Netflix And Mo Abudu: Will The Nigerian Audience Finally Get The Respect They Deserve?
Nollywood and EbonyLife Studio's latest flick 'Chief Daddy 2', Mo Abudu's response and the continued disrespect for the Nigerian audience.
On Friday, January 14, Mo Abudu sat in front of a camera, somber but collected as she responded to the intense reactions of an audience that had enough of the continued disrespect. Over the years, Nigerian filmmakers have come up with different ways to address this sort of backlash but for the EbonyLife boss, this time, it is with sprinkles of contrite disposition and veiled threat to restrict people who do not disagree respectfully from accessing the production company’s pages.
In the caption for the well-shot public relations video, she wrote, “We appreciate your constructive feedback. This way, my team and I can continuously improve ourselves and deliver the great quality you have come to expect from EbonyLife Studios.” In reality, the Nigerian audience has stopped expecting great quality from the Studios and have repeatedly said so.
The backlash ‘Chief Daddy 2’ received was not new. Save the first few films by the studio, its latter works have fallen into a rut, lumping scenes together that could easily have been amateur Instagram reels. The audience has complained about these productions and others like them.
Several times when they have made this call, they were told to take what they are given and even be grateful that despite the hurdles, some people have graciously agreed to do them a service by making Nollywood films. If they must complain or ask for better, they have to be careful not to anger the filmmaker lest they stop doing us the favour of sharing content with us.
It is the same energy Abudu’s response gave when she wrote, “Please share your feedback respectfully otherwise we will have to restrict entry to you on our pages. We really don't want anyone to miss out on finding out about the exciting stories we have for you in the pipeline.”
This posturing is similar to that of the Nigerian government, who expects gratitude for the barest minimum and wastes no time in throwing subtle threats should anyone dare to ask for more or question the low standards. It is like the Nigerian audience is doomed to accept mediocrity on several levels, including governance and films.
On other occasions, the Nigerian audience has also been told that they are the reason bad films are made because they hold no intellectual capacity to assimilate good, enjoyable films. This was likely what fuelled the audacity that made Abudu, EbonyLife and the entire team release a large format advert for a destination country with no story or purpose, on January 1.
It was the perfect middle finger to the Nigerian audience. It was the “hey you, unintelligent folks. We have told Netflix that this is what you deserve and so this is how you will be welcomed into the new year.” But January 1 was a terrible day to pick. If the travesty called ‘Chief Daddy 2’ had been released on any other day that wasn’t of importance, Nigerians would complain in bits and pieces as usual and keep it moving.
Yet, this was a case of everyday being for the thief and one day for the owner. The brazen decision to premiere something as empty as that on New Year’s Day signified heavy contempt and an over-bloated sense of self-importance. Abudu and Niyi Akinmolayan, who directed the film, are not alone.
Month in, month out, members of the audience have held their breath when they go to cinemas to see Nollywood films and continued to rationalize poor outputs with “it’s a work in progress.” They have always complained but their protests have been met with “we don’t have money,” “you don’t understand how film works,” or “we are doing our best.”
When Netflix came on board, there was a murmur of hope among the audience that the streaming platform would insist on quality, especially from the limited pool in Nollywood. It has failed to do so but sources at Netflix insist that there is a justifiable reason. They have noted that the platform had to work with what it met and naturally collaborated with the prominent names; siding with the things they were told worked with the Nigerian audience.
It is, however, baffling that a global company like Netflix has allowed itself to get dragged into an avoidable mess simply because its agents are too curried by certain factions to look properly, to select content that will increase its brand value in Nigeria and Africa. Or is Netflix’s presence in Nigeria an advanced tokenism? A way to seem progressive by including African stories? Is the need for tokenism far greater than that of brand value?
When ‘Chief Daddy 2’ was released and received the backlash, it was not because the audience had suddenly stopped enabling the industry’s gaps, it was because that day, everybody had time and having gone through various forms of oppression the previous year, the audience simply refused to be bullied again, to have their taste misrepresented on the start of a new year.
Still, will the audience get the respect they deserve going forward? Is Netflix going to be more specific on standards now? Are the filmmakers going to stop being evasive and just strive to put out enjoyable work with attention to details? They have constantly complained about money being the problem but if a product like ‘Chief Daddy 2’ is what resources from a brand like Netflix can produce, then there is no defense.
There is an upside to all of this and it is simply that the audience has finally been vindicated and has raised a momentum it needs to sustain. It is important that the audience recognizes the power of its collective voice and that it is okay to protest over entertainment that does not meet the standard. If the film industry gatekeepers are not ready to do better, we don’t have to accept what does not work. There is no need to stroke the egos of those who have no regard for our entertainment and time.
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PS: In case you are wondering what the Nigerian audience wants, this is a good place to start.