INFLUENCE OF IGBO CULTURE ON NIGERIA HOME MOVIES

1.1 Introduction

Home Movies hold a very special place in the culture of a people. “Movies, like books, are a culturally special medium, an important medium of cultural transmission (Baran, 2009). This supposition is hinged on the fact that home movies have gained wide followership among students of tertiary institutions, especially the youths. Studies show that, the home movie industry has continued to grow and explode to greater proportion such that it has pushed foreign media off the shelves of movie rental shops across Nigeria and other parts of Africa (Uwakwe, 2010).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

This study the Nigerian home movies and influences on Igbo culture aims at identifying the influences of Nigerian home movies especially those that have their theme, plot, and setting in rich culture of Igbo. Even those that have Yoruba or Hausa theme, plot and setting but like the imported films influences negatively the culture and behavior of Igbo people.

There is common belief in Nigeria especially amongst the Ibos that home movies project negatively the culture of Nigeria. That is why frank Aig imoukeluede in opubor (1995:47) confirms that: many Nigerians have complained of the poisonous content of firms shown on the screens in Nigeria. A great number of people have criticized our television featuring materials, which contradictor erode the quality of life and undermines our values and mores. What is needed are films for self protection, for presenting the facts of life in Nigeria. The study will be able to confirm or approve this widely held view.

The historical of home movies has it that actual recording and presentation of actualities started with the lumpier brothers experience on December 25 1895; when they achieved this by recording “break time” in their factory. Dosumu (1995:17) averse that “when brothers Louis and august lumpier unveiled then cinematographer in the basement of grand café in Paris on December 28, 1895 they no doubt felt satisfied that they found new medium for recording and presentation of actualities. Recording actualities is what a documentary does and that is what the lumpier brothers achieved by recording “Break time” in their factory. The influences of the medium of film on mankind have been many and varied, carrying their ideals and aspirations beyond cultures.

The development of film in Nigeria started with the colonial experience. The first film show took place at the glover hall, Lagos on Monday August 12, 1903. this film show lasted for 10 nights. Messrs Balboa of Barcelona Spain showed the film under the management of a Nigerian, Herbert Macaulay. Nevertheless film production started rather late. According to Balogun (1987:48) Obe was considered the first to have a standard film production in Nigeria by making mute films for the health department in the year 1936.

In 1947 the Nigerian government established her own, federal film unit. The film unit produced mainly newsreels and documentary firms in the fifties the film industry in Nigeria was dominated totally by foreigners and foreign films. During this era, film so we ere done in cinema halls, village squares, school and church premises. This public show of film, make it possible to show only films that are of “high technical quality”. With the advent of video compact disc (VCD) or the digital video (DVD), the old culture of going to the cinema centers and public arenas for film show dropped. Children and adults now sit indoors glued to their video. Then the era of home movies was born. Then the era of home movies was born. Movies in English, pidgin English, Igbo Hausa and Yoruba flooded the market on daily basis.

The proliferation of movie industries has brought about the production of movies that have negative influences on Igbo culture. Huseimi (2002:31) lamented: “we need time to achieve this (sanity) because lot damage has been done already. Here is an industry where a fellow is probably because he cried in a movie and drew the sympathy of the viewing public or she appeared of nude in movie. One would then be compelled to ask.

Relations undertaking business contract vow not to cheat each other. Hosts taste food presented to their visitors in demonstration of the absence of poison, the contract vindications of innocence in all aspects of social function results in the placement of a high premium on good moral and civil behaviors. In a society where relationships are on a personal intimate basis, a society which provides a system of checks and balances in behavior the culture of such a society generally builds into its fabrics a system of sanctions that limit obverts deviant behavior are status determinants in Igbo society.

The above enumerated rich culture of Igbo has never been portrayed in any Nigerian movies, even in Igbo films. Rather, they portrayed the cultural life of Igbo as simple minded people whose main pre occupations are drinks and girls. Their needs are simple and easily satisfied by cast off clothes scavenged from the dustbin. When he is bullied or robbed, it is by his own type and as a group easily resorts to violence in which crude weapons are used. That was why Aig imoukhuede (1985:49) revealed that: thirty years ago, Nigerian nationalist Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe led a protest against “sanders of the river” for its negative portrayal of the black man”. Arulogun (1995:54) also laments that today gangster films constitute above 80% of what we see on our cinema screens. In late fifties Ekotodo a cinema house in Ibadan was infested with young men dressed in jeans and hats with scarves tied around their necks like the cowboy in American west films.

In this study, therefore, we are going to investigate these influences by asking question and seeking answers from those that watch these films especially the under listed five selected ones. “The festival of fire, Battle of mosanga, Sins of the father, conspiracy and Blood money”.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Influence of Igbo Culture on Nigeria Home Movies.

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1.3 Statement of Problem

Nigerian home movies assured a lot of importance in the area of entertainment and cultural transmission especially amongst the Igbo society. This explains the time audiences (both children and adults) spend watching movies in their homes or their frequent visit to video clubs.

The behavioral pattern of people is formed by different factors in their environment. Home movies have entered as novel part of the environment that has an over powering influences. Since many of these Nigerian movies embody the tradition and culture of the Igbo people, if they are not of high technical quality, they will influence their audience negatively. Those who do not have fair knowledge of the ideal Igbo culture are bound to imbibe the negative aspect unconsciously. Also non Igbo’s would believe such practices as the cultural habit or practices of Igbo. Thus, the central problem of this research study is to ascertain how Nigerian home movies affect the Igbo cultural practice and influence it negatively.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Influence of Igbo Culture on Nigeria Home Movies. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To ascertain the extent to which Nigerian home movies portray negatively the culture of Igbo’s.
2. To determine if what is watched by the audience is believed by them to be the ideal cultural practice of the Igbo.
3. To know if the contents of such movies are imbibed by both young and adult viewers.
4. To determine how to improve such situations

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Do the Nigerian home movies influence the Igbo culture negatively?
• Do the home movies bring about attitude formation and behavioral changes?
• Do home movies cause negative change in attitude and behavior?
• Do the negative portrayals of Igbo culture by the home movies make Igbo imbibe the negative practices as ideal Igbo culture?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: Nigerian home movies do not influence Igbo culture negatively.
• H1: Nigerian home movies influence Igbo culture negatively.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: Home movies do not cause attitude formation and behavioral change.
• H1: Home movies cause attitude formation and behavioral change.

Hypothesis Three

• H0: Home movies do not negative changes in attitude and behavior.
• H1: Home movies cause negatively changes in attitude and behavior.

Hypothesis Four

• H0: Home movies do not make Igbo imbibe the negative practices of the ideal Igbo culture.
• H1: The negative portrayal of Igbo culture by Nigerian home movies makes Igbo imbibe the negative practices as ideal Igbo culture.

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1.7 Significance of Study

Home movies as agent of cultural have both audio and visual effects. These effects bring about attitude and behavior change. This research study intends to investigate into the causality of this change and the influences home movies have on Igbo culture.

The study will be useful in identifying the extent to which home movies flooding the market despoil the true fabrics of the Igbo culture. It is therefore, anticipated that the study will be useful to all those that watch Nigerian home movies especially Igbo’s.

It will also help to instruct producers to be conscious of the negative influences on younger generation offer solutions to better ways of presentation of the cultural contents of Nigerian movies.

Finally, the study would be useful to the government, movie industries, communication experts, students, researchers as well as parent in many ways.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Influence of Igbo Culture on Nigeria Home Movies in Nigeria.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Movie:

Conceptual: motion pictures, cinema or films of thin skin or mainframe, coated with a very sensitive substance for taking a photograph or a ribbon of celluloid or the like prepared with such a coated for taking Instantaneous photograph for projection by cinema monograph.

Operational: The home movies festival of fire, battle of mosanga, conspiracy, sins of the father and blood money.

Negative:

Conceptual: Expressing the absence of any positive character that stops indices or makes powerless.

Operational: Absence of expression on positive character of Igbo’s by Nigerian home movies.

Influences:

Conceptual: Power to affect somebody’s character, belief or action through examples, fear and administration.

Operational: The power of the five selected home movies has to influence character, belief or action of Igbo people negatively.

Culture:

Conceptual: Improvement of mental facilities refined taste or judgment high intellectual and aesthetic state of intellectual, artistic and social development of a group, type and degree of civiliasation (arch) social group characterized by a specified level of material achievements.

Operational: The way of life, belief, system, habits and practices of the Igbo.