Friday, March 25, 2011

Number 4

Yesterday, the "girls"and I decided to take the afternoon and do something totally unrelated to Nigeria or Small Business Development (in emerging markets) and so we went to the large mall / cineplex in Victoria Island - the posh side of Lagos - and, for a grand total of $5.00, took in a c-rated American movie

Of course, I'll be one of the first to admit that there have been few good movies out in theatres lately but this particular gem - "I Am Number 4" - was especially feeble. Just in case any of you are still keen on seeing it, I'll spare you the details. However, I will say that this "cinematic masterpiece" is about a handsome American teenager who is really an alien warrior sent from another planet to save the earth from destruction by an especially ugly group of other aliens called "Morgs." Along the way, he saves a nerd from a school bully and falls in-love with an "artsy" girl who is really just another cheerleader. And, of course, he saves the world without disturbing his chiseled, out-of-a-catalogue good looks.

Um... yeah. Like I said, c-rated. At best.

But, despite the poor quality of the story-line and the laughable acting, seeing "I Am Number 4" certainly provided an important and necessary distraction from the small (and sometimes large) frustrations of day-to-day life in a country and culture that aren't ours.

One line from the movie's exceptionally cheesy dialogue that I not-so-secretly liked was as follows:

"A place is only as good as the people you know in it."

And I found it to be very fitting. Lagos, for all its pollution and traffic and corruption really isn't as bad as people make it out to be... and I believe this to be true because at the heart of this city, there are still a few decent people who have treated me well and who will not be forgotten.

In any case, something as simple as seeing a movie, even a bad movie, was enough to refresh our spirits and brace us for the week ahead which will, somewhat-unfortunately, include elections. Here's hoping the Nigerian people are allowed fair and equal opportunity to participate in their country's elections ... here's hoping that this alone will be enough to avoid violence in the days to come.

Wish us luck.

No comments:

Post a Comment