Communication, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Multidisciplinary
3
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Narrative shifts and empowering concerns: representation of violence against women and girls in Nigerian films Khadijat Adedeji-Olona Feminist Media Studies, 2026 Contemporary scholarship suggests that global feminist movements striving to end violence against women and girls have spurred an improvement in its media representations. Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, serves as a notable example of how local filmmakers are incorporating global feminist principles to challenge entrenched stereotypes and portray women’s empowerment. However, these changes are insufficiently explored in scholarship. This study examines how select Nigerian films portray violence against women and girls (VAWG) and seek to challenge societal attitudes towards it with empowering narratives. Through textual analysis of three films – Citation (2020), Dry (2014) and Stories by Her (2021), five recurrent themes were identified: institutional commitment to justice for victims/survivors, acceptable and unacceptable approaches to justice, voicelessness versus repossession of voice, and societal apathy versus complicity. The study highlights the potential of films for effective storytelling and social change.
Dry: A Filmmaker’s Perspective on Addressing Violence against Women and Girls Khadijat Adedeji-Olona Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 2025 Producer and Director of Dry (2014), Stephanie Linus, is a renowned Nigerian actress, director, and producer, who started her acting career as a teenager. With a Bachelor’s degree in English and Li...
Historical overview of the Nigerian film industry Khadijat Adedeji-Olona, Ganiyat Tijani-Adenle, Lai Oso Media in Africa Issues and Critiques, 2024 Video films in the form of feature films, short films, and documentaries have been globally acknowledged as platforms through which the identity, character, images, and cultures of societies are expressed, preserved, and transmitted. Relying mostly on secondary data from academic and non-academic literature and guided by the historical perspective theory, this chapter provides a historical overview of the growth and development of the Nigerian film industry, with particular reference to the Southern extraction (Nollywood). Reflecting on the development of Nollywood, through six distinct evolutionary phases, this chapter discusses the challenges of filmmaking in each of the phases and the significant contributions of each era to the overall growth of the industry in the West African country.
