Ambivalence of informality: Covid-19 and unmasked precarity in Nollywood

IF 1.5 2区社会学 Q1 CULTURAL STUDIES

International Journal of Cultural Studies Pub Date : 2024-01-03 DOI:10.1177/13678779231222029

G. Simon

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article explores the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Nigerian film industry (Nollywood) and the local responses of filmmakers to the precariousness engendered by the pandemic. This research adopts the critical media industry studies framework and relies on interviews with 30 Nollywood filmmakers who provided insights on the impact of the pandemic on labour in Nollywood. Theorizing the Covid-19 dynamics as reflective of the ambivalence of informality, this article submits that although informality was central to Nollywood's industrial structure and sustainability, the pandemic triggered unprecedented tensions associated with those informal practices and highlighted existing precarity which had been largely masked by constant availability of jobs. Accordingly, a significant legacy of the pandemic for the industry is the unprecedented gravitation of industry players towards more formalized industrial structures and practices.

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非正规性的矛盾性：诺莱坞的 "Covid-19 "和不加掩饰的不稳定性

本文探讨了 "Covid-19 "大流行病对尼日利亚电影业（Nollywood）的影响，以及当地电影制片人对大流行病造成的不稳定局势的应对措施。本研究采用了批判性媒体产业研究框架，并依靠对 30 位诺莱坞电影制片人的访谈，这些制片人就大流行病对诺莱坞劳动力的影响发表了见解。本文将 Covid-19 的动态理论视为非正规性矛盾性的反映，认为尽管非正规性是诺莱坞产业结构和可持续性的核心，但大流行病引发了与这些非正规做法相关的前所未有的紧张局势，并凸显了现有的不稳定性，而这种不稳定性在很大程度上被不断提供的就业机会所掩盖。因此，大流行病给该产业留下的一个重要遗产是，产业参与者前所未有地倾向于更加正规化的产业结构和做法。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Cultural Studies Multiple-

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

9.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： International Journal of Cultural Studies is committed to rethinking cultural practices, processes, texts and infrastructures beyond traditional national frameworks and regional biases. The journal publishes theoretical, empirical and historical analyses that interrogate what culture means, and what culture does, across global and local scales of power and action, diverse technologies and forms of mediation, and multiple dimensions of performance, experience and identity. Dedicated to theoretical and methodological innovation in cultural research, the journal is multidisciplinary in outlook, publishing relevant contributions that integrate approaches from the social sciences, humanities, information sciences and more. International Journal of Cultural Studies publishes original research articles. The journal gives preference to papers that extend existing theory or generate new theory through interpretive engagement with empirical cases. Papers based on single country case-studies should clearly indicate and develop the broader relevance of their analyses for an international readership. The journal does not publish close readings of single texts; but it does consider critical, contextualised readings that similarly indicate and develop the broader relevance of their analyses to the field. International Journal of Cultural Studies regularly publishes special issues on urgent questions in the field as well as on specific regions, industries and practices.