ABSTRACT
This study examines the influence of violent film on the adolescent social behaviour in selected primary schools in Ikot Ekpene. The main objective of the study is to determine how violent films influence the social behaviour of adolescents. The study used survey research design method and questionnairee was used as the instrument for data collection. The sample size for the study was one hundred and thirty-two (132). The findings of this study revealed that adolescent in primary school in Ikot Ekpene are exposed to violent film often, the type of violent films are both foreign and local films, Also, violent films induce, violent, improve defiance and problematic peer and parental problem. It is concluded that adolescents contact with films can be functional since socialization of the adolescents is inevitable. Thus, it is recommended that parents should monitor their wards to know the kind of films they watch. In addition, film producers should endeavour to find out how educative their films are in Nigeria.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – iv
Table of contents – – – – – – – – vi
List of tables – – – – – – – – viii
Abstract – – – – – – – – – ix
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study – – – – – – 1
1.2 Statement of the problem – – – – – 8
1.3 Objectives of the study – – – – – – 8
1.4 Research questions – – – – – – 9
1.5 Significance of the study – – – – – – 9
1.6 Scope of the study – – – – – – – 10
1.7 Limitation of the study – – – – – – 10
1.8 Operational Definition of terms – – – – 11
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Concept of Violence – – – – – – – 12
2.1.1 Violence in Films – – – – – – – 13
2.1.2 Culture – – – – – – – – 16
2.1.3 Adolescent Behaviour – – – – – – 16
2.1.4 Social Behaviour – – – – – – – 18
2.2 Causes of Aggressive Behavior – – – – – 20
2.3 Role of Media to Create a Perception – – – – 22
2.4 Media and Its Influence on People – – – – – 23
2.5 Effects of Movie Violence – – – – – – 24
2.5.1 Physiological Effects of Movie Violence in Adolescents – 25
2.5.2 Psychological and Social Effects of Movie Violence – 27
2.6 Movie Violence and Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents – 31
2.7 Factors Influencing the Impact of Aggressive and Violent Media
on Children and Adolescents – – – – – 34
2.8 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – 40
2.9 Review of Study – – – – – – – 46
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – 49
3.2 Population of the study – – – – – – 49
3.3 Sampling Technique/Sample Size – – – – 50
3.4 Research Instrument – – – – – – 50
3.5 Validity and Reliability of instrument – – – – 50
3.6 Method of Collection Analysis – – – – – 51
3.7 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – 51
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Data presentation and Analysis – – – – – 52
4.2 Discussion of findings – – – – – – 59
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary – – – – – – – – 61
5.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – 61
5.3 Recommendations – – – – – – – 62
References
Appendix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: What is your Gender? – – – – – – 53
Table 2: What is your age bracket? – – – – – 53
Table 3: What class are you? – – – – – – 54
Table 4: Do you have a video set in your house? – – – 54
Table 5: What is the level of exposure of adolescent to violent film – 55
Table 6: What type of film interest you? – – – – 55
Table 7: To what level do you agree that adolescent is exposed
to violent film? – – – – – – – 56
Table 8: Do you agree that violent film influence adolescent
relationship with their peers? – – – – – 56
Table 9: Are you aware that violent films induce aggressive tendencies
of adolescent behavior – – – – – – 57
Table 10: Do you agree that violent films influence the character formation of adolescent? – – – – – – 58
Table 11: Do you agree that violent films increase the crime
rate in the society? – – – – – – – 58
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The importance of the media in the contemporary world is gigantic. In human history, the media has had such a significant impact on our lives, attitudes, and practices. Despite this, the media plays an extraordinary and essential role in promoting social presentations, perspectives, and global beliefs. The media refers to understanding how it shapes our way of life. Movies and television programs have mainly influenced our society. Moreover, movies have always been considered as the most popular and engaging media (Muhammad, 2020).
The most significant change in our society is to be immersed in our way of life and done by the media. In this new society, radio, television, film, video, games, mobile phones, and computers are assumed to occupy a prominent position in our society. The media is getting scarcer and has dramatically affected our beliefs, quality, and practice. Movies can be described as the signals of electronics for moving images, pictures, and electronic signs of images that are associated with anomalous and sturdy sounds, the content of which is used for training, education entertainment, and the like. The best multimedia tool is the movie. This is an extremely gentle way of conveying information to the masses. This can be an excellent way to match and clarify and get their information (Pavlova & Silbereisen, 2015).
The film plays a significant role in the formation and influence of the world. An individual who is greatly influenced by movies tries to build an opinion that can significantly affect society. Movies are vital to everyone’s life. It is hard to imagine existence without them. From children to teenagers and adults to maturity, everyone sees movies effectively and weirdly. Today, there is an enormous trend in movies with negative and positive angles. It is difficult to judge whether the impact of movies influences positively or negatively, but it depends entirely on how it is obtained. In this regard, the media also play a significant role in highlighting the issues of the people. So now, the media has become a source of data, deviations, and learning with nervousness, discouragement, violence, and hostility (Muhammad, 2020).
Anaeto, Onabanjo and Osifeso (2008) in Gerbner, et. al. (1976) posit that heavy Tv viewers will cultivate the perception of reality portrayed by the television, adding that heavy tv viewing, no doubt, distorts our perception of the world we live in, making it seem more like ‘an utopian world’. Similarly, Aggressive Cue Theory by De Fleur et. al. (1998) cited in Anaeto, Onabanjo and Osifeso (2008) established that telvision is a source of aggressive cue, it increases aggressive behaviour in audience members.
Aggression is usually defined by behavioral scientists as behavior that is intended to harm another person. Common forms of aggression are physical (for example, punching), verbal (for example, saying or writing hurtful things to another person), and relational (for example, intentionally and publicly not inviting someone to a party to harm his social relationships).
Violence usually is conceived as more extreme forms of physical aggression that are likely to result in physical injury. The most extreme form of violence is homicide, but any form of aggressive behavior that is likely to result in an injury serious enough to warrant medical attention is considered violence. Thus, fights involving weapons as well as fistfights by adolescents old enough to be able to inflict serious injuries are considered acts of violence.
The relation of these terms to violent “crime” requires some comment. The vast majority of media violence research focuses on aggressive and violent behaviour as defined earlier. Violent crime is a much more restrictive category and is applied only in cases where someone has been arrested for a crime classified by police as a major crime against persons, such as murder, rape, and assault.
Film is a story recorded as a set of moving pictures to be shown on the television or at the cinema. It is also a roll on shut of flexible plastic that is sensitive to light for the use of in photography. Film also known as movie or motion pictures is series of still moving image. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. It is considered to be important for a source of popular entertainment, a power method for educating or indoctrinating people especially children.
According to Cook (2007) Films are mad up of sources of individual images called frames. When these images are show rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion. Film as medium of mass communication has its major role to play in the society which to educate, entertain and inform the audience.
According to Chamber Dictionary of twentieth century “film is a thin skin of mainframe coated with a very sensitive substances for taking photographs of a ribbon of celluloid prepared with such a coating for instantaneous photographs for protection by cinematography a motion pictures series.
According to Balogun (1987) Film can be classified in Europe film, American, Chinese film, Nigerian film length feature films. All these classification can produce violent films, comic films, entertainment film etc.
According to Concise Oxford Dictionary of current English, violence can be defined as unlawful exercise of physical force, intimidation. It adds that violence has to do with conduct or treatment, outrage, injury. Children are young boys or girls, sons and daughters, babies or infants who are under the influence of their parent or guardians, children can be influenced by other factors such as films or peer groups. According to the American Academy of paediatrics (APA) (2005) “Children are influenced by media, they learn by observing, imitating and making behaviours on their own.
It is quite depression to note that since inception of violent films, there has been increased incident of violent behaviours in children. For instance, a child after watching violent film is seen as imitating the models by using his fellow play mate for demonstration. This has led to a child injuring another in the process of imitating his ideal hero. Few movies found to be capable of injecting violence acts into children includes: House of wax, Scarface commando, pretty woman etc. these movies all displayed horrible series, rape and illicit taking hard drugs. Children learn from what they see, even if it is on big screen. Children spend a substantial amount of time in watching the television, he or she catch a glimpse of violent act which goes contrary to the ethics of the society.
In Nigeria, there are audience member of home video films who are influenced in one way or another by the subjects treated in Nigerian films which involves subjects that are detrimental to the well being Nigerian society. They portray cases of virtual killings, armed robbery, prostitution, rapes, disease, and other immoral behaviours and it is shown in such a way that viewers are confused abut whether they are right norms or not that is why Frank Aig Imoukhuede in Opubor (1995) confirms that “many Nigerians have complained of the
poisonous content of films shown on the screen in Nigeria. A great number of people have criticised the nation’s television for featuring materials which contradicts r erode the quality of life and undermine the peoples value and norms, saying that what is needed as films for self projection which present the facts and figures of life in Nigeria.
Historical background of films in Nigerian experience
The first motion picture was screened in Nigeria on Monday August 12, 1903. It was shown to an exciting Nigeria audience at Glover Merumorial Halliri Lagos. As Lagos standard announced “The cinematographs exhibition which is made at the Glove Memorial Hall from Monday night and is to continue for the nights is the talk of the town”.
The film was shown by Messri’s Balboa of Barcelona, Spain under management of the Nigerian Herbert Macaulay. Although ticket buyers considered the gate fee of three shillings high, it was discovered after the first night at the film was worth the price.
The standard later suggested lowering the price so that everybody in Lagos may see for herself, by middle of September 1903, Mrs Balboa closed her exhibition in Lagos and left to continue showing in other west African countries. On her departure, an enterprising European merchant, Stanley Jones, began to show films in the same Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos. He showed his first film in November 1903. One of the most thrilling films Stanley showed was about Alake of Abeokuta, a famous Nigerian ruler.
After the independence, the film unit became a division of federal ministry of information with the main objectives of producing and exhibiting documentaries. The Nigerian rural film unit experiment was carried by the Colonial film unit propaganda section in 1952. Therefore, it is emphatically clear that the type of media content (video film) that are exposed to the
adolescent will also affect their sense of reasoning and action. The film being audio visual in nature have immense role to play in moulding the behaviours of the adolescent.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The audiovisual nature of the film has the capacity to influence the attitude, behaviour, thinking, and socialization of an individual from childhood to the adult stage. The popular assertion “Seen is believing” makes film, television, and videogame messages more accepted, persuasive, and very influential.
Children tend to behave based on what they see on the screen either on television, computer game, video-gate, etc particularly watching violent cartoons, and films on do stick to the psyche of children.
Thus, the research examines the influence of violent and criminal scenes in movies on the social behaviours of adolescent with a view to knowing the extent to which watching violent films are eliciting violent behaviours in them.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
- To find out the level of exposure of adolescent in selected primary schools to violent films
- To find out what type of violent films adolescent in selected primary schools prefer.
- To find out the influence of their preferred violent films on their social behaviour
1.4 Research Questions
- What is the level of exposure of adolescent in selected primary schools to violent film?
- What type of violent films do adolescent prefer?
- How have their preferred violent films influenced their social behaviour?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The research will benefit parents and guardians on how to upbring and train their children instead of living such training to television, films, games etc by determining not only what they watch but also the extent they are being exposed it. Also, the findings of this research will serve as a good literature for both researchers and students who may want to carry out similar or related research in the future.
Media houses will also learning how to schedule their programmes and know the nature of the programmes to be televised during the day by putting violent shows at the odd hours. NBC, Nigerian Film Censor Board and other government agencies will benefit as it will keep them alert on the need to censor what is considered violence and other things that can corrupt the mind of the minors.
The study will be very useful in identifying the extent at which western violence movies, game and tv programmes are being deposited in our society.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study has been limited to primary schools in Ikot Ekpene. The study will involve both male and female students in class 3 to 6. The schools involve in this study are; Herbinger Nur/Pri School, Excellent Academy, Hope Nur/Pri School, Makadan Nur/Pri School and Scripture Union Nur/Primary School.
1.7 Limitations of the study
This researcher faced some obstacles in the course of gathering data, among the barriers were the unwillingness of some respondents, to provide information was another problem.
Also, some school managements were a bit impervious, refusing to allow my entry into the classroom for student interrogation for fear of misinformation about the school.
Again, the financial constraints made it difficult for the researcher to reach a wider public at the time frame too short.
1.8 Operational definition of terms
Violence: this refers to the exposure of adolescents to various activities on tv, films, games that are cruel, dangerous, deadly, which include crime scenes, kidnapping, massacre etc
Movie: It refers to violent movies, television programmes, media violence and video games exposed to by the adolecents etc.
Social behaviour: This refers to how primary school pupils in Ikot Ekpene relate with their peers within and outside the school.
Influence: This is the character a person portrays as a result of what he or she watches from violent films.
Films: It is played and viewed by people with the aid of a television set which is connected to video machines such films include documentary films, horror films etc.
Adolescent: They are the audience member used or the student who receive the message transmitted.
Attitude: The reactions, habit and practice of the adolescent to violent films.
