ACTORS SHOULD FIX UP

While the censure and criticism that Nollywood practitioners i.e Actors, Producers, Directors, writers and other crew members have faced recently have stemmed from unfair and unrealistic standards, particularly from unfeeling sadists and cyber trolls who have decided to take up the mantle of lambasting and upbraiding their compatriots and the expertraits who toil to shine the Nigerian light to the world, much needs to be said about the actual acting that many Nigerian actors do.

The pathetic excuses of budgetary, legislative, pedagogical and  instructional limitations have been overflogged, such that even mediocre actors are quick to latch onto it whenever their art is criticise, as they continue their parastitic abuse of the opportunity to star in cinemas.

To be clear, I am not a tyrant, neither am I an unfeeling dolt who lives to put down others, nonetheless, I am strongly against the mediocrity that is being celebrated across some sections of Nollywood, particularly as it is obvious they can do better.

Legends such as Sam Loco Efe, Justice Esiri, John Okafor and Onyeka Onwenu, all of blessed memory, performed magic even when the limitations of today are less than a quarter of what they faced, yet they pulled tricks with their dialogues, non verbal acting and style.

Honestly, the line between A-list, B-list and C-list is barely in existence today, as Producers and production houses are more interested in handing roles to social media influencers whose following would convert to economical gains for them. While this is not entirely wrong, it is giving the vibe that the industry is run by monocratic individuals, whose main aim is money, and who do not even bother to pretend they want to entertain the people.

Furthermore, there is a paradigm shift from the collaboration that the founding fathers envisioned, to a malevolent competition amongst industry sharks, such that for many artistes, they have to be loyal to one, and be enemy to another with other to survive.

This is anti-progress, and if not quickly halted, has the capacity to substitute the gains we have made in the last decade to losses. Such atavistic and prebendary attitude should be discarded with alacrity. Those who watch our movies do not care about industry alignment and politics, they simply want to be entertained.

The best way to achieve this is to assemble the right team, and put square pegs in square holes. The effect of this will be manifold, because not only will our movies be qualitative, mediocrity will no longer have a place in the industry.

Actors need to step up their game, and that time is now.

Someday, we’ll talk about the others in the industry.