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A Critical Review of Lionheart by Genevieve Nnaji through Four Media Lenses

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  The movie Lionheart came out as a directing debut by Genevieve Nnaji and it is a trailblazing Nollywood film that tells the story of the Obiagu family. Adaeze, a smart and confident business woman raised and groomed well to lead her father’s company during a financial crisis and how she was supported by her uncle she once thought was trying to steal her position in her father’s company. At the beginning, it felt like the movie would revolve around the patriarchy mentality where the storyline would involve the daughter, Adaeze been underestimated and less appreciated because of her gender and that Chief Ernest Obiagu and his wife had connived to make the uncle the successor of the Lionheart organization because they felt she was incapable. Later on, we found out that they were just doing the best for her by grooming her into becoming a better successor than she could have imagined This review will build on the fact that the movie is both a cultural and feminist statement that sho...
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A Creative Dive into Dissecting “The Social Network” through Stuart’s lens

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  A Creative Dive into Dissecting “The Social Network” through Stuart’s lens Reviewing the movie 15 years later To start this review, I want you to understand that “The Social Network isn’t just a film about Mark Zuckerberg but one that explain deeper on different concepts. It ranges from Friendship (00:25:00), betrayal of friendship (01:32:00), ambition (01:00:00), Power, abuse of power, the downfall of the abuser of power (01:52:00), the rise of social networking and the downside of innovation and so on. The movie was directed by David Fincher in 2010 and it wasn’t a surprise because looking at his past works, he seems like the type to be into psychologically complex movies. The film encompasses the complicated life of Mark or should I say conflicted because he’s brilliant but socially awkward as we see in the first five minutes of the movie where he was having an argument with Erica. Even though he turned an idea into one of the biggest tech companies in the world, underneath al...
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How The Social Network Frames Genius as Loneliness

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  How  The Social Network  Frames Genius as Loneliness In “ The Social Network”  (2010), David Fincher uses a cold color palette, rigid camera movements, and precise editing to show how Mark Zuckerberg’s genius isolates him emotionally, making the audience feel both admiration and discomfort and also helping the them understand his complicated character. The movie uses cool color tones, sharp dialogue, and fast editing to create a mood that depict the intense situation. This was done on purpose because most of the visual and technical choices adds to how we understand and interpret the roles the characters, especially Mark Zuckerberg. For example, we see in the opening breakup scene (00:02:00–00:07:00) between Mark and Erica, the conversation is filled with quick cuts, tight close-ups, and uncomfortable pauses. These shots let us see how uncomfortable Erica was and what Zuckerberg’s personality is. This is because it portrayed Mark as someone who created the most pow...
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ANALYSING “THE GUCCI X DAPPER DAN “MADE IN HARLEM” USING THE MARXIST LENS

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  ANALYSING “THE GUCCI X DAPPER DAN “MADE IN HARLEM” USING THE MARXIST LENS “The Gucci x Dapper Dan “Made in Harlem” video looks like a celebration of Black creativity, but when we look at it through a Marxist lens, it’s really a clever way for a big brand to use Harlem’s culture to make more money. At first, we notice the video feels inspiring but then we see Dapper Dan working with Gucci in Harlem, showing off the neighborhood’s style and spirit. But Marxist theory helps us see what’s really going on behind the scenes. Gucci isn’t partnering with Harlem out of love or respect, rather they’re doing it because Harlem’s style has value they can sell. This is about profit, not pride. For years, Gucci didn’t work with people like Dapper Dan, and now that his designs are popular, they’ve made him part of their brand. Gucci is using Harlem’s image and history to look fresh and authentic, but the real benefit and kudos goes to the brand, not the community. To start with, the video hides ...
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USING STUART’S HALL METHOD WITH OPPOSITIONAL READING TO DECODE THE GUCCI X DAPPER DAN “MADE IN HARLEM” VIDEO

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  USING STUART’S HALL METHOD WITH OPPOSITIONAL READING TO DECODE THE GUCCI X DAPPER DAN “MADE IN HARLEM” VIDEO The Gucci x Dapper Dan “Made in Harlem” video was created to send a message of partnership, inclusion, and celebration of Black culture — but when I watch it with Stuart Hall’s oppositional reading, I see something very different: a brand using culture for its own profit while hiding the deeper power imbalance. Stuart Hall’s method shows us that we don’t have to take media messages at face value. The Gucci video wants you to feel good about the partnership. But when you break it down, you see how brands can say one thing while doing another. That’s why oppositional reading is so powerful because it helps us see the full picture. Gucci wants people to believe that this campaign is about giving respect to Harlem and Dapper Dan after years of ignoring and stealing from Black fashion. That’s the message they encoded into the video. But with oppositional reading, I fully reject...
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Critiquing Glo’s Feliz Navidad Nigeria Commercial Using bell hooks’s Feminist Lens

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  Critiquing Glo’s Feliz Navidad Nigeria Commercial Using bell hooks’s Feminist Lens In this critique, I’m using bell hooks’s ideas to look deeper at Glo Nigeria’s Christmas ad. Hooks talks about how media tries to seem inclusive by showing diversity, but often misses the real stories behind it — sometimes it even flattens identities or glosses over inequality. The ad has lots of smiling faces, famous musicians, and bright colors, which feel joyful and familiar. But does it also use those smiles to sell something? I want to explore how the ad mixes real cultural warmth with marketing — and where it might fall short using hooks’s lens on race, class, gender, emotional work, and community.  Glo’s Christmas ad visually embraces ideas of unity and cultural pride, yet it also fits too neatly into a consumer-friendly image, flattening deeper aspects of racial and social experience. By showing diversity and care without context, the ad risks turning real community connections into a ...
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CRITQUING GLO’S FELIZ NAVIDAD COMMERCIAL USING LAURA MULVEY’S MALE GAZE LENS

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  CRITQUING GLO’S FELIZ NAVIDAD COMMERCIAL USING LAURA MULVEY’S MALE GAZE LENS Laura Mulvey lens is called the male gaze, she has made us believe many movies and ads often look at women as just object to please men’s eyes so if we were to look at the Feliz Navidad Nigeria Glo Christmas ad using the male gaze, it was quite obvious that the women looked passive that is being looked at, being beautiful, looking like a decoration. In the ad, we see a festive party setting and the men are dressed sharply, nothing too flashy and eye catching but the females were dressed to the top in shimmery dinner dresses. Even the background dancers were wearing glittery dresses and all of this to capture the all attention. Throughout the ad, most of the camera focus is either on the backside of the woman, their legs, dresses and smiles making statements without directly saying anything. Mulvey’s lens would make us ask Is this shot for our pleasure as viewers? Or does she do things herself? This is be...
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