Portrayal of Igbo Culture in the Film Adaptations of Things Fall Apart and Half of a Yellow Sun

Abstract

ABSTRACT The casting of some foreign actors in the film adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun (2013) raises questions of misrepresentation and marginalization of the Igbo people and makes a cultural study of this adaptation, alongside the adaptation of Things Fall Apart (1987), necessary. Hence, the overarching objective of this research was to examine the portrayal of Igbo culture in Things Fall Apart (1958), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and their film adaptations. By so doing, the study extended conversations about adaptations and transnational adaptations to Nigeria, particularly now that books by Nigerian authors are gaining the attention of film-makers in Hollywood. Having established, through literature review, that textual analysis would enable the researcher to engage extensively with the texts, the four selected texts were analysed using textual analysis. Nine constitutive elements of culture were studied: language, rituals, festivals, costumes, foodways, orature, sports, values, and religious beliefs. The analysis showed that the adaptation of Things Fall Apart gave a full representation of the elements of culture under study whereas the adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun did not. Due to the passing of time and westernization, certain elements of Igbo culture were portrayed considerably differently in the adaptation of Half of a Yellow Sun, and some cultural realities made the casting of foreign actors in the adaptation forgivable. The researcher, thereafter, recommended more accuracy in cultural representation, more cultural perspectives in conversations about adaptations, and further research to better understand this phenomenon.