For us to have a detailed grasp of what is expected of the impacts of films on the culture and ideology of a people in any given society, we must attempt to define the ‘force’ that may be triggered from the subconscious to the conscious of the actions of people with same beliefs and ideologies influenced by any form of what they see or feel from their emotional perspective.
Looking at the expressive manner in which Stephen Nathanson looks at patriotism, one would begin to understand the manner in which movies made in America and Europe are different from movies made in Nigeria. Though one might want to be tempted to say here that Nigeria is still developing but the ideological stance of films made in Nigeria is very loud and very rich in Cinematography more than toeing patriotic lines.
Films all over the world have been appreciated greatly by film lovers in regards to how they creatively make people see movies differently. America have been able to make the world recognize the patriotic gestures of every American towards their national flag, fellow Americans in cultural ideology. As a people viewed through the film lenses by the collectives, every American is patriotic. This may not be true but people tend to believe what they see. For example, the 1917 American silent war drama film “The Birth of Patriotism” directed by E. Magnus Ingleton and starring Irene Hunt, Ann Forrest, and Leo Pierson has the following plot summary: “Carelessness on the part of Johnny Roberts and the growing drudgery of married life causes an estrangement between Johnny and his wife Mary. The final break comes when Johnny,
sick with a fever, returns home to be accused of drunkenness by Mary. Johnny leaves his wife to seek solace in Anne, the innkeeper’s daughter, and the two live happily together until the outbreak of the war. When England is threatened, Johnny enlists and is sent to the front. In the meantime, Mary, with her little baby, seeks Anne out to ask for some of her husband’s money to take care of the child. A mutual understanding springs up between the two women and upon Johnny’s arrival home, the self-sacrificing Anne disappears and Johnny returns to his wife and
child.”
Most movie made by Americans then were basically war movies which hinged on the need to be patriotic and even till this century, American filmmakers still see the need to water the soil of patriotism in America and these are reflective in movies, but not limited to: TOP GUN (1986), THE PATRIOT (2000), MIRACLE (2004), BORN ON THE FOURTH OF
JULY (1989), GLORY (1989) and so on.
The Westerners have deliberately and consciously evolved through films in imbibing patriotism in the people just like the Americans. They even went steps ahead in the application of the theorem of colonialism in Africa and other countries.
In Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David
Lean, who made his debut as a director. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information.
Let us look at some movies that truly attempted to not only reflect culture in their movies, but also use culture as crucially important in deliberate development or achievement of understanding the way of life of a people in a patriotic manner. Filmmakers in Nigeria have greatly attempted to portray the Nigeria people in terms of their divers cultural values and ideologies in a closed but holistic manner in their movies. By closed holistic manner, l mean the various clusters of the various cultures of the divers Nigeria community into categories of movies but with a general goal to show the richness of a people in the values they place on their culture and the level of their ideological stance.
Today we have films made by filmmakers in Nigeria in categories such as: 1. Yoruba movies; 2. Hausa/Fulani movies; 3. Igbo movies; 4. Edo movies (in languages such as Benin, Owan, Etsako, Ishan); 5. Ibibio movies; 6. Urhobo, Itsekiri and Isoko movies, and 7. Idoma movies.
One thing is paramount in the thematic structure of the movies shot in these various languages and even more, the deliberate attempt to showcase the wellness of their people socially, psychologically and economically. These movies also reflect the firm beliefs of these people in their religion, timeliness, taboo, punishment, marriages, celebration and mourning. There may be a thin or wider line as you move from one of these tribes to the other, but you cannot but notice their collective beliefs in their religion and the strength of their collective principles and purposes as closed but holistic communities.
These movies, even though mirrored from their community perspectives, usually have themes and sub themes that can be adduced to Nigeria as a whole. Truly filmmakers in Nigeria have been deliberate in their movies in showing the strength and spirituality of their kings and queens as gods whose words or pronouncements can with give or take lives. We also see the efficacy of the gods believed and feared by the people also playing prominent roles in these movies as well as the gifts of life, wealth, fruitfulness, health given by the gods and goddesses the people believe in to them.
Nigeria but sadly at the same time failed in achieving the same patriotic ideals of America and European movies towards a national identity. We must at this juncture know that there is a difference between making a culture popular and creating a national patriotic ideas which could be achieved from a deliberate move in cultural ideological orientation. The question is simple: Has Nigeria movies brought about popular culture in Nigeria? The answer is yes. Has it also achieved an ideology of national patriotic ideals? The answer is no.
The Nigeria movie culture is popular and very impactful all over Africa which equally has
narrowed international periscopes towards its movies acceptability. Nigerian films, no doubt are figured by many to be among the most watched films in Africa presently. This has a lot to do with the thematic structure of its film stories which deals on the cultural entities and daily issues of human endeavours felt by all across Africa. Any lover of or viewer of Nigeria movies the gratifications derived from the melodramatic form of the Nigeria movies.
There is hardly a region in Africa where Nigeria film culture is not popular. Uganda for example believes that every Nigerian is a filmmaker and again, is there any Nigerian who cannot say a thing about Nigeria movies? The cultural impact of Nigeria movies has grown Nigeria film audience in to that status of film critic. In Africa this impact of Nigeria films is hugely felt as it has become more popular to the ordinary African than our crude oil. If you raise the issue of Nigeria movies whether in positive or negative light, you are sure to have one or more who has something to contribute to such discussions. This shows the popularity of the Nigeria movies and the impact it has in Nigeria and African.
