush girl. However, at a point in the movie, he has a change of heart and starts convincing Tade not to send Wuraola packing due to her time-honoured virtues. Paul obviously enjoys Wuraola’s cooking and values this detail highly in advocating her continued stay. Also, Victor, Tade’s brother who initially did not support his brother’s marriage to a village girl, turns full circle as the movie progressed and Wuraola’s finer details became revealed. In another scene where Tade brings his ex-wife to his brother’s birthday party, Victor angrily repudiates his brother over his attempted hook up remonstrating that he shows some respect to Wuruola who is now his current woman. Most importantly, Aunt Tilda plays the role of a good neighbour to Tade pushing him to view Wuruola positively and cherish her as a worthy partner. Aunty Tilda is the authorial voice as she makes Wuruola a woman of low social rank and empowers her by teaching her how to win her man over and retain him while exuding self-confidence and independence. Wuraola’s interaction with Aunty Tilda exposes her as she becomes more decisive and assertive although in a non-confrontational manner. In the end, all solicitations from Tade’s brother, friends, and his neighbour succeed in prompting Tade to settle with Wuruola. However, in Celebrity Marriage, Rita’s friend, Victoria, advises her on different occasions to flee from her marriage whilst she is still alive but her pleas fall on deaf ears as Rita blames herself for Farouq’s rising aggression. She strongly believes Farouk would change in the fullness of time and their couple goals would align. Ignorant of the psychological pit she is digging by victim blaming, Rita falls deeper into the web of dysfunctional coupling. Farouq’s potential second wife, Maryam has a fixation on married men and is ready to yield to any available suitor whether married or single. Her friends cajole her to change her reasoning but she is adamant that her impending wedding to the married Farouq must proceed. Things go awry when Rita sets her up with some pictures in compromising positions with married men causing the enraged Farouq to cancel the wedding.

In the closing scene of Celebrity Marriage (Amanfo & Mbunabo, 2017), Paschal Amanfo left the plot resolution hanging with Farouq about to pounce on Maryam over her misdeed. Farouq is not punished for his missteps as the other protagonists are under review and fails to account for his ill-treatment of Rita. The director makes important connections but appears disinterested in bringing the abuser to justice leaving clues to assist the viewer to reach his own conclusions. Rita suffers until the movie’s close although at a point she attempted to confront her man thereby initiating a process that Amanfo left unresolved. The male abusers, aware of their abusive treatment of their women, are proud of their actions believing they possess inalienable rights to do so. In this light Emmanuel Ebekue (2019) declares “masculinity in itself as a social havoc” (264). The women, aware of their abusive condition, strive to fight back without success overwhelmed by the men who physically assault and silence them. This is highlighted in Rita’s case as she eventually remains in marriage suggesting that the reward for being a good woman is to be retained in marriage to be seen in a good light by her fans and society.

Let Karma (Stephen & Mohammed, 2019) ends with Anthony surviving an assassin’s bullet but eventually succumbing to death on the hospital bed after his family abandons him. His death is principally due to guilt and frustration over his untenable actions. Daniel does not die in the movie but survives the accident with a limb heavily bandaged and facing possible amputation. He is given a second chance at redemption as his wife, Ene, comes back to nurse him. Biodun Stephen tried to create a balance between the nemeses faced by both men, making Anthony experience a fatal end while sparing Daniel. Ene’s decision to return to Daniel appears illogical as the sick patient does not face any revelation and fails to fully comprehend the enormity of his wrongdoing. This penchant is further trivialized in Ene’s comments to Daniel on his sick bed when she asks her husband to either get a divorce or let them work things out. He picks the latter option and Ene stays back. As the screen credits roll, it is disclosed she later gave birth to twins and the couple lived happily ever after. This happy ending appears contrived implying that the most paramount recipe for healthy gender relationships and couple goals is family and procreation. In Backup Wife (Ume & Oguamanam, 2017), the director never fully elicited empathy for the abused woman by establishing a drawn-out intellectual scene to expose Tade’s warped rationalization process. Sobe Umeh depicts Tade as a crisis-torn masculine character who in the spur of the moment realizes his flawed actions and the only amends he makes is not re-orienting himself but seeking to keep his wife. There is no critical conversation between the couple to set priorities right and show his wife that Tade is truly repentant and resolved to ensure real power balance and social harmony.

8. Conclusion

Many Nigerian movies are unduly influenced by the ideology of ornamental masculinity; an ideology that deserves re-appraisal to reverse gender harm. This paper has significantly highlighted how some Nigerian filmmakers have mobilized their creative platforms to interrogate long-accepted social behaviour and discriminatory practices. In the analyzed movies, the men desire to be socially acceptable in their cultural space thus impelling them to adopt toxic customary practices. Their representation of male protagonists reflects the various cultural reasons framing the way different Nigerian men experience public space in comparison to women and how abusive behaviour is instigated. A prevalent fact in these Nigerian movies is the implication that the male protagonists appear to live up to cultural expectations that do not really reflect who they truly are. It is indicative of the pervasive way ideologies alter notions of sexuality and impact family life.

Conclusively, Nigerian movies could serve as a vehicle for gender equity as evident in the reviewed movies which highlighted pervasive male behaviour. Agency should be an essential aspect of this re-alignment as Livingstone (2002, 199) posits: “the mass media are central mediators of this new model of the family, both because they convey powerful and appealing imagery of family diversification and because the negotiation of media use within the family is itself an increasingly significant means through which commonality and individuality among family members are constructed”. Nollywood ought to pioneer the eradication of ornamental masculinity from its creative platform to ensure gender harmony and dispel the fear that a woman’s success is at the detriment of her husband. Liberation from the shackles of ornamental masculinity should not be women’s problem alone. Using domestic violence as an example of feminist contentions, Schubert et al. (2021) submit that the “blaming discourse” should not be directed at all men since there exist male perpetrators of anti-feminist actions as well as male activists against such actions. Ornamental masculinity can imperil any society striving for material and human development. Men’s positive identities could be engendered through a liberal platform that accepts tolerance and creates safe spaces for vulnerable gender.

Ethics approval

The Faculty of Arts, UNN granted ethics approval for the study.

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Data availability statement

The author confirms that data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article. Raw data that support the findings of this study was generated by the corresponding author at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. They are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Funding

The author received no direct funding for this research. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.