Nollywood is losing its originality – Segun Arinze

Veteran Nollywood actor Segun Arinze has expressed concerns about the current state of the Nollywood industry, asserting that African authenticity is eroding in the industry.

Arinze noted that the current Nollywood industry is “slightly distorted” because of the kind of stories being told making the industry lose its originality.

He argued that the African cultural heritage is being replaced in Nollywood with foreign culture particularly because of the exposure that the current generation has experienced, citing social media.

He emphasised that although the industry is progressing with new starts emerging “we should be able to tell our own stories.”

“We are seeing the future now even though slightly distorted. We are still on track and nothing is ever perfect. Social media has also contributed its own quarter to the industry now.

“Because of the kind of stories they tell now and the way they go about it. We are losing originality. We are beginning to ape a lot of things going on in European America but I think we should keep the authentic African stories as we know it to be and not say we do not have because we travelled around the world and have interactions with everybody around the world, we know what’s on global village now but that still should not take away your tradition.

“You don’t take your custom and traditional values and throw them away because you travelled abroad, it doesn’t make any sense,” he said in an interview on Joy News on March 27, 2025.

Citing an example, Arinze contrasted traditional African marriage ceremonies with white weddings in the Western style, pointing out that although the latter is an European custom, Africans have embraced it.

He maintained that this cultural change is also present in Nollywood, where local storytelling is being gradually dominated by foreign storytelling.

The post Nollywood is losing its originality – Segun Arinze first appeared on 3News.

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