Spare Me the Lies: Why Hard Work Isn’t Always Good Work

I lost my dad earlier this year.

I honestly did not mean to start on a downer but bear with me.?

There’s this thing that happens when people find out you’ve lost a family member. There’s an awkwardness because there are no words to adequately express how you feel. I know. I’ve been there before. I feel that there was an excess amount of awkwardness in my case because I did not exhibit any form of loss. Because I did not feel any. And I think not one of my friends knew how to process that.

This led me down the path of hearing the usual platitudes – oh you can’t speak ill of the dead. These things happened so far back, forgive and forget. He probably regretted what happened and just never got around to telling you.?

Nigerians have a way of not wanting to speak the truth about situations. We couch it as consideration for people’s feelings, but I personally think we are averse to truth-telling. The truth is that sometimes things are just the way they appear. And no whitewashing or hard work will make it appear any different. This leads me to the meat of this article.

Nollywood is huge here in Lagos… I guess in Nigeria as a whole. I dare say everyone has someone who has been involved in some way or the other in video production - this is anything from video skits to full-on film production. The industry has grown. Breaking records on the steady, giving people a platform to achieve their heart desire.?

But I worry.

I am a firm believer that for one to improve in one’s craftsmanship, you need to have people who will tell you where you took a misstep (or several). It might be painful and if you’re like me, you will probably keep?small?malice with the person. But irrevocably, growth is a painful process that must happen for success to be achieved.?

I follow a few film review pages and I have noticed a couple of things. Whenever a negative review of a Nollywood film comes up, there are some standard comments that you can expect to see.

‘Do am if e easy’

‘How can you say this about something someone has worked so hard on’

‘Do you think it is easy to produce a film?’

‘You just hate the producer/director/actor headlining the project’

‘This one is just beef’?If you’re Nigerian, you will get this.

And surprisingly, I know people that agree with the critics about such films but will not come out openly to say so. Because we all must be ‘supportive’. This leads me to ask:

Why do we see criticism as an attack?

I am not a film critic. My standard response about films is ‘You should give it a watch. I liked it'?or ‘I didn’t really feel it'. But I do consider what the internet says about films. This generally guides if I watch a film or not. Suffice it to say, I have been pleasantly surprised by some films that were critically panned. But this has been few and far between.

Nollywood needs to understand that working hard on a film or television series or even a skit does not in any way ensure that the output will be good. You cannot hard work your way into a fantastic film. All your hard work can go down the drain if certain things are not finessed. Your film can look beautiful, but your story can be trash. Your story could be compelling, and your visuals are really just basic. Does this mean you did not work hard on it? Of course not! But that does not mean the output does not leave something to be desired.

Also, a critic can serve to improve the industry. We all need someone or something that checks us. Critics can serve that role. A critic does not need to have produced his own film before he can offer his thoughts on a project or even just useful feedback. Art critics are not required to be artists. Book critics are not required to be writers. Food critics are not required to be professional chefs … Need I go on?

That willingness to hear where you can improve, to not see all criticism as an attack, to genuinely want to become the best at whatever it is you do in the production process requires vulnerability. Requires being willing to listen. Nollywood needs to be willing to get vulnerable. We have a wealth of stories to tell but to be able to compete on an international level with Kdramas and Hollywood, requires us to be open to criticism.?

Growth is painful, my dears. But, as they say, the truth ‘should’ set us free.