Men in Love

I don't even know where to begin with this movie. (Literally, after I typed that last sentence, I unconsciously sighed.) Men in Love is a Nollywood film starring Tonto Dikeh and John Dumelo, two famous actors in West Africa. This movie, though...

Okay, I guess I'll simply break this movie down in the easiest terms:

1. Man cheats on wife with a ton of women.
2. Wife catches him with his secretary and whoops her ass, then threatens to leave her husband.
3. Man stops cheating and he and his wife have make-up sex; everything's cool.
4. Man meets old friend.
5. Old friend invites man to dinner; old friend reveals he's gay and in love with man.
6. Old friend drugs man at a party then rapes man.
7. Man wakes up knowing he was raped and pissed, but doesn't know he's been "charmed" by the old friend.
8. Man cheats on his wife with old friend; wife catches them having sex.
9. Wife discovers man has been charmed after praying/crying at a church for 5 days via divine revelation from the pastor's wife.
10. Pastor's wife has a prayer vigil and the charm is lifted from man.
11. Wife and man live happily ever after.

Can you see my problem with this movie? If not, maybe you need to watch it yourself (there are two parts).

I found this movie entertaining, but there are two things that I just feel I need to discuss. On one had I have the spiritual aspect (no Nollywood movie would be complete without some diabolical ploy being extinguished.) On the other hand, I had this portrayal of homosexuality, which has it's negative overtone (which I have discussed how this is taboo in many black communities before).

This spiritual battle, if you will, is interesting. I knew the old friend (Alex) used some kind of evil magic based on this one thing: no one (gay, straight, bi, smart or stupid) would EVER fall in love with their rapist. Period. That was a dead giveaway. If you were a rape victim and you knew your rapist would you fall in love with your rapist? I think not.

Now, the homosexuality message is worrisome. Even though I think this is the first time I think I have seen two straight men act gay well in Nollywood movie, the message about homosexuality is worrisome - and I am not talking about the overt message that it is a sin. The part that bothers me is it has the undertones of the reasons to support the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, a bill that still sits in Ugandan parliament, waiting to be passed or vetoed due to international intervention. This movie seems to say homosexuals are rapists, use black magic and cannot control their lusts, even though the movie really showed a diversity of gay men.

Since Nollywood is not only Africa's largest movie industry but the second largest in the world based on the amount of movie produced, this message can and will (if not already) reach Uganda and can be used (if not already) by the bill's supporters. Now if this movie is used as a tool to cause the death of thousands of Ugandans, the producers would have some bloody hands to wash.

Before anybody starts to say something crazy, let me tell you I do not support ANYONE being forced to do something against their will. Period. Rape is forcing someone to have sex. I do not support rape under any circumstance; there's no justification for it.

Anyway, regardless of what you may think of homosexuality, there are two things we can all agree on: murder is murder and ignorance can lead to hate.