The Fantastical Storytelling of Nollywood Movies
In the latest edition of *The Atlantic Daily*, staff writer Toluse Olorunnipa shares his cultural favorites and reflections, revealing a rich tapestry of influences that shape his entertainment choices. Olorunnipa, who has made a name for himself covering significant political stories, such as the month the president went missing and the controversial Project 2025 shutdown, takes a moment to highlight his passion for Nollywood films and Afrobeats. He reminisces about his childhood, eagerly awaiting the latest Nigerian entertainment from relatives, which served as a vital connection to his heritage as a child of immigrants. Olorunnipa fondly recalls films like *Egg of Life*, a thriller that captivated him, and notes the evolution of Nollywood’s production quality, citing *King of Boys* as a modern favorite that showcases the industry’s growth while maintaining its compelling storytelling roots.
Olorunnipa’s cultural journey also includes a humorous reflection on how parenting has shifted his viewing preferences, particularly regarding *America’s Funniest Home Videos*, which he finds less amusing now that he has young children. His literary tastes are equally discerning; he expresses a deep admiration for Chimamanda Adichie, whose works like *Purple Hibiscus* and *Americanah* have left a lasting impression on him. He also shares a charming anecdote about how the song “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper became a soothing balm for his fussy infant son, leading him to discover the up-and-coming band Shallow Alcove. Olorunnipa’s cultural picks extend beyond music and film; he finds solace in the writings of Susan Cain, particularly her book *Quiet*, which celebrates the strengths of introversion, and he enjoys the cleverness of battle rap videos, which he finds oddly addictive. His recommendations and reflections provide a glimpse into the diverse influences that shape his life, making for an engaging read that resonates with anyone navigating the intersection of culture and personal identity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txWMPYyCAeg
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Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one
Atlantic
writer or editor reveals what’s keeping them entertained. Today’s special guest is Toluse Olorunnipa, a staff writer whose stories cover the month the
president went missing
, the
Project 2025 shutdown
, and
Kari Lake’s attempt to deport her own employees
.
Toluse enjoys watching Nollywood movies and reading Chimamanda Adichie’s books. He has heard “Shallow,” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, a few hundred times too many, and recommends listening to the band Shallow Alcove instead.
—
Stephanie Bai, associate editor
A cultural product I loved as a teenager and still love:
Nollywood movies and Afrobeats. Before, Nigerian entertainment could easily be found on Netflix or American radio stations, I remember waiting eagerly for my cousins in Nigeria to send me the latest CDs and VCDs. (One of my favorites at the time was an epic thriller called
Egg of Life
.) As a child of immigrants, those films and songs helped me connect with my parents and gain a better understanding of their childhoods. Usually made on shoestring budgets, the movies back then had no choice but to rely on powerful storytelling and dialogue. The budgets have gotten bigger and the production has improved significantly as the industry has gone more mainstream in recent years (
King of Boys
on Netflix is a modern-day favorite), but the storytelling is still just as fantastic—and fantastical.
Something I loved but now dislike:
America’s Funniest Home Videos
. Now that I have two young children (and an aging, accident-prone body), I find videos of people inadvertently hurting themselves much less amusing!
An author I will read anything by:
Chimamanda Adichie
. I started reading her novels 20 years ago and have yet to be disappointed. Probably 90 percent of what I read overall is nonfiction—mostly audiobooks cranked up to 3.5x speed—but Adichie’s storytelling is so rich and textured, I make time to curl up with her physical books and transport myself to the intricate and colorful scenes she creates. I love everything she writes, but
Purple Hibiscus
,
Half of a Yellow Sun
, and
Americanah
are all-time favorites. [
Related:
Chimamanda Adichie is a hopeless romantic.
]
A favorite story I’ve read in
The Atlantic
:
I read anything by
Clint Smith
. Tim Alberta’s profile of
former CNN CEO Chris Licht
and Caitlin Dickerson’s
cover story on family separations
are paragons of the craft. Also, W. E. B. Du Bois’s 1897 essay
“Strivings of the Negro People”
remains timeless.
Something delightful introduced to me by a kid in my life:
So, my family and I were stuck out of town earlier this year after a bad snowstorm snarled the airports on the East Coast for days. My then-two-month-old son let us all know how much he didn’t appreciate the inconvenience by wailing his little heart out in his car seat while I was driving. I had turned on the radio to compete with the shrieks and was considering pulling over, when the song switched to “Shallow,” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. He calmed down at once.
For the next several months, that was our go-to song whenever he was fussy and needed to be soothed. It was like a magic trick—the guitar riff at the beginning would brighten his mood and still his angst without fail. It worked almost too well, to the point where I had listened to the song hundreds of times and I kind of began to dread it. I tried to see if similar songs, including from the same soundtrack, might work, but the child made clear in no uncertain terms that he wanted “Shallow,” and only “Shallow,” on repeat, forever and always. One day, defeated, I asked Alexa to play “Shallow,” and it began playing music by this delightful up-and-coming band called Shallow Alcove instead. I instantly loved its songs, and my tiny music critic approved as well. Now when he’s crying, I’ll turn on its track “Music Box” (which coincidentally opens with the lyrics “Sorry that I’m crying …”), and he’ll break into a knowing grin. It’s the cutest thing.
Something I recently revisited:
Little Dragon’s debut record. All of the group’s music is excellent, but its self-titled first album still transfixes me almost 20 years later.
An actor I would watch in anything:
Issa Rae. She is hilarious.
My favorite way of wasting time on my phone:
Watching videos of battle rap. I find the whole subculture weirdly addictive: The puns, multisyllabic rhyme schemes, double and triple entendres, metaphors, alliteration, ad-libs, and humor—all mixed with unhealthy levels of aggression—serve to make the entire enterprise magically ridiculous.
A good recommendation I recently received:
Quiet
, by Susan Cain. I was late to it, but her book extolling the virtues of introversion is awesome. [
Related:
When schools overlook introverts
]
A poem, or line of poetry, that I return to:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8)
Here are three Sunday reads from
The Atlantic
:
(Some) MAGA girls just wanna have fun.
American kids can’t do math anymore.
Advent calendars are totally out of control.
The Week Ahead
Season 5 of
Stranger Things
, the final season of a series about a group of friends in the ’80s who must defeat sinister supernatural forces (Part 1 out Wednesday on Netflix)
Hamnet
, a film about Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare (out Wednesday in theaters)
Capitalism
, a book by the historian Sven Beckert on the history of the forces that shape capitalism (out Tuesday)
Essay
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Hy Peskin / Getty.
How to Fix the Mess of College Sports
By Sally Jenkins
Here’s an idea for overhauling the mess that is money in college sports: For every dollar that a university athletic department spends on coaching salaries fatter than a duke’s inheritance, or locker rooms as luxurious as Hadrian’s villa, a dollar should go toward academic funding—to faculty salaries, library maintenance, and other necessities that benefit all students, athletes included.
Such an arrangement might help reform a truly broken system, which demands compulsive, destructive overspending—on coaching, facilities, and more—in a cycle of one-upmanship.
Read the full article.
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Rafaela Jinich contributed to this newsletter.
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