The bad belle model: introducing a new model for understanding disability in Nigerian cinema and culture

Emmanuel, Ngozi Marion (2025) The bad belle model: introducing a new model for understanding disability in Nigerian cinema and culture. Disability & Society. ISSN 0968-7599

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Abstract

This paper is part of a five-year research into disability representation in Nollywood and Nigerian culture. While analysing data for the research, a recurrent way for representing and understanding disability was discovered called the bad belle model. The term bad belle model is used to describe views that disabled people are innocent victims of other people’s malice. Thus, this paper analyses Nollywood films and focus group data with disabled people in Nigeria to identify how the bad belle model manifests and its cultural underpinning as a way of extending understanding about the various ableist positions within society as well as contribute to the theorisation of disability shame. Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, is the second largest cinema in the world according to number of productions. The industry is also nestled against Nigerian cultures which contribute to its ideological positions as much as Nollywood contributes to audience perception of disabilities.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1080/09687599.2025.2455092
Dates:	Date Event 7 January 2025 Accepted 25 January 2025 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bad Belle Model, Disabilities, models of disabilities, Nollywood, Nigerian culture
Subjects:	CAH24 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01-05 - media studies
Divisions:	Arts > English and Media > Media
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	11 Aug 2025 14:51
Last Modified:	11 Aug 2025 14:51
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16586

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