VIDEOS IN MOTION - fasopo

SECTION IITHE “NOLLYWOODIZATION” OF THE NIGERIAN VIDEO INDUSTRYDiscursive constructions, processes of commoditization and the industry’s transformationsIntroductionDuring the first year of my PhD research, and before beginning the fieldwork in Nigeria, Iattended a number of conferences and seminars on Nollywood. I thought this was a good way tobecome more familiar with the topic and to have a picture of Nollywood studies’ state of the art.Unexpectedly the experience of attending these conferences also guided my attention towardanother important dimension of the video phenomenon that later became particularly important inmy work. I realized the importance of the discursive mobility of the Nigerian video industry and theimpact this circulation has had on the industry’s recent transformations. A short digression into twoepisodes that occurred to me during the early stages of my research is useful to introduce theargument that I will develop in the next two chapters.87