Culture and identity in New Nollywood films: Trends in Indigenous and foreign language cinema

This article explores how New Nollywood films promote and preserve Nigerian cultures, particularly languages, taking The Wedding Party 2 as a case study. It addresses three questions: (1) how extensively are Indigenous Nigerian languages featured in New Nollywood films, notably those with increased visibility through theatrical releases? (2) In what ways does the language usage in these films contribute to showcasing and preserving the array of cultures found across Nigeria? (3) Taking The Wedding Party 2 as a case study, how does this popular film from New Nollywood either align with or challenge the prevailing patterns in the industry’s utilization of Indigenous languages? The article uses two datasets, revealing an increase in Nollywood films produced in English and a corresponding significant decline in local Indigenous Nigerian languages. The study makes a case for emerging linguistic trends such as transliteration, code-switching and language performativity in New Nollywood cinema and their significance in mediating emergent cultural trends.