"SC-S31/W4-Movie Magic |Movies that challenge society (MONICA)

Who the hell brought or introduced a tradition that the first son or daughter must carry the family's problem as a responsible? Is that why children are born? To come and revive a problem they were born into and never created?

The movie I'm about to introduce to you portrayed this tradition of first children in the family, being the sacrificial lamb in a home that's poverty stricken. They have this mentality that it's the first child that must do this, do that etc.... What did you leave for me to come and see that you want me to be the saviour of the world?

Aren't parents supposed to take children as their responsibilities? It's tradition based, but it's not supposed to be applied in every situation. It must stop.

This is a movie that speaks of parents injustices to their children because they feel they were born for a different purpose and they can displease themselves just to please the family all because of a culture that bounds firstborns. No one should ever be a Monica, a Papa Monica, a Mama Monica, a Chika and a Bobo . You can't be these people in the movie I'm about to highlight.

Na only Akamu I dey sell. This got everyone talking about the movies named Monica 1 and 2. I was motivated to see this movie on a trend I couldn't ignore. MONICA is a Nollywood movie channelled on YouTube for viewers to watch. It's actually one of the latest Nollywood movies with 11M views in just 2 days.

That's great. Why? Because it's based on true events, and the storyline got everyone talking about the foolishness, ungrateful attitude and injustices of the characters in the movie. It all started with the release of Part 1, which didn't end well, and fans were so dissatisfied that Monica's story will just end like that, in pain. Let me give you a touch of the storyline.

Monica Nollywood movie is named after a character in the movie called Monica. Monica happens to be born in a poor family with two young siblings. As young as she was, she had this motherly attitude in her and took her siblings and family personally. She usually sells PAP with her mother every morning so they'll have money to eat.

The beginning was so smooth and lovely, until she grew up to become a teenager in the house. That's when her mother started seeing her as someone who should be responsible for carrying the problems of the house.

She had the opportunity to marry, but her mother refutes it with the mindset that she must stay to carry the family's responsibility in her inability. Any small money she had to establish herself, her mother would remind her of the family's condition, and she would deprive herself to please them.

I was in pain when these siblings she sacrificed her education and money for became ingrates and saw her big efforts as common. See people he worked her ass out for them to become graduates. But as foolish or pitiful as she could be, she still found a place to overlook their mistakes and continue depriving herself for them.

It all ended in part 2 when it got to the height: her mother treating her like she was not her child; her sister marrying someone she loved so much because she was unable to marry him out of the mother's demand; and her brother, whom she helped countless times, treating her like she was entitled to do what she did.

He even slapped her at some point and called her efforts for him little and useless. Can you imagine that? That was the height. Monica got to her senses and made them feel regret for their actions.

She became successful and did chase her dreams in the fashion industry. She even paid her marriage rites without the mother's presence to show the extent of anger and agony. Her siblings and her mother all faced the consequences of their actions in different ways, and they were now regretting why they did all those things they did to Monica.

That's how it ended, but viewers wanted a change of narrative, where she'd make sure they regretted in full what they did to Monica and that Monica shouldn't have forgiven them.

The movie highlights the social issue that affects almost all Nigerian families who are less privileged to be born into wealth, especially those in rural areas. The social issue is that firstborns are entitled to carry their family's problems on their heads and solve them as well.

Parents are of this mentality that the first child in the family is meant to lift others up, even if it means depriving them of their very own self. I'm even shocked to see this type of entitlement attributed to a female firstborn because it's usually males, whether firstborns or not, that suffer the heat of family problems.

Sometimes I ask myself, what did these parents leave for their children to come and see when they were born? Are parents meant to depend solely on children to solve their problems even to the point of not noticing the damage you've caused to the emotional and physical well-being of that child?

I'm not saying a child who's grown up with the means to help her family can't do so. It shouldn't be an entitlement. Parents should not have the mentality that if they bear children, these children will elevate their lives from being poor and then place it on them as a must-do tradition for firstborns.

This social issue has made many firstborns deprive themselves of getting married early, caring for themselves and pursuing a career, and has led to emotional guilt and feelings of worthlessness and even depression. Parents would say, "I provided for you since you were a boy". It's your turn. Who brought this tradition into the household?

Another social issue that was raised was being an ingrate. Most people are ingrates today, and that's what was portrayed in the movie. You see people's big efforts as common. This is one of the reasons why rich people find it difficult to help the poor. This attitude has caused a lot of strife, making people lose privileges and opportunities because they feel entitled to what was given to them, not as undeserved.

The movie was a wake-up call for me. When I was young, I used to hear that first children are the pillars of the house and that when they eventually grow up, they'll assume the responsibility of taking care of the family till death. But this movie points to that idea of how parents take it personal.

Because I'm the firstborn, I'll have to cut my neck for you to live. Is that it? This movie changed how I saw the ideology. This was the practical aspect of this idea in a poor family. It made me see that firstborns shouldn't be entitled to be the problem solvers of their family while their parents are still alive.

	Firstborns

It shouldn't be placed on a must-do when they have their own lives to live. They can only be supportive. That's the changed idea I see after watching this movie, and I argued what I saw. No parents should be so wicked as to allow their children to deprive themselves of their happiness just to show pity or to lift the burden of the house and others.

As for the ungrateful issue, it changed how I saw this issue because no one was talking about it in the movie and the consequences weren't felt. It made me see being ungrateful as the worst crime someone can ever commit because you can allow someone to go into mental stress by your words and actions. It made me see why people are always labelled wicked because they have the money but refuse to help. I don't see them as wicked anymore. They all have their reasons. This is an example.

The theme Movies that Challenge Society for this week is relevant today because it exposes us to social issues, questions that are worth asking, things that are meant to be done but aren't done and lives that can be lived but can't because of an idea or tradition. These types of movies spark controversies and make people question why certain things are overlooked.

These movies tend to reveal certain things to us and help us think beyond the box on how this issue can be addressed and why it's not brought into the spotlight. The movie I just shared did challenge the society in the sense that it sparked a lot of controversies and reasons why a social tradition be placed on first children and the ones to carry the responsibilities of the family.

That entitlement was what everyone was attacking, saying it's not supposed to be so. Children are meant to support and help the family, not take their responsibilities as an entitlement. These and many more movies have raised moral issues, questions and debates as to how and why a particular action was taken or portrayed even when we all know it's an act. Movies give life to these social issues, ones that can't be talked about.

I has changed my mindset and some parent's view

I'd recommend this movie to all parents and children. Never be any character in that household, starting from the father to the protagonist. You can't displease yourself to please others because they feel you're entitled to it. It's not called pity. Let's learn.

I invite all parents to see this movie and give their honest review. @dove11 @lunasilver and @ngoenyi