AN INVESTIGATION INTO PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF WOMEN OBJECTIFICATION IN NIGERIAN MUSIC VIDEOS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The value of connectivity can not be overemphasized. Communication has from the onset been a central and crucial aspect of human life. Without communicating, humans can not exist since communication is the only way by which concepts and information may be transmitted from one generation to the next. Baran (2014) is of the view that contact is the transfer of knowledge from a transmitter to a recipient. "Communication has been variously described as the passing of knowledge, the exchanging of thoughts, or the method of creating a commonness or oneness of thought between a sender and a receiver." (Belch & Belch, 2003. p. 139)

Communication has numerous roles, which include; knowledge supply, schooling and entertainment. These main roles are vividly inevitable in our everyday lives. As humans, we strive to learn more knowledge and teach ourselves about the environment in which we inhabit and often a desire to withdraw from the necessities of existence leads us to the use of entertainment such as films, books, magazines, computer games etc.

Defining music is not any straightforward feat to be done since music has a multitude of meanings and not an identical one. Many people have made deliberate attempts to add sense to music in a manner that serves them the best. Scholars have also given their own description of music in attempts to make it a common definition. According to Levinson (1990), as cited in Davies (2015), defines music as an art which involves a person momentarily creating sounds for the soul, with the aim of strengthening experience through active engagement such as dancing, listening and performing.

Music videos are an important part of the Western traditions' most important development cultural framework.Music videos have had a deep influence on fashion, adolescent traditions and music, and on the processes and frameworks that exist through film, advertisement and television, but hitherto, criticisms have dismissed the specific meaning of the structure and its cultural heritage. Music videos are a vital form of persuasion, either to build knowledge of a specific thing or to inspire citizens to respond in a particular way. They offer a means of amusement for the audience, involving them in audio and visual material to attract and preserve their focus on what is being watched. Music videos may not appear to be so, but they are a very effective way of disseminating information and even keeping people up to date on various events or happenings of interest.

Hogan, Bar-on and Strasburger (2009) opine that music videos are enticing to people, particularly young audiences. Bearing in mind that music videos combine two sets of media that are striking to young audiences who are television and popular music, it is important to research their impact on young recipients and to be apprehensive about the messages these music videos uphold. Music videos have been extensively investigated. They have various types and are mostly regarded as either ideas or results footage. As for a performance recording, a single artist or a group of artists are filmed during a performance, a concert typically. Although design videos show a plot to the viewer, a story has the possibility of being created from the music. This tale could often append material to the lyrics and provide a clear meaning that is repeated every single time a person hears the music.

According to Frith, Goodwin and Grossberg (2005), while watching a music film, the visual section normally occupies our focus automatically, only through arresting and individual eyes, by being on TV. Television evidently incorporates the musical matrix without effort and irreversibly into its visual field. A music video draws our interest at the same time to the song and away from it, precisely by putting itself in the location of what it depicts. According to Vernallis (2004), the music arrives before the recording, the soundtrack is recorded before the film is made and the producer creates photos utilizing the song as a reference. However, the video of the single would promote the song; therefore, it is accountable to the song in the perspective of the artiste and record label. Music videos have various forms to accompany an album. They also mirror a song’s type and pick up on precise harmonic features in the area of harmony, timbre and rhythm. The picture can also duplicate a sound’s fade and flow and its unknown borders. Videographers have developed a series of procedures for setting a pictures to music in which the image gives up its individuality and abandons some of its modes.

1.2  STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Objectification is a notion fundamental to feminist philosophy. It can be loosely described as seeing and/or treating a human, typically a woman, as an entity. In this entry, the emphasis is specifically on sexual objectification, objectification happening in the sexual sphere. Objectification, for Kant, entails the lowering of a being, a being with humanity, to the level of an object. Humanity, for Kant, is an individual’s rational will and potential for rational decision. The hallmark trait of mankind is an individual’s potential for rationally setting and following their own ends. A being of humanity is capable of determining what is important, and of seeking ways to realize and encourage this importance. Humanity is what is unique in human beings. It separates them from livestock and inanimate items. Since human beings are unique in this way, they, unlike animals and things, have a dignity (an ‘inner worth’, as opposed to a ‘relative worth’) (Kant 1785). It is important, that each individual respects humanity in others, as well as humanity in their own person. Humanity must never be considered simply as a medium, but still at the same time as an end (Kant, 1797).

The rate at which Nigerian music videos objectify women is alarming. This study seeks to investigate the public perception of women objectification in Nigerian music videos.

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.      To determine if Nigerian music videos actually objectify women.

2.      To investigate the publics’ opinion on women objectification in Nigerian music videos.

3.      To proffer solutions that would allow for the proper use of the music video medium in passing across necessary information.

1.4  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.      Do Nigerian music videos actually objectify women?

2.      What are the opinions of the public on this objectification in music videos?

3.      What are the possible solutions that would end women objectification and bring about a proper use of the imbued prowess of music videos?

1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be helpful to the academic world and other researchers who want to delve deeper on the subject matter. It would also be an opener to the entertainment industry as to what is the current trend in most music videos and this will allow for the necessary bodies to take charge and do the needful.

1.6  SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will only cover the publics’ perspective on women objectification in Nigerian music videos and also solutions that could be taken in order to halt such acts.

1.7  LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study was only limited by time. The researcher did not have enough time to delve deeper and explore an in depth analysis of the subject.

1.8  OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.      MUSIC VIDEO: A short film that puts together a song with images and is fashioned for promotional or creative purposes.

2.      OBJECTIFICATION: objectification is the act of treating a human, or often an animal, as an object or a weapon. It is part of dehumanization, the act of disavowing the dignity of another.

WOMEN OBJECTIFICATION: Women objectification is the act of treating women as objects.

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