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So I have without any choice been saddled to watching this very popular television series – Jenifa. So my last daughter is a rabid fan and she has decided to use my study as her place of choice. As I struggle to work looking for her school fees, I am forced to watch the series on the TV set in the room.
This got me thinking. The programme is so powerful that it draws millions of viewers on YouTube making it a very strong and potent force for social engineering. The Actress herself has so much social capital that when she flouted the pandemic rules the stories hit national limelight and even found its way to international media platforms.
The magic started when the original movie was released and it became one of the most watched and popular movies of all time. Not wanting to just let go, she has spooled the formula into this long running series that continue to endear it to the people. Now pushing varied social messages via its very interesting story lines is an added plus.
But my little problem is the Actress herself. The character she portrays in the series that continues to kind of rub off me the wrong way. The harried use of poor language, the stiffness in its characterization and the disconnect in costuming and location makes for a very confusing viewing.
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So, the bad English doesn’t ever get better despite continued interaction with well spoken characters. Her dressing and living situation don’t tally with such badly spoken English and very annoying are the words that are artificial, hurriedly coined and basically very stupid sounding. Now this buffoonery is the main attraction of the series but its also pull down.
The character that is Jenifa is just so engaging that the soft target who are the main audience tend to lose the message she is trying to pass as a result of the expertise with which she pushes her clowning. So, this episode, the very beautiful lady who was the girlfriend to her cousin came across as being rude and terrible with house chores. The message was that a lady needed more than just looks to make a fine wife. My thirteen-year-old daughter with straight A’s in school watched and laughed her heart out. At the end, I asked her to explain what the message was. She said, ‘Joe, this Jenifer is funny o, see the things she is saying. How does she even get those words. They are hilarious. I asked her about the other Lady that what exactly was she doing wrong and she said, ‘which Lady? I almost fainted.
The lady shared almost equal screen time with Jenifa but the power of the character Jenifa blinded the target audience to the very powerful message that was being projected and instead of the viewer engaging on the message and also the entertainment, she focussed more on the entertainment which was just sap stick.
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My point. This is a strong vehicle for social change and as such, a strong compromise be made to ramp up its potentials at that level far and beyond the buffoonery that is Jenifa so that we can begin to use vehicles like this as agents of mass mobilization
Thank you
Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of TheCable.
10 comments
Sir,
check the synopsis; it still aligns with the story so far… Initially, she was misbehaving but when the series started; she turned a new leaf and had become tool for social orientation/change with each episode.
Afters:
The day “Jenifa’s” character speaks good English might be the end of it. Also, see it from the business side of things…
Except you just want to identify yourself as a critic, there is nothing wrong to the character she portrays. I wouldn’t have seen the episode you speak of, but there is always a lesson to each of thrm. Probably, your ‘straight Aced daughter’ still doesn’t know how to bring out lessons in the things she watches. As the other comment put, the day jenifa speaks polished English is the day it all ends. As for what we the fans think and want, leave us with our JENIFA, we love her like that. It’s two things; Funke Akindele and Suliat the Aiyetoro girl aka Jenifa. If you don’t like, shift commot from road. Thank you. And please allow my 13year old princess have a sense of humour please
Correct 💯
So true, but I don’t know how old your daughter is, but if she is above 10 then she should learn one or two lesson , I have talk to my children about learning significance in movies . We watch james bond movie together not for the action but the technology.
Wow.. I cant believe that after reading this piece, people like “NICKNAME KWA” and “OMA” -just like the writer was decribing- missed the entire point of the piece. Drives home the urgent point the author was making all along. There is an urgent need to revamp our entertainment spaces so the lessons being passed across wont be so blatantly missed by the audience.
I wholeheartedly disagree with you and disapprove of this piece.
Don’t get me wrong. Jenifa is not my thing either. I don’t even consume any Nigerian Media. It just simply doesn’t tick that box for me. As well as most strictly African American content, secular music and so much more. I am picky and that’s fine! Similarly, you have every right not to like Jenifa.
But Jenifa works for what it is. It is not a cheap and lazy Nigerian imitation of Western Values. It is not trying to be some deep multilayered Drama tackling social issues. It is not trying to make some political statement or win a global audience.
Jenifa is a comedy. A straight up Nigeria focused, igeria developed simple comedy. The popularity and success of the show proves that it is doing just what it is meant to do very well, and that there is a place for it. There is a large audience out there that wants this content that it is putting out. Clearly, you and I are not among them, and that’s okay.
Don’t come up here and be saying Jenifa this and that. It isn’t appropriate. Jenifa is very much in its own lane. Let it be Sir.
I’m just intrigued that your daughter calls you ‘Joe’.
There is nothing wrong with the act of Jenifa in the series. There is a purpose for the the writer of the script to allow Jenifa the way she speaks. I have examined one of such purposes in my academic paper ‘ Yorùbá Language and Identity in Jenifa Diary’ it will appear in a journal in Australia next month. Mrs Funke Akindele Bello is doing well as far as I know. She should keep it up… Prof Tèmítọ́pẹ́ Olúmúyìwá.
Just like the author postulated of Jenifa’s diary, I see no sense in this write-up.
Ummmm dude I think ur kinda taking this too far, like seriously, u wrote all this shit just to tell us that ur “13 yrs old with straight As” didn’t learn anything from just 1 episode of jenifa.🙄😒😒