EFFECT OF VIOLENT FILM ON NIGERIA FEMALE CHILDREN
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EFFECT OF VIOLENT FILM ON NIGERIA FEMALE CHILDREN
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The most common kinds of mass media include newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. They are impersonal sources that address a large, diversified, and geographically dispersed audience.
Their specific role in socialisation is controversial, but they are extremely effective disseminators of news and entertainment. Several studies have found that mass media, particularly television, has a considerable impact on the socialisation of children, adolescents, and even adults, notably through the viewing of home movies.
Films, according to Wartella (2003), are stories or events captured by a camera as a series of moving images and exhibited in a cinema or on television. Films are widely recognised as one of the socialisation agents.
This suggests that films have the capacity to either negatively or positively influence children’s perspectives, characters, lifestyles, and civilizations.
As a result, it is critical to be aware of the kind of films being produced for children’s viewing, especially as more people in society gain access to television due to technological improvements.
According to Freedman (2008), mainstream media is an exceptionally effective socialisation agent. People, particularly children, develop a variety of aggressive and violent behaviours as a result of their constant exposure to these films, and they frequently exhibit these behaviours in their neighbourhood, school, and other social settings.
When children watch violent films, they are more likely to engage in criminal activities such as bullying, kicking, rapping, and other delinquent behaviours (Dill & Oslow, 2017).
Violent films depict the evils of polygamy, extramarital affairs, elopement, various forms of rituals, cultism, betrayal, marriage, witchcraft, incest, the clash of western and traditional cultures, landlords and tenants, widowhood, teenage pregnancy, drug trafficking, campus life, tribal conflicts, and religious conflicts (Akpabio, 2003).
Other films, such as those produced by Mount Zion Ministries with the goal of proclaiming the gospel, have entirely Christian themes and focus on the tragedies that occur in churches and among pastors.
Examples include “Busy but guilty,” “Blood on the alter,” “One Reckless Night,” and so on. Many more films may be instructional and depict distinct cultures in Nigeria.
Others could be documentaries about cultural history and how they’ve evolved throughout time.This sort of film includes documentaries such as “Towards Metaphysics,” which was created in 2010.
The most common themes in Nigerian films, among others, are violence (e.g., cultism, murder, rape, and violent fighting), romance (sex, nudity, vulgarity), and the use of harsh language. Rituals and the practice of traditional medicine are also frequently discussed.
The majority of these are clearly negative themes, which are harmful to the development of personality and behaviour in today’s society, particularly among children who are still in the primary and secondary stages of their socialisation or learning process and are susceptible to picking up or adopting attitudes and behaviours from what they see in the media.
The depiction of unpleasant issues has long been the cornerstone of the Nigerian film industry, thanks to the benefits of regular audience support and the public’s interest in pornography, nudity, and violence.
The film industry has been chastised for emphasising negative issues. In its instructions for motion picture makers, the National Film and Video Censors Board (the industry’s governing agency) stated that the portrayal of violence, crimes, sex, pornography, vulgarity, obscenity, and other sensitive issues must be above board.
In recent years, most Nigerian films have grown or progressed from poor to worse, particularly in terms of youth representation. A comparison of older films such as “Outcast 1 & 2” and “Night out (Girls for Sale)” released between 1999 and 2000 with more recent films such as “Dirty Secret” and “Men in Love” released between 2010 and 2011, reveals that the portrayal of nudity in pornography and sex has deteriorated, and actors and actresses are now more comfortable being naked.
This is definitely damaging to children because it will encourage their interest in pornography and potentially lead to addiction. This will not only increase the number of rape complaints
but it will also result in more adolescent pregnancies, abortions, and the abandonment of unwanted infants, all of which will increase the number of children in need of care in motherless baby homes.
As a result, it is important to determine how violent films can impact female children in our society, which is the focus of this study.
1.2 Statement of the Problems
If a study or inquiry were undertaken to establish who makes up the majority of moviegoers in Nigeria, the answers would surely show that it is children and teenagers.
Because of the responsibilities of going to work, earning a living, and constructing a home, older people will be in the minority. Children gradually lose interest in watching films as they get older and become adults because they learn to prioritise certain activities above others and develop a sense of responsibility (Bronfenbrenner and Daramola, 2015).
Liebert and Poulson (1972) report that children in Canada begin watching television before the age of three. By the age of 18, a child will have spent more time watching television than anywhere else, including school. Every day, youngsters in the United States spend more than three hours watching television.
Schaefer and Lamm (2007) discovered that, aside from sleeping, young people spend the majority of their time watching television. A similar tendency may be observed in current Nigerian society, particularly in urban areas.
Every day, we observe young people watching films and videos. Because moviegoers are also part of society. While the media, particularly television, can influence an individual’s behaviour, violent films have the potential to influence young students.
The bad results of these films will have an indirect social influence. That is, if children adopt certain behaviours as a result of watching these films, it may have an indirect impact on society, such as an increase in rape reports, abortion, overcrowding of motherless baby homes due to unwanted babies, violence, increased crime rates, and juvenile delinquency, among other things.
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