Abstract
This paper sets out to analyze the depiction of Nigerian traditional religious practices vis-à-vis Western religious practices in some Nigerian movies against the backdrop that some Nollywood films are imbued with ideologies that uphold and promulgate western Christian values at the expense of core Nigerian traditional religious values. Previous studies demonstrate that the tendency in Western religious thought has been to see African cultural practices and spirituality as void of moral character in the history of human civilization deserving distillation. It is unfortunate that the tendency for most African filmmakers is still to produce contents that discredit Nigerian spirituality by portraying it as void of moral character. The study is informed by Multimodal Discourse Analysis which provides methodological tools applied in the analyses of the selected movies. The paper, therefore, analyses the discursive strategies used to promote western Christian practices against those of Nigeria in particular and Africa at large in the movies under study. This paper assumes that Nigerian traditional religions and spirituality are depicted in contrast to western religious values in a conflicting space. By depicting custodians of Nigerian traditional religions and spirituality in malevolent practices in contrast to custodians of western religion depicted as benevolent, the filmmakers in the films under study undermine the essence of Nigerian core values. The analyses demonstrate that the Nollywood movies selected for the study are imbued with stereotypes that serve a colonial agenda by properly engaging Nigeria’s religious history with western religions. They serve as a medium through which western religious ideologies are upheld at the detriment of traditional Nigerian values in particular and African in general.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.