Ihe Film

Growing up, one of the things jidere many families together, at least families dị ka nke m, bụ home videos. Anyị kiriri everything, from Patience Ozokwor to Terminator. Anyị kiriri some of them with our parents, kirie some alone ma kirie the rest with neighbours from blocks of houses away. In those days, one of the concepts kacha diri popular bụ the concept of "ihe film".

Ihe film was very simple. Ọ dị ka "actor adịghị anwụ na film". No matter what, you could always trust that the protagonist ga-asurvive. Ọsọgodi ya gaa through ndagwurugwu ọnwụ, ịma na ọ ga-asurvive. 

I can personally argue na because of ihe film, movies were very predictable to me from day one. Sọ ihe ị neediri bụ to find out onye the protagonist bụ then you can comfortably know that na the writers of the movie will do everything in their power to make sure that they stay alive. So when a plot is not making sense or na the plot na-efollow logic-defying paths just to make this protagonist (anyị na-akpọ ya "actor" in those days) win or drive him towards an expected end, you rationalise it with "ọ ihe film, that is how film things use to be." 

The basis of ihe film bụ na onye ọ bụla chọrọ a happy ending. And you cannot blame them because not only do happy endings make morals easier to communicate, ha na-emekwu ka life makea sense more easily. With happy endings, the good are compensated at the end of their life (while they're still alive) and the wicked suffer and in some cases dramatically confess their sins before ha anwụọ. This is not entirely a bad concept mana the major problem with ihe film bụ na people rarely get such endings in real life, and life, sometimes, does not make any sense.

Nobody is going to twist the interconnected stories of all and sundry backwards just to makie sure na inwe a happy ending. So many things ga-eme in your life will not be explained away with "ọ ihe film." No. 

I will not like to bore you by ịbọnite philosophical views of people like Friedrich Nietzsche because the point of Engli-Igbo Parchments bụ to provide a light read for the Engli-Igbo speaker looking to unwind. Mana sometimes, life just does not make any sense. The good may suffer for nothing and die without getting any reward and the bad can be corrupt to the end of his life and die a happy death in his sleep na nka. 

The people kachasị ereject Nietzsche's position bụ Catholics. Ha believuru na ụwa na ndụ adịghọ meaningless. However, they do not reject my position that the good can die without being rewarded and that the bad can enjoy worldly bliss until his last day which is why ha ji kwesie ike na the concept of heaven and hell. And from this point, I will like us to walk through how I see it.

I believe na sometimes things nwe ike diri very hard and the only way the different problems anyi nwe ike ipass through in those times ga-esi makie sense is to believe that things will get better like na ihe film. But life abụghọ film. It is very possible that na ihe dị iche iche ga emenwu gị and nothing will come off it and I think it is important that you make peace with that. Sometimes, there is no grander purpose and that too is fine

This does not mean na ị ga-aresign to utter dejection, no. It is just to let you know that if by the stroke of luck things don't turn around, it is fine too. Once you make peace with this fact, etu disappointments ụwa si eru gị na ahụ ga ereduce. Sometimes, things don't miraculously turn around because na ụwa abụghọ film, that too is okay.

Fun fact.

Game of Throne's refusal to follow the concept of ihe film is a major reason why ndị mmadụ ji hatie season 8 ya. But then again it is funny because from the ending of season 1 ha makiri ya very clear that ha agaghị efollow ihe film.

PS I hope na ndụ gị ga adị ka ihe film.