Nigerian Video Film as Minor Transnational Practice

Abstract

This paper responds to the fears expressed by some observers that globalization will result in a growing standardization of cultural production around the world with trends being dictated from the global North and with the disappearance of diverse forms of cultural production especially in the poorer regions of the world. Using Nigerian video film as an example of minor transnational cultural production, this paper makes the argument that a distinct form of cultural productivity can still emanate from the margins of the official global economy if certain conditions are met. These include the availability of an accessible and affordable technology of production and reproduction, a commercial basis for production and distribution, responsiveness to local publics, and the existence of regional markets disconnected to some extent from the official global economy, and controlled by small time investors whose main sphere of operation is outside the official global economy.