THE EFFECT OF VIOLENT FILM ON NIGERIA FEMALE CHILDREN

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of The Study

Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television are the most common forms of mass media. They are impersonal sources that reach a broad, diverse, and geographically dispersed audience. Their precise function in socialization is debatable, but as news and entertainment disseminators, they are very powerful. Several studies have connected the mass media, particularly television, to having a significant impact on the socialization of children, adolescents, and even adults, especially through the seeing of home films.

Films, according to Wartella (2003), are stories or events recorded by a camera as a set of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television. Films are clearly recognized as one of the socialization agents. This implies that films have the potential to adversely or favorably influence children's views, characters, lifestyles, and cultures. As a consequence, it's important to be aware of the kind of films being made for children's viewing, especially as more individuals in society get access to television as a result of technological advancements. According to Freedman (2008), the mainstream media is extremely strong as a socialization agent. People, particularly youngsters, acquire various aggressive and violent behaviors as a result of their continuous exposure to these films, and they often display these behaviors in their neighborhood, at school, and in other social settings. When kids watch violent movies, they are more prone to engaging in criminal actions such as bullying, kicking, rapping, and other delinquent behaviors (Dill & Oslow, 2017).

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, and religious conflicts are all depicted in violent films (Akpabio, 2003).Other films, such as those made by Mount Zion Ministries with the aim of preaching the gospel, contain purely Christian subjects and focus on the horrors that occur in churches and among pastors. Some instances are "Busy but guilty," "Blood on the alter," "One Reckless Night," and so on. Many more movies may be instructional and show specific cultures in Nigeria. Others could be documentaries about cultural histories and how they have changed over time.A documentary like "Towards Metaphysics," which was produced in 2010, is an example of this type of film. 

However, the most frequent subjects in Nigerian movies, among others, include 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 another frequent topic. Most of these are clearly negative themes, and are thus harmful to the development of personality and behavior of their audience members in today's society, particularly children who are still in the primary and secondary stages of their socialization or learning process and are vulnerable to picking up or adopting attitudes and behaviors from what they see in the media. The depiction of negative topics has long been the foundation of the Nigerian cinema business, owing to the benefits gained from consistent audience support as well as the public's interest in pornography, nudity, and violence.

The film industry has been criticized for exaggerating unpleasant topics. In its guidelines for motion picture producers, the National Film and Video Censors Board (the industry's regulatory body) called for the portrayal of violence, crimes, sex, pornography, vulgarity, obscenity, and other sensitive subjects to be above board (NFVCB, 2000). 

Most Nigerian films have matured or evolved from terrible to worse in recent years, particularly on the side of the youth. A comparison of older films such as "Outcast 1 & 2" and "Night out (Girls for Sale)" released between 1999 and 2000 with more recent movies such as "Dirty Secret" and "Men in Love" released between 2010 and 2011, has revealed that the portrayal of nudity in pornography and sex has gotten worse than before, and the actors and actresses are now more comfortable with being nude. This is clearly harmful to youngsters, since it will increase their interest in pornography and perhaps lead to addiction. This will not only increase the number of rape complaints, but it will also lead to an increase in adolescent pregnancies, abortions, and the abandoning of undesired infants, all of which will increase the number of children in need of care at motherless baby homes.

As a result, it is pertinent to determine how violent films can be harmful to female children in our society, which forms the basis of this study.

1.2  Problems of the study

If research or inquiry were conducted to determine who makes up the bulk of moviegoers in Nigeria, the results would undoubtedly reveal that it is youngsters and teenagers. Older individuals will make up the minority due to the obligations of going to work, making a livelihood, and preparing a house that they confront. Children eventually lose interest in viewing movies as they get older and evolve into adults because they learn to prioritize some activities above others and acquire a feeling of responsibility (Bronfenbrenner & Daramola, 2015).

Children in Canada begin viewing tv before the age of three, according to Liebert and Poulson (1972). By the age of 18, a child will also have spent more time in front of the television than anyplace else, including school. Every day, children in the United States watch more than three hours of television.

The research by Schaefer and Lamm (2007) also found that, apart from sleeping, young people spend the most time watching television. A similar tendency may be seen in modern Nigerian society, especially in urban areas. Every day, it is quite usual to see youngsters enjoying movies and videos. Because moviegoers are also members of society. While the media, particularly television, has the power to impact an individual's behavior, violent films have the potential to influence young learners. These films' negative outcomes will have an indirect impact on society. That is to say, if children adopt certain behaviors as a result of these films, it may have an indirect impact on society, such as an increase in rape reports, abortion, overcrowding of motherless babies homes due to unwanted babies, violence, increased crime rates and juvenile delinquency, and so on.

As a result, the purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of violent films on female children in today's Nigeria society by examining the type of content of these films, as well as why female children continue to watch them despite their heinous nature.

1.3  Objectives Of The Study

The study's main goal is to determine the impact of violent films on young Nigerian females. The following are the study's particular goals:

1. The purpose of this study was to determine the harmful consequences of viewing violent films on female youngsters.

2. To learn more about how violent films influence female children's behavior.

3. To provide recommendations for reducing the harmful impact of violent films on Nigerian female youngsters.

1.4       Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for this study:

1. What are the negative effects associated with watching violent films on women?

2. Do violent films affect the behaviour of Nigerian female children?

3. What are the ways the negative effects caused by violent films on Nigerian children can be controlled?

1.5  Significance Of The Study

The research investigates the impact of violent films on female Nigerian children. The study does not deny the fact that television, as one form of media, is beneficial to learning and development and that it does in fact go a long way in socializing children by assisting them in blending more easily into society due to the amount of information passed on to them through well-coordinated motion pictures with a variety of content and stories.

Films, as a means of communication, have the potential to convey the incorrect message or impression to the watching public, particularly youngsters in their sensitive phases of development. Furthermore, such perceptions may pose a significant issue for the whole community, since youngsters learn more readily from what they see or hear than from what they hear.

This study, however, should act as a reference source for students and other researchers who may be undertaking research on similar topics. Also, Nigerian filmmakers can profit from the information provided here as a yardstick to measure their shortcomings and compare them to their strengths, which may be used as a guide to rectifying their flaws for the betterment of their goods and society as a whole.

The importance of this research may also be justified on the grounds that it will help to better understand the negative impacts of films or the malicious character of certain home videos on our current culture, which will encourage filmmakers to enhance the quality and substance of their films.

Parents will also learn about the harmful impacts of movies and how they may affect their children's behavior in the long and short term. This would lead them to seek ways to monitor and regulate their children's watching habits, as well as to be aware of what they see and the themes that these films contain. As a result, the negative effect as well as the degree of malevolence produced by viewing movies in today's culture will be reduced.

The recommendations in this paper should aid filmmakers in adhering to National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) regulations by varying age ratings for different films, while the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation would evaluate and regulate films before they are released. On the other hand, parents will make sure that their children only watch movies that are appropriate for their age groups.

This research is important since it aims to look at the negative aspects of movies and their impact on children and society.

1.6  Scope Of The Study

This study examines the effects of violent films on Nigerian female children, with a specific focus on identifying why people make violent movies, determining the harmful consequences of viewing violent films on female youngsters, learning more about how violent films influence female children's behavior, and providing recommendations for reducing the harmful impact of violent films on Nigerian female youngsters.

Hence, this study will obtain its respondents from among female children in Oshodi-Isolo local government area of Lagos state. The essence of the focus on one locality is to enable the researcher to be precise and specific in her observation.

1.7 Limitation Of The Study

This study is limited by various factors, ranging from the time frame of the study, financial implications necessary for the success of this study, and the inadequate availability of materials needed to carry out the study. Furthermore, ethical issues and organizational politics that arose during the course of this study hampered the study.

1.8  Definition Of The Terms

1.    Malevolence: According to “Merriam-Webster’s dictionary”, this can be defined as the quality or state of being productive of harm or evil. The Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines it as, “wishing harm or evil, and showing or having ill will”, that is the state of causing harm or evil.

Movie: This is defined as “the showing of motion pictures or the motion picture medium”, Merriam Webster’s Dictionary.

Nigerian movie: This refers to the Nigerian motion picture medium, or the showing of Nigerian motion picture.

Violence: The World Health Organization (WHO; 2007) defines violence as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation.