Lexis and Mood as Markers of Feminist Ideology in Tunde Kelani’s Arugba and Ma’ami

Although the negative representation of women in Nollywood movies is worrisome to scholars, they have done little as regards exploring the feminist linguistic analysis of these movies. Studies have focused on the misrepresentations of women with emphasis on the literary perspectives. This paper attempts a lexical and sentential analysis of feminist ideology of two Nollywood movies. The study adopted Norman Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis to explain way linguistic are used to instantiate feminist ideology in the movies. Arugba and Maami produced by Tunde Kelani were purposively sampled because of the gender issues in them. Though some movies merely project women as witches and sex slaves, these two movies stand out among those that project the strengths of womanhood. The movies attempt to correct the negative impression about women. Linguistic features such as the lexical indices and mood system are examined. Larger scale features such as allusion and simile are also explored. The study suggests that despite the rot in the value system of the present day Nigeria, there are still women who pass for the ideal. Also, it was discovered that women can determine their fate regardless of what roles the society gives them and could survive even under the worst patriarchy. Beyond their weaknesses, women are necessary to maintain tranquility in the home and the larger society. This paper recommends that movie stakeholders should give responsible roles to women and women should be sensitive and alive to their responsibilities as regulators of the social political Nigerian entity.

media as an agent of enlightenment and socialization. In the movie industry today, it is commonplace to have movies which do not depict the right African values and which have, yet, found their ways to the market despite the regulations of the Censors Board. These kind of movies have, like other brands of the media, influence the thinking of people. Incidentally, the mostly affected of these audience are the youth and women. Youth because they are at the verge of decision making and could easily accept new values. And the women too because they are largely vulnerable. Unfortunately too, many of these movies project the negative sides of womanhood; as objects of abuse, as foolish and highly dependent. The negative representation of women, at any level, is an impression that feminists attempt to correct. Since the early nineteenth century and till now, feminists have committed themselves to challenging gender inequality and patriarchal domination. As an ideology, feminism has today, become grounded. Gender issues have dominated scholarship both nationally and internationally. Gender studies have also found expression both in the literary, linguistic and media discourse. These scholars, including [6,7] have explored aspects of gender issues, the way women contribute to the second class status they enjoy in the society and the way writers have attempted to give a pride of place to women. In the media, especially in the Nigerian movie industry, scholars have examined the representation of women. These scholars, such as [8,9], look at the way women have been misrepresented in Nigerian movies. It is worthy of note that as many as Nollywood are, and as prominently as women feature in these movies, there is still paucity of literature on the portrayal of the can-do spirit of womanhood in these movies. Not only that, Tunde Kelani is a prolific movie director and producer. His movies focus on contemporary as well as political issues in Nigeria. As prolific as Kelani is, very few of his plays have been subjected to critical analysis. Common among these are [10,11]. He has also produced a number of movies highlighting the prospects and challenges facing the female gender. These movies include Narrow Path, Thunder Bolt (Magun), Campus Queen, Arugba and Ma'ami. In spite of the plethora of gendered movies from the stables of Kelani, there is paucity of literature on a gender based analysis of his feminist oriented movies. The need to carry out a feminist interpretation of two movies produced by Kelani Arugba and Ma'ami necessitated this study.

Language, Ideology and Nollywood
The role of language in the instantiation of ideological underpinnings and gender discourse cannot be overemphasized. [12] argues that language reflects and has an impact on power structures. Language functions as an indicator of ideological stances which manifest in social situations, and could also be a driving force directed at changing society, especially through the media. The social situations in which the interrelatedness of language and ideology finds expression are numerous. These could be real life situations/conversations speeches or entertainment. Nigerian movies fall under the entertainment sub-category. Similarly, language has been identified as an important tool in assigning roles to men and women in a communicative event such that the powerfulness and powerlessness of each gender is revealed through language use. [13] corroborates this fact by observing that, language deprecates women in very many ways. The deprecation of women by language, he believes, accounts for why feminists regard language as an overwhelming reflector of anti-female values. He is of the opinion that language does this by way of downgrading the female, and that the English language is especially guilty of this through ignoring and obscuring women by foregrounding masculine terms at the expense of the feminine ones. [13,14,15] comment on the way the Nigerian woman has been robbed of her personhood by colonialism, foreign religions and western education, which came via the foreign English language. All these, they believe, have in one way or the other contributed to the woman's loss of her selfconcept or negated it. Regardless of the prevalent situation, a lot of efforts are still be amassed to ensure that the society accords women the respect due to them. One of the ways through which gender issues is projected is through the media under which movies (in this case Nollywood movies) fall. A lot of Nigerians watch Nollywood movies. This is not only because there are plenty of them but because it is a common way of entertainment in contemporary

72
ILSHS Volume 71 times. And as the years go by, the movie industry has continued to evolve. [16] posits that Nigerian film makers are splendid entertainers. He stresses the ability of these movie makers to tell amazing stories that captures the essence of the Nigerian systems and values. However, if the intention of Nigerian film makers is to express Nigerian values, then the representation of women have to be approached from another perspective by these movie makers. To portray the Nigerian woman as objects of abuse, highly dependent people, morally deficient people and prostitutes would, therefore, not pass for an accurate description of the Nigerian woman. Nowadays, women in Nigeria are becoming a force to reckon with. They have held and continue to hold sensitive positions and have done well in these positions. It is, therefore, important that a change of approach is adopted for the representation of Nigerian women in Nollywood movies because, it is a tool of the mass media which first of all could, to a large extent, influence the viewers either negatively or positively and could determine the perception of the outside community about Nigerian women. Herein lies the significance of this study which is one of the literature aimed at correcting the negative impression created for the Nigerian women through Nollywood movies.

Tunde Kelani, Ma'ami and Arugba
Born in 1948, Tunde Kelani is of the Yoruba descent and a native of Ogun State, South West Nigeria. Nigerian film maker, story teller, director, photographer, cinematographer and producer. At an early stage in his life, Kelani was sent to Abeokuta to live with his grandparents. Kelani was quite exposed to the Nigerian culture while growing up in Abeokuta and this experience finds expression in the representation of cultural values in his movies. He was also at the London Film School to learn film making. His career in film making spans over forty years. He specialises in producing movies that promote Nigeria's rich cultural heritage and have root in documentation, archiving, education, entertainment and promotion of the Nigerian culture. He has also attempted an adaptation of literary materials into movies. These include Akinwunmi Ishola's Oleku and Femi Osofisan's Ma'ami. Other movies produced by Kelani include Koseegbe, White handkerchief and Dazzling mirage. Kelani has major blockbuster and award winning movies to his credit. These include Ma'ami, one of the movies selected for this study. Arugba was produced in 2010. As the title suggests, Arugba centres on one of the activities lined up to celebrate the annual Osun Osobgo festival in Osun State, South West Nigeria. It is an offering bearing festival where a votary maiden and importantly a virgin, who has been chosen by the oracle, carries the sacrifice of the town along designated routes before dumping same at the bank of river Osun in the Osun-Osogbo scared grove. In the movie, Arugba, Kelani creates a mock votary maid who is to perform the same roles as the real life Arugba. He, however, brings to the fore the sociopolitical situations in the Nigerian society such as class distinction, domination and corruption. Even though the Oracle confirmed and insisted that Adetutu should be the offering carrier (Arugba) for that year, the king (Adejare) would not allow such for selfish reasons. One, the king felt spited that Adetutu refused his proposal to date him and was determined to deal with her. Also, the king would not have his niece bear the offering again having done that for several years already. He feels insecure that the young lady was becoming popular just as his father was constantly a threat to him (the king) when he was still alive. He is not also comfortable that of all his daughters, none of them is empowered (decent or chaste enough) to bear the sacrifices of the town. In the end, the wishes of the oracles prevail and Adetutu is made to bear the offering, although in the absence of the king. Ma'ami is an adaptation of Femi Osofisan's novel with the same title. It was produced by Tunde Kelani in 2011. The movie presents the travails of womanhood, especially the single parent in the Nigerian society. It also captures the efforts of the woman to break away from the oppressive patriarchal forces. The protagonist, Ma'ami was left with no choice than to separate from her husband after the latter has succeeded in using their first son, Korede, in money rituals. Rather than allow the second son, Kashimawo suffer the same fate, Ebunola (Ma'ami) defies all odds to ensure her only surviving son is exposed to the best education and moral values. This was not an easy task for Ebunola as she eventually loses her life while trying to find a means of sustenance for herself International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 71 and Kashimawo. As a sub plot, the story recaps the 2010 World Cup which took place in South Africa. Kashimawo, Ebunola's son, who has succeeded in building a career for himself in the sports industry, is the player whose presence or absence in the national could make or mar the outing of the national team at the tournament. After much persuasion, Kashimawo agrees to participate in the tournament but not before he had put his house in order; confronted his father about his numerous evil deeds and presented a wreath at his mother's graveside.

Research Methodology
Excerpts for this study are collected from subtitles in Tunde Kelani's [17,18]. Tunde Kelani is a renowned film maker and the two movies selected for this study are those which, more than the others, parade the feminist ideologies of the producer. For the purpose of this study, we take it that the gendered speeches of the characters in these movies represent the feminist ideologies of the producer because no language use is devoid of ideological underpinnings. Extracts from the movies are randomly sampled through the selection of only the features that will bring out what we intend to achieve in this study, lexical and sentential mappings of gender. Moreover, the movies are selected because they project the producer's cultural, political, social and psychological views on gender issues. Arugba and Ma'ami are also preferred among other Nigerian movies, particularly those produced by Tunde Kelani because they provide an array of lexical indices and expressions that project the recurrent issues on gender beliefs in the society. However, only portions of the movies, especially nominal, pronominal, collocations, adjectives and mood structures, where the producer's perceptions on gender issues are portrayed through the characters are sampled.

Theoretical Framework
Critical Discourse Analysis (henceforth CDA) is described by [19] as the uncovering of implicit ideologies in texts. It unveils the underlying ideological prejudices and therefore the exercise of power in texts. As a research enterprise, CDA attempts to critically analyze the relationship between language, ideology, and society. CDA is a broad linguistic theory and there are several dimensions to doing it. Three approaches are common in CDA. These include Discourse-Historical approach, made popular by Ruth Wodak; Socio-Cognitive as popularized by van Dijk; and Norman Fairclough's Discourse Socio-Cultural approach. Of the popular three already mentioned, the third approach, discourse socio-cultural, is chosen for this research. [20] describes the socio-cultural approach of CDA as a method for examining social and cultural modifications that could be employed in protesting against the power and control of an elite group on other people, in this case patriarchy and gender apologists. This approach to CDA is selected for this research because the focus of the study is to examine the way in which movies are used to reflect the way society perceives the female gender in the society, in essence language in society. The discourse socio-cultural approach situates language within particular settings or situations within which analysis can be done. Within the discourse socio cultural approach to CDA, analysis pertains to the three aspects of the socio-cultural context of a communicative event which could be any of economic, political and cultural context or a combination of two or more of these contexts. This framework shares a similar scope with what [2] describes as socio-political approach. Just like van Dijk's discourse political approach, the discourse socio-cultural method attempts to relate structures of discourse with the structures of society. Also, [21] socio-cultural CDA is usually experimented in a three level analysis, description, explanation and interpretation. In this study, an investigation of how feminist ideologies are re-echoed in Tunde Kelani's Arugba and Ma'ami, using the three level analysis model, is carried out.

Data Presentation and Analysis
In this section, we attempt to present the various means through which is projected in Arugba and Ma'ami.

Names as markers of feminist ideology in Arugba and Ma'ami.
Under this subdivision, the study focuses on the way in which nouns/names are deployed as means of espousing ideology. [21,22] underscore the ability of writers to express their ideological nuances through nominalization and naming strategy. In the selected movies for this study, female characters are given meaningful names in the study. The two movies derive their titles from the names or roles of the protagonist. 'Ma'ami' is a word in the Yoruba language which translates as my mother. There is no two way interpretation to this, only a woman can be referred to as mother. Her real name is also 'Ebunola' meaning 'the gift of wealth'. Female characters are also given names such as Bimpe, 'I was born complete', 'Yemisi', 'honour me', 'Jumoke', 'she must be unanimously catered for' and Dolapo, 'one who combines wealth' in [18]. In [17] female characters bear names such as 'Morenike' 'I have someone to pamper', 'Itiola' 'bundle of wealth' and 'Pelumi' 'abide with me', and be a companion.
These names portray the woman as one who is adorned with wealth or a wealth carrier or one who plays a complementary role, a companion. The reference to wealth is symbolic and every human being wants to associate with wealth. This underscores the importance of the female gender and her ability to add value-economic and social, to the male gender. Similarly, women are portrayed as companion through names such as 'Yemisi' and 'Pelumi'. This also shows the importance of the woman to the man. One of the male characters in [17], 'Makinwa' buttresses this when he claims that he is only fulfilled after he had found 'Adetutu'. The title of the movie and designation of the protagonist in [17] has feminist bearings. Her role is to be the offering bearer. This in itself symbolizes powerfulness. Without her, the annual festival may not hold and this could spell doom for the entire community. Not only that, what she bears is the sacrifice of blessings. Blessings from supernatural as well as from mortal beings are all important in a man's journey through life. The fact that this blessings could only be offered by a woman shows that the destiny of every other member of the community is attached to hers. Her role is to bear the blessing sacrifice and she is also named 'Adetutu', a name that is also almost associated with the royal lineage in the Yoruba setting. As the votary maiden, her roles to the community is enormous but this is accompanied with a price she has to pay. She must be decent and chaste. She must not be a prostitute who allows everything in trousers to have a carnal knowledge of her. In fact, she must be a virgin. Virginity depicts innocence and purity. This is a challenge to womanhood in a world filled with various forms of immorality. It is a called to chastity. A woman who would be a change agent must be chaste and fit for that job. She must be willing to pay the price of assuming a great responsibility. Whether civilization or not, the status quo remains. As much as people are playing down on the relevance of chastity and the need for a woman to remain a virgin till she gets to her husband's house, all in the name of civilization, research has shown that men no longer place any emphasis on virginity because virgins appears difficult to come by. A woman who does not place any value on her life cannot be a representative of the female gender.

Collocations as markers of feminist ideology in Arugba and Ma'ami.
A number of collocations depict feminist ideology in both Arugba and Ma'ami. These include: 'All-female group', 'Votary maiden', 'Ravishing beauty', [17] 'Mummy's pet', 'Single parent' [18]. Even though Adetutu's group is dominated by females, they hold their audience spell bound whenever they perform. They perform so beautifully well that Makinwa describes it as awesome. At a point he tells Adetutu, the leader of the group, I came to commend you. That was awesome [17]. The fact that Adetutu's group could do well without the presence of males in the group is an indication that women are achievers. They are not dependent and could excel in their chosen professions without any undue interference. It is also noteworthy that the commendation is coming from Makinwa. This also shows the producer's belief that rather than just nursing a sense of superiority, the men should be humble enough to appreciate a good job done by women. A votary maiden would simply mean a young female worshipper or devotee. The word maiden also has the connotations of chastity or virginity. This expression passes for the purity and decorum expected from a woman who is worth her salt. Adetutu, the protagonist in [17] is described as a 'ravishing beauty'. This tells of the physical beauty of the woman. Apart from her ability to make things work, the woman is also attractive and has a fascinating personality. It is the woman who adds glamour to a world which would have been vulgar if it were inhabited by men alone. The strength of motherhood and the ability of the woman to care, nurture and pamper re-echoes when Kashimawo, a lead character in [18] is regarded as 'mummy's pet'. A person who is described as mummy's pet is tied to the apron string of his mother. The mother of such persons still has an overbearing influence on him. And this means that such a mother can still influence the decisions taken by that child. Sometimes, such children are still attached to their mothers so much that they find it difficult to break away even after attaining adulthood. Men hardly have the time to be all over their children. They prefer to be out there attending to other things.
In [18], Ebunola tells the tax collector that she is a 'single parent'. In spite of her status, she singlehandedly raised her son, Kashimawo. At the end of the day, the boy becomes a superstar who is recognized all over the country. This is a pointer to the fact that women could also be a bread winner. It is not always the case that it is only the father that can fend for the family, women too are resourceful. It is only the lazy ones amongst them that would allow their children to rot away simply because they do not have a husband. Being a single parent is not a ticket to irresponsibility. Whether the father figure is there or not, a mother can still raise a child to become the best s/he could become in life.

Figures of speech as markers of feminist ideology in Arugba and Ma'ami.
An allusion is also made to Yemoja, a river goddess in [17]: Yemoja! The gorgeous one who extracts no promise of reward for her service. Unique aquatic being. Your magic touch turns the river to a flowing herb Yemoja is a river goddess believed to be very powerful. She rules over the marine world. She has the power to give wealth. And she can also punish anyone who crosses her path. The fact that an allusion is made to this goddess is a manifestation of Kelani's feminist tendencies. There are a number of deities, especially males, in the Yoruba tradition but the producer choses a female deity. He did not stop at that, he describes Yemoja in glowing terms emphasizing her powerfulness. It could therefore be argued that Yemoja's attributes as enumerated above depicts the capabilities of the female gender. The expression: Our mother is elegant, just like the moon [17] is a simile. Simile is a figurative expression that focuses on direct comparison through the use of as and like. The woman is not only qualified as elegant, she is equated with the moon. The moon is one of the major terrestrial bodies. It gives light in the dark. The moon supplies light in the night. Without its light in the night, people would fall into the ditch. More so, the moon is also accorded great importance in some countries or religions where there is preference for the lunar calendar. In such places and for such people, activities are organized based on the position of the moon. Unless the moon gets to a certain sundial, Muslims, for example may not celebrate certain festivals. By equating the woman with the moon, it means that she has special qualities, she gives light and succor. She could determine a lot of things around her.
Mood system as a marker of feminist ideology. One of the analytical tools that could be used in doing CDA is the mood system. This has to do with what modes are used in expressing meanings.
[21] groups the mood system to include declaratives, grammatical questions and imperatives. The mood system invariably reflects participants' nuances, attitudes, propositions, possibilities and familiarity; and usually, meanings are derived from the mood structure. The focus in this section is on three forms of mood system. These include declaratives, imperative and interrogatives.

ILSHS Volume 71
Declarative statements usually state the truth or falsity of the propositions that are stated in the sentences. Declaratives are used severally as assertions in the movies. In each instance of usage, it reflects the feminist ideology of the producer.

Declarative statements as markers of feminist ideology in Arugba and Ma'ami.
A number of declarative sentences are used to depicts feminist ideology in the movies. These include: But deep as he (my father) was in the art of the supernatural, he was no match for my mother [18] Women are powerful and no measure of patriarchal suppression can change this. Kelani expresses the powerfulness of the woman when he notes that even though the man might be powerful, the woman too is. She might not be able to match the man, strength for strength, but she has more than the physical strength. This is what she uses to achieve her goals. Corroborating the above, he retorts: A beautiful woman finds the means to achieve her goals. I am a woman, remember There is still so much to know about this your mother Some ladies are hypocrites [18] Also in [17], the king, Adejare notes: Women and their antics! Women are go-getters. Once they are determined to do something, they do not give up easily. Kelani talks about the antics of women and this shows that women could be good and they could also be crafty. They could be smart and as well swift. They can build and can destroy. Interestingly too, women could be very charming. They easily disarm men and achieve their aims. With their native intelligence, they could get things from the hardest of men. They have the right words for every occasion. In some families or organisations where the male head appears too tough, it is common that women are used as baits to gain access to them. However, he believes that it is safer for the women to use their gifts to channel the right course. Hence, he notes: She spends the little money she has on her son [18] Mothers shower you with love. They raise you against all odds [18] She ran away to save me [18] All that I have and whatever I achieve, I dedicate it to your memory, you taught me all I know [18] Rather than be a bad example, the woman should be the role model who teaches her children the right values in life. She is the teacher, mentor and model. She is the one who can sacrifice all so that her children could amount to something in life. She is the one who can draw generational blessings for her offspring. Also as much as women are endowed with these natural gifts, she should not be indolent. For Kelani, womanhood is a call to responsibility. She definitely has a price to pay.
Other women who are sensible have paid [18] Kelani realizes the fact that all women are not the same. While some are epitome of hard work, others are nonchalant. It is those who believe that success could only be achieved through a dint of hard work that would pay the ultimate price for success. This category of women, according to Kelani are the sensible ones. Again, a woman who wants to excel in life must be assiduous and hardworking. She must have a compelling character and intimidating credentials she must not be seen as a desperado who believes in using what she has, her body assets, to get what she wants. If she must explore her natural endowment, it must be positively and not the other way round. In the following examples, the need for the woman to always be of a good conduct also comes to the fore in the movies: My pampered daughter, the pampered yet unspoilt [17] The female gender is often referred to as the weaker sex and because of this a lot of men see them as frail and as such believes that they should be pampered. Women indeed needs to be pampered but Kelani also warns that the pampering that the woman receives should not be taken for granted.
If that happens, she would only end up in devaluing herself. He expresses the possibility of the woman remain firm despite being pampered through the character of Adetutu, the votary maiden.

Furthermore he notes:
The Ifa oracle says you should always be cheerful And you must learn to control your temper because of the power bestowed on you [17].
It is common for women who gets to the top echelon of the societal ladder to become arrogant. But this, according to Kelani is a habit that is fruitless. At the end, the women becomes a companion of her very self, no man wants her and she could end up a frustrated person. This is why Kelani sounds a note of warning that no matter how much the woman is able to achieve, she must remain calm and cool headed. The fact that she is powerful is not questionable, it is the creator who endowed her with these powers but this should not get into her head and make her misbehave. In fact, one of the manifestations of powerfulness is the ability to remain cool headed and submissive no matter how highly placed she is. Humility and the ability to manage fame is a show of powerfulness. Women who become arrogant and reckless because of some opportunities soon find themselves on the ground. Uncontrollable women lose their powers sooner than they expect. But women who can subtly manage their powers hold on to such for a very long time she carves a niche for herself, is well spoken of and is allowed to remain as the head for a longer period. Adetutu, the votary maiden was not garrulous and arrogant and for years, she continues to bear the blessing sacrifice.
The king (Adejare): the community says they want you to bear the blessing sacrifice again this year Adetutu: who am I to reject a call to serve my people [17].
For the woman who is resolute, courageous, humble and determined, the sky is the starting point. Such people would receive the best support she could ever get from the natural elements and the supernatural, 'Ifa'. These are Kelani's words of encouragement to the female gender when he notes: Ifa reassures the votary maiden that there is no cause for alarm [17].
Similarly, an expression of Kelani's feminist tendencies comes to the fore when he categorically describes women as agents of development.
And you must make the youth and women folk your focal point for community development [17].
This might look unimportant but Kelani understands that a lot of women do not even know their worth and duties. Sometimes, it is even believed that women refer to themselves as agents of development when they chant 'no woman, no nation' or 'train a man, train an individual, but if you train a woman, you have trained a nation' just to encourage themselves. But for Kelani, this is just the truth. Women need to be developed for the nation to be developed. National development begins from the home. Children who are well trained from their homes are assets to their societies while children who are not well trained end up as miscreants and misfits. The woman is always expected to hold the forth at the home front no matter what she does and how highly placed she is. Even if the woman is the career person and bread winner while her husband is jobless, the society still expects that she takes care of her home. Also, women are considered as agents of development because the family is a microcosm of the larger society and what is being bred at this unit determines the general outlook of the larger society. To be able to perform this role very well, they need to be informed and enlightened. Incidentally, when a child misbehaves outside, people are quick to ask where or who is your mother? At such points, people scarcely ask about the father because it is believed that the might would be busy somewhere trying to fend for his family. This is corroborated in this assertion made by these characters in [18].
Boy: my dad will surely not come home today. He comes home on three days interval Kashimawo: my mum does not tell me I have a father [18].
Though it could be argued that this is an indictment on patriarchy but it is the truth. Men are busy or they want to be busy. It is the duty of the woman to determine what she wants her home to look

ILSHS Volume 71
like. The above conversation also reflects Kelani's feminist tendencies because, even though he is a man, he tells about the nonchalant attitude of men but extols the virtues of women. Moreover, much as gender studies have received scholarly attention and as much as individuals and groups have continued to sensitise women about the struggle for gender equality, many women are still not informed or at best, they have chosen to remain indifferent to a cause that would make them better individuals. Hence, Kelani posits that the enlightened women should not fold their arms. They should continue to educate one another because they are important to nation building: Adetutu: After school, I intend to start an NGO that will cater for the development of women and children [17].
The economic value of the woman, her roles as one who nurtures to life, her place as an important gender in the procreation process, and as one who is crucial to continuity is expressed in the following: Without money you cannot marry. A man without a wife can only dream of raising an offspring [18].
Since no man is an island, the film maker stresses the need for a synergy between men and women for the world to be a better place. Hence, when Adetutu's colleagues warned against collaborating with a male group, she tells them there is nothing wrong in that.

Makinwa: How about group collaboration? Group members: It is an all-female group and that was a conscious choice. Our constitution bars male from membership. And forbids members from inviting males into the group.
Adetutu: I don't recall our rules objecting to collaborative shows with others [17].
This, obviously, is Kelani's way of preaching tolerance between the female and the male gender. Two are always better than because they have a better result, they are more productive. Rather than suppress the woman, patriarchal forces should encourage her to operate at her best. Also, when the woman is good at what she is doing, it does not make her over and above board. She should be open minded to allow others express their views. She should not be domineering or proud. A synergistic relationship between men and women has more benefits than shortcomings. Even though Adetutu's group would not allow male participation in [17], Makinwa's group allowed female participation despite the fact that it is an all-male group and the performance was wonderful. The lesson therefore is that, the woman should not get carried away with her femininity, she should not overstretch the struggle for gender equality. She must give room for the men.
Interrogatives as markers of feminist ideology in Arugba and Ma'ami. Interrogative statements are questions used in the movies either to present women as powerful or to establish the underlying ideology of the writer.
Overwhelmed by Kashimawo's quick success and fame, the interviewer asked him to share a bit of his success story: Interviewer: Who is the legend behind the man called Kashi? Kashimawo: My mother. She though me all that I know [18].
The woman, as represented in the character of Kashimawo's mother is the mentor, model and encourager. The producer refers to the woman as the legend. Apparently, this is feminism at work. One would have expected that a male child would take after his father, learn the ways of men, understudy the father till he grows into adulthood until he is mature enough to be a father too and possibly mentor his offspring. But here, the woman is the one doing the father's job. In fact, she plays the role of father and mother. She labours to feed and care for the child and as well handed him the right values required of him to be a good product in the society. She does not fail in this task as the boy eventually becomes a force to reckon with. This justifies the popular description of the woman as a multitask personality.
She could do a number of things at a time. Hardly can a man perform the functions of father and mother. Most times, they get easily tired. Where the man is a widower, he is quick to get another woman who can take can take of the children while he is away. However, getting another husband is not usually a pressing decision that a woman who has lost her husband quickly takes. She takes a lot of factors into considering while contemplating re-marrying. The example below also stresses the need for the woman to have self-worth.
Ebunola: Do you want to strip me naked in the public? Don't you it will reduce my bride price? [18].
Striping a person naked means demeaning, devaluing, disgracing or embarrassing such a person. A person who is stripped naked in the public would never pass for a model. Such are also persons with no integrity. Of course, it is not a thing of honour to strip one naked in the public and those who do honourable things are extolled rather than embarrassed. The example attests to the fact that women could do things that could make them receive boo rather than acclamation. Kelani therefore points out the implication of being stripped naked for the woman. It would simply reduce her bride price.
In the Nigerian society, a great importance is attached to the woman's bride price. Even though the bride price is not accepted by some fathers in some tribes in Nigeria, the prospective husband must present it first. Whether the father of the bride would accept it or not would be his business. Failure to present a woman's bride price could be interpreted as abduction. Such women are not accorded the respect due to them both by her immediate family and among her in-laws. Such women are also constantly exposed to the possibility of being thrown out by their spouses. It is, therefore, plausible to argue here that the woman is cautioned on the need for her to be decent. She must do only things that are honorable and commendable. Another marker of feminism in the excerpt is the reference to 'bride price'. In Nigeria, prices are only paid on brides not the other way round. To attach a price to a thing is an indication that such is valuable. It cannot be trodden upon.
And when a price is attached to a thing, only those who can afford to pay dare go near such. So, for the woman, it should not be a field day for the Tom, Dick and Harry, her treasures must be sold to only those who can afford to pay the price.
The physical beauty of the woman is expressed in the following: Ebunola: Haven't you seen with your Termogene eyes that your mother is beautiful? [18].
Termogene in [18] represents the male character who has an eye for good things especially the beautiful women. Termogene would go to any extent to get such desirable women even it means hypnotizing them. Thus, Kelani believes that it takes a 'Termogene eye' to know a beautiful woman. And that it takes an extra effort to catch a beautiful woman. This, again, is a pointer to the values of womanhood, the fact that she cannot just be picked like products in the supermarkets. Anyone who wants her must be ready to go through the stress knowing full well that such adventure would worth their while.
In [17], the demands of the office/title of a votary maiden requires a huge responsibility. It requires that such maiden must constantly check herself. She has remain chaste for as long as she would occupy that position. Based on the requirements, to be an Arugba is not automatic and the fact that a lady performs that role in a year does not automatically qualify her as the offering bearer the following year. She has to remain a virgin to be able to do this. Faced with the realities in Nigerian tertiary institutions today, the king invites Adetutu, an undergraduate to find out if she would still be willing to bear the sacrifice for another year knowing full well what is expected of her as the votary maiden and the implications of putting up a fake identity. The king is surprised that Adetutu is not carried away with the fancies of campus life. He queries: You are resolved? [17].
And the response was in the affirmative. Another feminist ideology here is that women can hold their heads high in the face of decadence and also that no matter how rotten the society is considered to be in this generation, there are still women whose chastity could still be vouched for.

ILSHS Volume 71
The woman is a combination of beauty and brain. The king (Adejare) in [17] observes: So this beauty is a medical doctor? [17].
The medical profession is obviously a prestigious one and it takes a dint of hardwork to be able to pursue a degree in medicine in the university. Medical students, in a normal academic setting, are grade 'A' students. It is suggestive that the film producer projects that women could also be brainy. They are not inferior to their male counterparts. If there is a field of study that a man can go for, the woman can also achieve such feat, and with commitment, the woman is able to record success in her endeavours.
Imperative statements as markers of feminist ideology in Arugba and Ma'ami. Imperatives are usually commands. They are sometimes ended with an exclamation mark instead of a full stop. Just as certain declarative propositions contribute to the explication of the feminist ideology of the film producer, certain imperatives are also used in bringing out the writer's overriding ideology in the texts. The following is an example: Makinwa: Now that I have found you I am fulfilled! [17].
The male character, Makinwa openly confessed to Adetutu that he only found fulfilment after finding her. This underscores the importance of a woman in the life of any man. Without a woman, a man may possibly not enjoy the best of life or feel fulfilled.

Conclusion
The attempt so far has been the explanation of Kelani's deployment of lexical indices and mood system in projecting the female gender in Arugba and Ma'ami. The lexical features as well as the mood system are used to reveal the feminist ideologies in the films. While lexical indices are used in projecting the woman as a necessary companion and one who deserves the society's care, the mood system illustrates the woman's strengths, determination, decisiveness and responsibilities. The analysis reveals that lexical choices are necessary tools for portraying Kelani's feminist underpinnings in Ma'ami and Arugba. The result expresses the role of the society, patriarchy in conferring a second class status on women and the roles women have to play to reject such inferior status. This paper recommends that movie stakeholders should give responsible roles to women and improve on their representation. On the other hand, women should be sensitive and alive to their responsibilities as powerful change agents in the social political Nigerian entity.