CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Movies has remained an instrument of entertainment, information and education and it has overtaken more than half of other existing entertainment forms, which equally compete for time and attention of the average citizen. Since the early 20th century, the American film industry dominated the cinema across the world. In early 1910, Griith a renowned film director shot the ever first movie in Hollywood titled “In old California”. Before World War I, filmmakers gravitated to Southern California as the first Hollywood studio was opened in 1911 by the Nestor Company. The film making industry was later dominated by the Jews who were immigrants as racial prejudice prevented them from industries. By the mid 1940’s, the film market was making 400 movies a year. Onokome (2009) noted that the Nigeria video film has transformed itself into an art, creating its own version of the Nollywood. The motion picture business grew from an estimated turnover of about 2.5 million in 1994 to a 3.4 million in 1999. Larkin (2006) noted that this development resulted in the production of over 600 films a year and this made Nigeria one of the largest filmproducing nations in the world. Okoye (2003) observed that Ken Mnebue a resourceful Nigerian entrepreneur pioneered the Nigerian movies by producing “Living in Bondage” in 1992. However, Nollywood is arguably the third most vibrant film industry in the world aer Hollywood and Bollywood. Movies came into Nigeria through the colonial masters in 1930. According to Adieza (2010), these films were sponsored by Herbert Macaulay and was shown at the Glover Hall in Lagos. Film at this period was essentially meant to stimulate interest on the British Empire.
In 1960 shortly aer the independence, the first genre of Indigenous film produced was “Culture in Transition” an abridged version of Wole Soyinka’s “The Strong Breed”. “Kongi’s Harvest” also heralded the Independence anniversary. Films during this period were shown in large cinema halls which oen attracted large crowd, the film hall eventually became a rendezvous for criminals. The cost of showing film through these projectors was high, so in 1980 when movies came into the country, it was embraced by all homes. Producers now shied to the production of movies which were cheaper and faster. Sor (2011) noted that by 1996, over 20,000 movies were recorded in the film market. The West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) (2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010) frequently complains on the low quality of education in Nigeria educational system and the resultant eect of poor academic performance among senior secondary school students. Some blame the pupils for this apparent decline in quality of education and moral values, majority blames the teachers for the woes in our schools, while the teachers shied the blame on the children and parental attitudes to their children education (Arony & Ogbadu, 2010). Others scholars such Jekayinfa (2007) blamed the government for unattractive condition of service and poor physical facilities in some parts of the system. Nevertheless, it is essential to note that apart from the factors listed as the causes of failure among the secondary school students, the advent of globalization as a result of urbanization and civilization such as access to internet, GSM, Television and Cable Network programmes have relegated most students to a mere showbiz and oen distracted by series of cartoons and movie activities.
Globalization according to Marwa (1999) is the latest technological effort in reducing the physical distance among nations and societies of the world through information transfer at speed that is hitherto unknown in information technology. Thus the world has therefore become borderless taking into cognizance the flow of information through modern technologies such as the use of internet and electronic mass media (i.e. audio, visual, and audio-visuals gargets and newspapers). In Nigeria, television as a product of globalization is an important source of educational enlightenment and language acquisition (Naigles & Mayeaux, 2001). Television provides better, sophisticated and diverse information and education. Since students are likely to revert to their mother tongues after school, Omojuwa et al., (2009) noted that the television might help to reinforce language skills learnt at school. Thus, its effect on the Nigerian secondary school student, therefore, may depend on the extent to which it is utilized. Television has been variously criticized for negative impact on academic achievement. For instance, Wright and Colleagues (2001) associate high exposure to general audience television with poorer language levels. They attribute these low language scores to programme content rather than time spent watching television programmes.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Movies could be said to have both negative and positive influence on the Nigerian child depending on the type of film, the time, and the level of control parents are able to adopt. It is however clear that a child imitates what he sees hence he must be guided. Onokome (2009) stated that violence is one of the effects of movies. Children who watch a lot of violent films are prone to violent acts. There is the belief that people often accept the fictional representation in the media for their vivid and demonstrative relay of pictures. The Home-video is popularly considered by many people as a school of violence as it has the ability to hold its audience better than any conventional school. There are the long-term and short-term effects of movies especially as it affects the behavior of the child. Traits such as hostility may be the effect of watching films with violent content. This can stimulate aggressive thoughts and feelings. Adesanya (2008) believes that viewing violent program can alter children’s behavior such as making the child afraid, worried and suspicious or increasing the child’s tendency for aggressive behavior. Pornographic films have untold negative effects on the child as it escalates his sexual urge and he tends to venture into experimentation. The most dangerous is the fact that movies takes children’s time as noted by Adesanya (2004), thereby depriving them of maximum concentration on their school work such as revision of notes, assignments and even domestic chores.
