Gold’s critique and prism

  This positioning is key to constructing a leadership identity grounded in accessibility, empathy, and resolve . The background is often clean or blurred, keeping the viewer’s attention on the candidate rather than on symbols of wealth or power. This minimalist backdrop subtly emphasizes transparency and honesty , values that have been core to Obi’s personal brand. Symbolism: Nationhood, Change, and the “Obidient” Movement Beyond the technical elements of design, Obi’s campaign poster is layered with symbolic meaning . First, the inclusion of the Labour Party logo —typically featuring a gear and family—is crucial. The gear represents labor and productivity, while the family reflects communal care and responsibility. Together, these symbols reinforce a message of economic reform grounded in social justice . By placing the logo near his image, Obi positions himself as the embodiment of these values. Another powerful symbolic element is Obi’s attire. In many posters, he wear...

In Chief Daddy (2018), a Nigerian comedy-drama directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, the sudden death of a wealthy patriarch—Chief Beecroft—leaves a web of family members, mistresses, and hangers-on vying for a slice of his estate. On the surface, the film offers comedic relief and family drama, but beneath the glitz lies a rich site for ideological critique. Through the lens of Marxist theory, Chief Daddy can be read as a representation—and perhaps a soft endorsement—of elite privilege and class hierarchy. The film’s portrayal of wealth, labor, and inheritance reflects deeply entrenched capitalist values. While it gestures toward themes of class mobility and inequality, these issues are largely flattened or glossed over in favor of maintaining the spectacle of wealth and the aspirational fantasy it projects. Wealth and Ownership: Who Controls the Means of Production? At the heart of Marxist critique is the question of who owns the means of production, and in Chief Daddy, that question is ...

  On October 20, 2020, the world’s attention turned to Nigeria as peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos were met with live ammunition fired by military forces. The event, captured on phones and livestreams, sparked outrage and disbelief. Months later, CNN released an investigative report titled “How a Bloody Night of Bullets Quashed a Young Protest Movement”, a detailed video account examining what happened, who was responsible, and how state violence crushed a youthful, hopeful civil uprising. To understand the complex power dynamics of how this message is constructed, transmitted, and interpreted, we can apply Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding Model, a foundational theory in cultural studies. Hall argued that media messages are not simply passively absorbed by audiences. Instead, every message is “encoded” with certain meanings by the creators—shaped by institutional, political, and ideological frameworks—and then “decoded” by audiences who interpret the me...

In a world where visual culture often reflects and reinforces systems of power, music videos stand at the intersection of entertainment and ideology. Tiwa Savage’s Koroba, with its vibrant visuals and bold lyrics, offers a compelling site for critical analysis through the lens of feminist film theory. By applying Laura Mulvey’s theory of the “Male Gaze” and bell hooks’ concept of the “Oppositional Gaze,” we can uncover the complex dynamics of gender, power, and resistance in the video. This essay explores how Koroba simultaneously engages with and subverts traditional visual politics, offering a layered representation of Black womanhood, sexuality, and agency in a globalized cultural landscape. Understanding the Theoretical Frameworks Before diving into the music video, it is essential to briefly understand the two critical lenses at play. Laura Mulvey’s 1975 essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema introduced the concept of the “Male Gaze.” Mulvey argued that mainstream cinema posit...