The actress writes below...
For those who do not know what the Crab Mentality is, let
me first describe it using the Wikipedia: Crab mentality, sometimes referred to
as the ‘crab in the bucket’, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase,
“if I can’t have it, neither can you.” The metaphor refers to a bucket or pot
of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, instead
they grab at each other in a useless “king of the hill” competition which
prevents any from escaping and ensure their collective demise.
For The analogy in human behavior is claimed to be that
members of a group (in this case, Nigeria) will attempt to negate or diminish
the importance of any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of
envy, spite, conspiracy, or competitive feelings, to halt their progress. It is
akin to the ‘Prisoner’s dilemma,’ whereby two completely ‘rational’ individuals
might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do
so.
It has been making the rounds by some that my
soon-to-be-released movie, ‘WIVES ON STRIKE,’ which is about a group of women
who decide to deprive their men of sex for the sake of a cause, was copied (or
stolen) from the movie, ‘Chiraq’, which was produced and directed by the internationally
acclaimed ace filmmaker, Spike Lee. Firstly, let me table some facts here: the
movie concept came to me about 4 years ago when we wanted to do a movie about
women going on strike, but we just couldn’t find a reason for the strike that
would make sense to our audience. We felt there was no sense in making comedy,
just for comedy sake. At least, that’s how I think, and I like to stick to what
I know and leave others who are better at their own areas of expertise to do
theirs. So when my husband and I wanted to do something concerning the
Child-Not-Bride issue which was steaming up back in 2013, we decided that we
had found a good enough reason for the strike. I wrote the script, and when we
were ready we started principal photography in April 2014. Unbeknownst to us,
the women in South Sudan were suggesting a sex strike to end the war in their
country later that year after our shoot, and this I heard last year from a
United Nations worker whom I met while speaking on the issue of the child bride
and our movie’s theme. When I shot the movie, or back when I was writing the
script, the idea of going on strike was just fantasy and wishful thinking, not
knowing that it had really been conceived by other women in practice, or by
other filmmakers and playwrights in theory.
The first time I heard of ‘Chiraq’ was when my husband
sent me the trailer last year, prior to its release. We both foresaw the
headlines, “Omoni Oboli copies (or steals) from Spike Lee’s Chiraq for her
movie,” or, “Nollywood is at it again! Copy! Copy! Copy! Omoni Oboli has joined
the bandwagon of Nollywood producers who steal original works and make it their
own”. Spike Lee’s ‘Chiraq’ is quite similar to the South Sudan women’s reasons,
because it is about ending violence in the Chicago violent black community. It
is in no way similar to mine! But that could be ‘clever me’ trying to steer so
far from being the same that I’ve tactfully (or tactlessly, considering that
I’m Nigerian) changed the plot, as some might assert. Let’s look at it scientifically,
or systematically: There’s nothing new under the sun, therefore, stories and
ideas are not exclusively given to one person only. The fact that one person
presented it first does not always mean the other person copied. I shot my
movie in 2014 as clearly shown on the clapper boards of my movie rushes. Spike
Lee commenced principal photography (that means he started shooting) in June
2015, and released in select theatres on December 4 of the same year. Heaven
forbid that Spike Lee would copy little old Omoni Oboli, “who is in our Nigeria
here!” How can that happen?! If I had released it first on October 1st, instead
of ‘The First Lady’ like I did, then Spike Lee was definitely being artistic
and the similarities were just mere coincidences, but since I decided to
release later, then I ‘definitely’ (beyond a shadow of a doubt) copied Mr Lee.
Case closed!
I have never met Spike Lee. The only other way I could
have had the same movie theme, would be to trace correspondence between us, and
I don’t have any such correspondence. We’ve never exchanged emails or met in
any capacity. If I wanted to copy a movie theme, it would be safer to go for
one who isn’t as popular as Spike Lee, unless you’re dumb! Not that I’ve not
been called that by people in the privacy of their own homes, simply because
many perceive us who are in the movie industry as dumb. That is such a strong
theme, that if I had known beforehand, or knew that Spike Lee was doing the
movie at the same time (which he wasn’t) I wouldnt have shot the movie or I
would have mentioned that it was adapted from his movie. It’s a lot easier to
copy from an obscure industry which is less know than yours and get away with
it than the reverse. Which is safe to say that if Spike Lee was copying from
me, no one would blink since Hollywood is a bigger industry. They would simply
say, “Spike copied from who? Never heard of her,” and move on. But I know that
he didn’t copy from me either, cos our stories are radically different, save
for the sex deprivation theme. Also, he coined his from a classical Greek
comedy, ‘Lysistrata’, by Aristophanes, whom I’d never heard of until just now
while trying to write this article (doing some research) and most people
haven’t either.
Why did I start with the metaphors? It is simply to call
out so many among us who would rather believe the worst of their own rather
than admit their faulty standards: who, instead of doing their due diligence to
ascertain correctly the truth about anything, would prefer to attack and
believe the worst of their own. They make statements like, “let’s be real,” and
trail it with big words and their statuses, showing that they live in affluence
or live abroad or locally, and possess the level of intellect to know better
than we mere mortals who have not walked in their shoes, as the only validation
for their claims. Haba! When are we ever going to give ourselves a chance or a
break from the hateful, condescending, self-loathing, low self esteem, pull
down syndrome that basically surmises our position as truly living with the
‘Crab mentality’? When would we, like other nations, first take time to
celebrate, and then do our due diligence to find out the truth before we start
mouthing off words that we can’t affirm often with the intention of pulling our
own down? How can we demand love from others when we don’t even know how to
love ourselves first. We rarely use those same standards when assessing others
from other nations. We live by the code, “It’s the Nigerians that are wrong
first, until proven otherwise.” We hope to make ourselves look big by making
others feel small. We have, as my husband would put it, the “King and I”
syndrome, which he basically defines from the king’s character in the movie of
the same title as standing tall because you’ve forced everyone else to bow in
your presence, and not because you’ve climbed higher. What would be the aim of
those who keep bringing this issue up, but to try and make my work less than
what it is so that I can lose at the cinemas. I thank God that my work has been
successful so far, and by His grace we will record another success with ‘Wives
On Strike.’ in Jesus name! Amen!
Please go out there on the 8th of April and show support
for your girl by watching my movie, ‘WIVES ON STRIKE,” (a comedy) which is in
no way like that of Mr Lee’s ‘Chiraq’ (a satirical musical drama), but by God’s
grace would impact lives and entertain everyone who goes out there to watch it.
In the spirit of the new movement to buy Nigerian, the first step to achieving
this turnaround must start with our deliberate actions towards loving Nigeria
first, and watch how our taste for Nigerian goods would develop and help build
our economy. See you all at the cinemas on the 8th of April and God bless you
all. As always, I love hearing from you so drop me a line. Keep smiling!
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