This paper investigates the intersection of Nollywood (the cinema of Nigeria) and Pentecostalism as co-constitutive forces shaping contemporary Nigerian cultural identity. It argues that the two function in the Nigerian sociocultural and religious space as disruptors of the status quo, whether in the existential epistemologies and activities of Pentecostalism or through the portrayals and representations of those realities in Nollywood. While existing scholarship frames this intersection as a broad disestablishment of the prevailing religio-sociocultural order, this study asks: How exactly do contemporary Nigerian films negotiate, appropriate, or challenge Pentecostal theology to formulate alternative social identities? Employing critical discourse analysis, the paper examines a purposive sample of three critically acclaimed New Nollywood films (Fifty [2015], Living in Bondage: Breaking Free [2019], Man of God [2022]). The analysis operationalizes theological rhetoric and visual motifs to demonstrate how, on the one hand, the Pentecostal worldview penetrates and interfuses aspects of Nigeria’s popular culture, creating a unique entertainment identity with its own distinctive styles and cultural genres and, on the other hand, Nollywood portrays themes inspired by Pentecostalism and creates a space for imagining an alternative modernity of a Pentecostal-charismatic popular culture. By focusing on textual operationalization rather than on broad cultural description, the study demonstrates that this cinematic-religious nexus does not merely disrupt established structures; it actively engineers a new moral economy. Ultimately, this paper advances the discourse by providing a framework for how Nigerian cinematic aesthetics negotiate the tension between globalized Pentecostal hegemony and localized cultural expression.

Authors:
Chijioke Azuawusiefe, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

About the Presenter(s)
Chijioke Azuawusiefe, PhD, is a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at the Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/chijioke-azuawusiefe-sj-98119a80/

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