CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A Nigeria movie, living in bondage, which was produced in 19992 opened the floodgates of Nigeria’s movie industry, Nollywood (Overwere, 1992.12) Erer since, many Nigerians have developed much interest n watching Nigeria films. Many more movie are produced daily to match the ever-growing demand by viewers. The industry thrived. Many receivers begin to prefer one movie to another. This has made it expedient to classify movies bases on their theme.

The Nollywood movie games are the evangelical, city girl, romance, ritual, comedy, action/gangster, cultural, epic/adventure and fantasy games (Overwere, 1998:35). Because of these games, Nigerian receivers select which movie genre to watch. This may be based on personal choices or otherwise.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

The portrayal of negative themes has been the basis of Nigerian film industry, probably because of the gains gotten form constant patronage from its audience as well as the interest the audience members have in pornography, nudity, violence and the likes. The industry was accused of over emphasizing negative themes. The national film and vieo consors Board, (the industry regulatory body) in its guidelines for motion picture producers, called for production to be above board in portrayal of violence, crimes, sex, pornography, vulgarity, obscenity and other sensitive subjects (NFVBC, 2000). This research work tries to X –ray I.M.T female students preference of Nollywood movie genres and the impact Nollywood movies create on students of higher institutions. Since students which are the audience of Nigerian movies also constitute members of the society, and the media, especially television, is also capable of influencing an individual’s  behavior, the negative effects of these videos will also indirectly affect the society at large that is to say when these students adopt some certain behavior as a result of these movies, it could indirectly affect the society by creating social problems such as increase in rape reports, abortion over-crowding of motherless badies homes due to unwanted babies, violence, increased crime rate and juvenile delinquencies.

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of my study are:

i.      To know if there are genres of Nollywood movies.

ii.     To determine if viewers have preference for any genre.

iii.    To find out reasons behind any preference.

1.4     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is suitable now that Nollywood is growing fast. As a result, the work will enhance their productivity. The study will also add to the existing body of knowledge in the movie industry in particular and mass communication in general.

Movie-viewers will know that there are different types of moves that meet their individual tastes. Government will equally benefit from this work because the movie industry would boost the nations’ economy.

1.5     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following are my research questions:

i.            Are there genres of Nallywood movies?

ii.          Do viewers have preference for any genre?

iii.        What are the reasons behind any preference?

1.6     RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

I have formulated the following hypothesis:

Hi: There are genres of Nollywood movies.

Ho: There are no genres of Nollywood movies

H2: viewers have preference for any genre of movies.

H0: viewers have no preference for any genre of movie.

H3: there are reasons behind any preference

H0: There are no reasons behind any preference

17.  THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

        Cultivation theory

George Gerbner’s  cultivation theory has to do with the idea that television has the power to stage our perceptions of reality and the world around us by affecting our attitudes and certain ways of thinking. According to Gerbner, cultivation theory assures that the more time people spend watching television, the more their world views will be shaped by their television exposure.

Gerbner divided viewers into three groups, namely: light, moderate and heavy viewers. (gulisano, 2008 P.I). Through various experiments, he discovered that, despite their race or socioeconomic class, people who viewed more television had more mainstreamed and homogenus views and perceptions that converged with those represented on television shows.

In effect, Gerbner’s cultivation theory explain the many important ways that television shapes, influences, and reinforces viewer’s perceptions of social reality.

1.8     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study is limited to I.M.T female student’s preference of Nollywood movie genres.