PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECT OF VIOLENT MOVIES ON CHILDREN IN NIGERIA
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PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECT OF VIOLENT MOVIES ON CHILDREN IN NIGERIA
Chapter one
Introduction
Background of the study.
The film business produces films in a variety of formats, including video cassette, video compact disc (VCD), and, more recently, digital video disc (DVD).
These films are also shown on some channels such as “Africa Magic,” Joy TV,” etc., on DSTV, “Cine Africa,” MYTV,” and other cable network services that people subscribe to and which are viewed by the audience through televisions, which is also classified as a type of media, among other things.
Films are clearly acknowledged as one of the instruments of socialisation. This means that films have the potential to influence children’s attitudes, characteristics, lifestyles, and cultures in both positive and negative ways.
As a result, it is critical to understand the types of films being created for children’s viewing, as technology allows an increasing number of individuals in society to access television.
According to Daramola (2005: 90), “the mass media are very powerful socialisation agents.” The mass media consists mostly of newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and movies.
They are impersonal sources that reach huge, diverse and geographically dispersed audiences. Their specific role in socialisation is debatable, but they have enormous power as news and entertainment distributors.
Several studies have found that the mass media, particularly television, has a significant impact on the socialisation of children, adolescents, and even adults.
People, particularly children, learn many aggressive and violent acts from watching these films, and they frequently demonstrate such acts in their neighbourhood, school, and other social settings.
As adolescents watch violent films, kids are more likely to engage in criminal activity such as bullying, kicking, raping, and other delinquent behaviours (Oslow, 2003:73).
The themes of these films are indeed broad, covering Nigerian, African, and universal issues such as the evils of polygamy, extramarital affairs, elopement, various forms of rituals, cultism, betrayal, marriage, witchcraft, incest, clash of western and traditional cultures, landlords and tenants, widowhood, teenage pregnancy, drug trafficking, campus life, tribal conflicts, religious conflicts, organised crime, murder, and so on (Akpabio, 2003: 138-139).
Other films, such as those produced by Mount Zion Ministries for the goal of promoting the gospel, contain entirely Christian subjects and focus on the horrors that occur in churches and among pastors.
Examples include “Busy but guilty,” “Blood on the alter,” and “One Careless Night.” Many additional films could be educational and depict some Nigerian cultures, while others could be documentaries that highlight the history and evolution of some Nigerian cultures over time.
One such documentary film is “Towards a Metaphysics,” which was released in 2010. Unfortunately, the bulk of Nigerian films have violent themes such as cultism, murder, rape, and forceful battles.
Romance refers to sex, nudity, and obscenity, as well as the use of strong language, among other things. Another frequent theme is ceremonies and the use of traditional medicine.
Most of these are obviously negative themes, and thus harmful to the development of personality and behaviour in our modern society, particularly among children who are still in the primary and secondary stages of their socialisation or learning process, and are vulnerable or prone to picking up or adopting attitudes and behaviours from what they see in films.
The portrayal of negative topics has long been the foundation of the Nigerian cinema business, most likely due to the benefits of consistent audience sponsorship as well as the audience’s interest in pornography, nudity, and violence.
The industry was accused of exaggerating negative topics. In its instructions for motion picture makers, the National Film and Video Censors Board (the industry’s governing body) asked for production to be above board in portraying violence, crimes, sex, pornographic vulgarity, obscenity, and other sensitive issues (NFVCB, 2000:107-111).
Most Nigerian films today have deteriorated in quality, particularly those depicting sex, obscenity, violence, and vulgarity. A comparison of older films such as “Outcast 1&2” and “Night out (Girls for sale)” produced between 1999 and 2000 to more recent ones such as “Dirty secret” and “Men in love” produced between 2010 and 2011, has proven that the level of portrayal of nudity pornography and sex has become worse than before, and that actors and actresses are now more comfortable being nude while acting.
This is clearly harmful to children, who will get more interested in pornography and may eventually develop addictions. This will not only increase the number of rape complaints, but it will also result in an increase in adolescent pregnancies, abortions, and abandonment of undesired kids, all of which will increase the number of children cared for at motherless baby homes.
As a result, in order to determine how violent films can be harmful to children in our society, it is also necessary to learn what local residents think about the nature of some of the themes depicted in home videos, as well as their attitudes towards such films, because they have a direct impact on their children.
Calabar South is a Local Government Area in Cross River State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in Anantigha. It covers 264 square kilometres and has a population of 191,630 (according to the 2006 census).
1.2 Problems with the study
If an examination or study is conducted on the demographics of Nigerian moviegoers, the results will undoubtedly show that the majority are children and teenagers.
Older adults will make up the minority due to the obligations of going to work, earning a living, and planning a home. As youngsters grow and mature into adults, they eventually lose interest in watching films because they learn to prioritise certain things over others and develop a sense of responsibility (Daramola, 2005).
According to a research conducted by Liebert and Poulson (1972), 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. In the United States of America, youngsters watch more than three hours of television daily.
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