On Jagun-Jagun.
Whatever opinion you have, calm down first and hear mine. If not, we will fight.🙄😅
First of all, this is a very delicate time for Nollywood, where we’re trying to break the jinx of quantity over quality. As a result of quantity, we’re the third largest movie industry in the world, but I might stress that we are not the best…yet. So let’s fling perfection outside the window into the bin.
Having said that, Jagun-Jagun is an effort towards quality, scale and cinematic appreciation, and a great one at that. It’s a wake up call alongside others like it, that Nollywood has more to offer if things are put in place and we strive for excellence with intentionality.
A little segway –
I had a back and forth with a lecturer on what he considers a Nollywood problem. According to him, there’s a Yoruba film syndrome that is limiting for such films on a universal scale. He went on to say that Yoruba films in the past lack the universal appeal. This I completely disagree with. Infact, any story from any corner of the world ordinarily has a universal appeal. Every story has the potential to be connected to by anyone from anywhere. Even in times when subtitles were lacking in some old movies from across the world , we followed the themes, we figured the plot, regardless of the cultural representation or our inability to relate to some cultural concepts.
So, maybe you don’t like Jagun-Jagun to start with, but let’s get one thing clear. YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE JAGUN-JAGUN, and that’s fine. But making a show of your disapproval is inconsequential to the aim of the producers of the movie. It is making rounds, blowing up the streaming platform it’s on across countries. This is something your so called better films may not do.
Now back to the film.
PHENOMENOLOGY- Jagun-Jagun is what it is. It is what it intends to offer you. If you feel you need more in terms of structure and filling of plot holes, then trust me when I say the film has done its job. I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole of possible marketing strategy and how it relates to evasive storytelling. I don’t speak for Femi Adebayo, but as a film scholar and practitioner, I understand how that works, especially in the wake of audience controversy, feedback and buzz. It could lead to a more expansive plot…like it did for Anikulapo. But that’s by the way. My point is… This is what the makers of the film want you to see. If you have a problem with what you’re shown, drink water and rest.
CULTURAL APPRECIATION & HISTORY : Loosen your knots people. Jagun-Jagun is a work of fiction. And the directors can choose to augment what they borrowed from culture and possible history to create whatever world they want to show us. You have a problem with that, then make your own movie, preferably a better Jagun-Jagun, if you can. I see no problem with the fictional world of Jagun-Jagun.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT – In all honesty, Jagun-Jagun did not begin from the beginning. The plot started with the protagonist (Gbotija) already in pursuit of a goal…based on preceding scenes that showed the might of Ogundiji saving a king in distress. Gbotija’s quest wouldn’t make sense without the preceding scenes of Ogundiji. There is already an establishment of power on both sides; however minute one might seem in comparison to the other. At first glance, I could tell who was what. One man was already at a pinnacle of achievement and the other was still reaching. It makes sense that the latter is our protagonist. Gbotija was more likely to undergo a character journey than Ogundiji. Perhaps a thought I could muster because of my background in film study and analysis.
Meanwhile, Jagun-Jagun is not exactly a story of Ogundiji alone. It’s a story where he wasn’t the protagonist, but had a major part to play in. For people confused about who is what – Gbotija’s journey as far as Jagun-Jagun is concerned is dependent on the showcase of Ogundiji who had a considerable amount of screentime as him, if not more. The grandeur of the warrior Kingmaker – Ogundiji’s exploit and his school was necessary to give breath to Gbotija’s goal. The silhouette shot of Gbotija on arrival at the war school is enough to highlight the importance of the character as in pursuit…of a goal.
There is a backstory, we don’t have it yet. And the makers of the film are not obligated to show/tell us at our own timing. This goes for all the other notable characters too. However, with the exposition of the plot and presentation of characters, what you see is what is necessary to follow the observable journey of the characters. You don’t have to agree. Infact, the makers of the film probably want you this disgruntled, restless and yearning for more.
Side-bar : Most people are still getting used to the idea of killing off notable faces at the beginning of a film. If it happened to Ned stark of Game of thrones, it can happen to anybody. I can’t deny the edginess people must have felt at the beginning. But hey, it’s storytelling that you don’t have control of. If you want a solid character background on everybody, tell Femi Adebayo to make a series. You have extensive exploration of characters that way.
ENTERTAINMENT: Many years back when there was a great influx of Indian movies in Nigeria, did many of us not suspend our disbelief to watch the cheap tricks and far-fetched plots, despite the cultural differences? Why the hypocrisy now? And to think that there is no cheap trick in Jagun-Jagun; everything was well implemented to a believable degree. It could be just a thrill to watch for you and nothing more; depending on who you are and your interests. You’d be shocked to realize this same film some of you look down on is of great export to other people and cultures.
DIDACTIC VALUE: I had a long back and forth with an industry colleague about this. He claimed there was no moral lesson to learn from Jagun-Jagun and I was highly disappointed. Ahn ahn! Fear God na! Jagun-Jagun is clearly a political satire, alongside other things. It makes for a good reflection of the political landscape of the African society. Even if you live under a rock, can you not set the allegory of dreams, greed, weak self esteem, high-handedness of power, exploitation of youths and the seemingly unpredictable but firm hands of fate? C’mon, be open minded and see in-between the plots.
Jagun-Jagun is also a clear exploration of emotional complexity, affection and how it affects loyalty, goals, etc. How did opposition turn to hate, to love, to loss and then to revenge? If that isn’t obvious enough in the life of the protagonist, then look again.
Jagun-Jagun explores human relationships and how we benefit from the same. Look at Ogundiji and his questionable kings. The unlawful bastards and regents upheld their positions because of the warrior kingmaker. Gbotija was also able to progress on his character journey because of his relationships with Kitan and Gbogunmi.
And then I saw a post about someone comparing Jagun-Jagun to Apocalypto. In what world? How? Why?
The person’s review is myopic and is ignorant of many factors
First of all. Finances matter. The Apocalyto budget was 40 million USD in 2006. Calculate that in Naira in the year Jagun-Jagun was produced and rephrase your statement PLEASE. The Nigerian Film industry is largely funded by individuals doing their own thing. It’s a great feat to put money together to produce a film. Again, finance is important.
Meanwhile, the same Apocalyto was banned in some spaces because the people of mayan heritage had issues with it. No film is perfect. So, my white-washed film enthusiast, please REST.
Most times we lose appreciation for cultures closer to us than others. We often mistake our fascination/culture shock for admiration of excellence, but that’s a different topic entirely. I love Egyptian, norse and Greek mythologies a lot and films that explores them might not go wrong for me.
Most people didn’t celebrate Africaness until Black Panther made it popularly cool to do so, and that’s a shame. They literally took elements from our culture, white-washed it and sold to back to us. I hope the African will appreciate their own stories more and stop giving ridiculous takes on films, especially when they know little or nothing about filmmaking.
The fellow mentioned Harry Potter, Game of thrones and others. These are from existing series of books. Even such adaptions still suffer representation in a lot of cases. So please, don’t compare. The categories are different.
Jagun-Jagun is what it poses to be. Let’s leave it at that. So far, I’ve tried to stick to objective and constructive criticism and not otherwise, because…
Credit: Tobi Daniels
