Embedded Feminism and Economic Agency in Nollywood: Interpreting Love in Every Word Film within the Her Money, Her Power Campaign

Abstract

This study examines how Nollywood’s film, Love in Every Word, acts as a cultural conduit for The She Tank and BellaNaija’s Her Money, Her Power campaign; to evaluate the broader implications for feminist discourse in Nigeria and how it contributes to shaping Nigerian women’s perceptions of the feminist-aligned campaign with a particular focus on economic empowerment initiatives. It employs focus group discussion as research design to probe into how feminist ideologies are embedded in popular media to attain feminist-aligned objectives. The findings reveal that there exists discontinuity from the prevalent stereotypical depictions of women in the read Nollywood film with the presence of feminist aligned themes that portrays financial independence for women which confirms Nollywood’s role as a gendered public sphere where narratives of women’s financial and emotional empowerment are negotiated.; as well as give informed understanding about how Nollywood’s Love in Every Word influence perception and attitude of Nigerian women towards economic independence, which reveals progress in feminist messaging. Study recommends strengthening partnerships with creative industries to amplify feminist messages and leveraging film industry to reach wider audiences.