Cultural Promotion and Depiction of Image in Nigerian films. Project contents for masters and undergraduates research
ABSTRACT
The entertainment industry plays a crucial role in the well-being and happiness of individuals. While Western nations have a strong presence in the global entertainment sector, the Nigerian Home Movie Industry has emerged as a way to promote Nigerian culture and challenge the influence of foreign movies on the country. These films also serve to educate Nigerians about their own culture and correct any misunderstandings about Nigeria that may exist.
Nigerian culture is being promoted, but there are challenges as the image of Nigeria is being depicted both positively and negatively. This is due to the influence of local power brokers who determine the themes of movies produced. These individuals often produce movies that depict violence, crime, inappropriate behaviors, and encourage moral decay. In response, some well-meaning Nigerians have attempted to counter this trend by producing movies that promote positive values and morals. This movement is known as alternative hegemony.
The research for this study utilized a variety of methods for data collection, including library research on previous work in related fields and both audio-visual and live interviews. The results of the study showed that the film industry is a successful and efficient way to export culture and generate economic benefits. However, it also found that Nigerian movies have not effectively promoted the culture and image of Nigeria due to local dominance among practitioners who prioritize personal profit over cultural representation. As a result, the study recommends that the production of films for image laundering should not be left to individual producers but should instead be sponsored and regulated by the government and philanthropic individuals who prioritize development.
Chapter One
Introduction
The years of British colonial rule in Nigeria significantly transformed the country’s pre-colonial culture. By the time Nigeria gained independence in 1960, the British educational system, moral values, and the English language were widely accepted and incorporated into many aspects of Nigerian society. As noted by Mahdi Adamu in Clark and Jegede (1992:24), “by virtue of the colonial experience, the English language became our official language through which pre-primary, primary, and post-primary education are taught in this country. Official actions and statements in this country have demonstrated that to be formally literate, one must be able to read and write in English”
In the field of political culture also, the similarities are clear and distinct. It was the British type of parliamentary democracy that Nigeria’s first democratic
experience was fashioned after from 1960 – 1966 until 1979 when Nigeria embraced the American political system. In the absence of an accepted alternative which is truly Nigerian, Nigeria adopted the European system of governance. Even in commerce, the remarkable similarity is also evident. To further explain this, Mahdi Adamu (1992:26) asserts:
The Nigerian economy has been so intricately tied to the apron strings of one European capitalist economy, that we no longer have our own commercial system different from that of our mentors.
One thing is clear; the advent of colonial administration in Nigeria greatly and negatively affected the development of indigenous socio-cultural structures. This situation is responsible for the continuing dependency relationship between the colonized nations and European nations.
The most obvious implication of this, according to Tylor’s study cited by Bashir in Nasidi and Bello (1991:20) is that some African, hence Nigerian cultures are overwhelmed by western cultures (knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, etc). Through the media, alien consumer patterns are being promoted among the people of Africa. Consumer societies have been created with lifestyles, values, tastes and inspirations based upon models and commodities of the western industrial countries. The conviction is that the fate of a victim of this cultural imperialism will continue to be decided from outside and in this way its progress and growth will be retarded, as its production and consumption patterns will be fashioned out in accordance with the needs and values of an
alien society. As a result of this, western nations have dominated the cultural and political lives of people in the Third World countries.
The argument above is supported by Bill Ashcroft et al. (2000:49) when they say that no society ever attained full freedom from the colonial system by the involuntary active disengagement of the colonial power until it was provoked by a considerable internal struggle for self-determination or, most usually, by extended and active violent opposition by the colonized.
Statement of Research Problem
The Nigerian Home Video has challenged the influx of western cultures that invade Nigeria through film and other media products. At inception it brought to the fore what Nigerians could identify with. This is evidenced in the nearly total welcome and recognition by both Nigerians and non – Nigerians worldwide. The Nigerian home movie created an alternative entertainment for Nigerians and non-Nigerians. Through the movies, good cultural values and the people of Nigeria have been recognized and promoted globally and a lot of wrong perceptions upheld by non-Nigerians about Nigeria are corrected. Based on this, the Nigerian Home movie is a viable tool for………………………………………………….. contact us for full projects
Objectives of the Study
The home movie is one of the most prominent aspects of living room/viewing room culture in Nigeria today. They have become a ‘must have’ in most Nigerian homes. As a result of this acceptance, popularity and exposure,
the home movie directly or indirectly impacts on the general public. Therefore, this research sets out to do the following:
- Access how local hegemony operates and affects movie making in Nigeria.
- Project the ways Nigerians have been portrayed in the movies and the likely effect of such portrayals to the general public.
- Recommend ways through which the Nigerian home movies could be dominated and controlled by movies with good thematic concepts for the promotion of the image of the Nigerian.
Scope of the Study
There are many organs responsible for communicating and promoting culture. The mass media, e.g. magazines, television, computer, Internet, transmit cultures. There are also some non – material vehicles to this effect, e.g. music. But for the purpose of this research, attention will be focused only on home movie as one of the media that communicate and transmit culture around the world. The researcher selected some relevant Nigerian home movie plates and CDs that respectively embody positive and negative portrayal of the Nigerian society.
Research Methodology
The research attempts a study of the activities in the Nigerian home movie in the light of promoting Nigerian culture as well as the negative and positive representation of the Nigerian society in the home movies. Read More
Disclaimer
Kindly note, this is just a sample of the project/thesis which gives a clue on how to go about your research. To avoid plagiarism, you are not expected to copy and paste these contents as part of your thesis/project work. Contact us to get complete project on this topic.
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