INTRODUCTION
James Deane (2004) quoted Fraser and Villet
(1994) in his article, The context of
communication for development, “…..if
development can be seen as a fabric woven out of the activities of millions of
people, communication represents the essential thread that binds them
together.” The level and degree to which a community
evolves depends on how effectively the authorities and their agencies utilize
communication.
The
21st century witnessed a supersonic wave of development globally.
From the analogue to the digital way of transmitting messages. The information
superhighway of transmitting mass media messages has changed the way the mass
media operates. Alan B. Albarran, wrote, "The first decade of the 21st
century has been unique in terms of its impact on the media and communication
industries.”
Youell and Downey in their
article Communication in a new world
order stated that "Business is changing course. It will take time, but
the transformation has already begun. The train has left the station." Technological
innovation is rapidly transforming mass media operations , particularly in
21st-century film and broadcast output.
In this paper, we shall be exploring different aspects of film and broadcast
industries and their role in the development of society.
From the rapid rise and fall of
the dot-com era to a global economic recession impacting virtually every
segment of business operation, along with the advent of converging technologies
such as mobile "smartphones" and multiple digital channels, media and
various new channels, media and communications sectors are not only changing
themselves but are also influenced by several external influences (Albarran,
2009).
Onwumechili and Ndolo (2013) pointed out that
“since the end of the era of the vigorous development communication debates,
there have been several issues that require us to re-assess development
communication in Africa through various lenses.” They further pointed some of
the issues which poses a lot of question about the impact of communication technology
in Africa. They include:
1.
New
communication technologies have been swiftly introduced in Africa. A rapid expansion of wireless
communication technology, for example, has sparked new ways of communication
and re-invention. What impact do these technologies have on development? Which
position are they playing now or will they play in the future?
2.
There
has been some improvement in different developmental fields. Which kinds of
regular communication have been effective in those accomplishments and why?
Where are the other barriers?
3.
The
rapid democratisation and liberalization of the media sector in many African
countries has significantly altered or shifted since the 1990s. How did those
changes affect communication with the development? In recent years,
urbanization has increased, what are the consequences of development
communication correlated with this increasing urbanisation?
Alan B. Albarran pointed out five
outside forces which influence media development in any society. They include
globalization, regulation, economics, technology, and aspects of society. In
this paper, we will build on these five components as they constitute the major
drivers of development within any society.
HISTORY
OF FILM IN NIGERIA
Nigeria's cinema background dates back to the late 19th
century when peephole viewing of devices in motion pictures was the order of
the day. They were quickly replaced with better film projection systems at the
beginning of the 20th century; the first series of films shown in the Nigerian theatre
were Western films, and the first film shown was between 12 to 22 August 1903
at the Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos during a film exhibition organized by a
Spanish film company, Bilboa and company.
Since the 1920s, colonial filmmakers have started producing
films for the local audience in Nigeria, mostly using mobile cinema as a means
of an exhibition; the earliest feature film made in Nigeria is Geoffrey Barkas'
Palaver produced in 1926. The movie has also been the first film ever to
feature actors from Nigeria in a speaking role as
cinemas were a popular feature of social life.
The film industry in Nigeria
experienced rapid growth between the 1950s – 1980s with a lot of American,
Chinese and Japanese films being shown in our cinemas. This era was being
referred to as the golden era in the film industry. But this era suffered a
decline due to;
Reduction of Naira's
value, lack of funding and marketing support, lack of standard film studios and
production equipment, recurrent government structural reform programs due to
military dictatorships, and lack of practitioners' expertise. The downward trend in cinema practice has led to the sale
of some of the largest cinema houses to religious bodies and turned to
churches; others were closed down.
The emergence of the video film market in Nigeria is
traced back to the 1980s when television productions thrived with Jimi
Odumosu's Evil Encounter, a 1980 horror film released
directly on television. This was the first production which gave a pointer to
how lucrative making film directly on video can be with the streets of Alaba
market flooded with video copies of the recorded films.
This method was developed and built upon at Alaba Market
by producers and distributors to recreate the film industry, as the history of
Nigerian cinema was facing a major decline. The film industry continued to
increase with movies like Soso Meji (1988), Ekun (1989) and Living in Bondage
(1992) which was argued to be the movie which kick-started the boom in the film
industry. Although, several historians have argued otherwise.
From the year 2000 to present, the film industry has
continued to thrive with cinema houses reopening around the country with modern
infrastructure and technology.
HISTORY OF
BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA
The history
and creation of the Nigerian Press began on 3 December 1859 with the printing
media by a Christian missionary named Reverend Henry Townsend, who founded in
Nigeria the first Newspaper called "Iwe Iroyin fun awon Egba ati Yoruba'
which simply means 'A Newspaper for the Egba and Yoruba” in today's Abeokuta,
Ogun State's capital city, to encourage literacy and create elites among the
EGBA's, not with current political motivations but as a matter of reality,
successor newspapers chose to go against an indelible footprint as far as the
political history of Nigeria is concerned. Subsequently, the death of 'Iwe
Iroyin' culminated in the rise of other newspapers such as Anglo-African, Lagos
Time and Gold Coast Advertiser, Lagos Observer, The Eagle and Lagos Critic, The
Mirror, The Nigerian Chronicle, The Lagos Standard, Lagos Weekly Record,
African Messenger, The West African Pilot, Nigerian Tribune (Reuben Abati,
1998). The period not only culminated in the rise of newspapers in Nigeria, but
also gave birth to outspoken vibrant and seasoned journalists who made
judicious use of this existing institution {print} to combat colonialists under
nationalist struggle that eventually led to Nigeria's independence in 1960 and,
as a matter of fact, has since placed them at the forefront of the political arena
in Nigeria. H. Kukah {1999} claimed that journalism was the key mechanism by
which the Nigerian anti-colonial movement was waged. Many of the main figures
in this movement include naming just a handful, Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi
Azikiwe, Ernest Ikoli, Obafemi Awolowo, Anthony Enahoro, Dutse Mohammed Ali,
Mokwugo Okoye. They were publishers, journalists, commentators and editors in
different newspaper houses. Their newspapers acted as a forum to rally the
people, disseminate nationalist consciousness, and condemn the worst expression
of imperialist exploitation and the racial prejudice that they are accustomed
to. Also the pre-eminent Nigerian Press historian Fred Omu {1978} said the
early Nigerian Media established the most respected academic platform in the
history of Nigeria. One in which the high standard of debate, discussion, the
quality of thought and expression cannot fail to fascinate the modern reader.
Following
the Freedom, the Nigerian Press has grown to the point that so many newspapers
and magazines have been created, and electronic media such as WNTV, WNRC and
NBC, among others, have changed to the Nigerian Television Authority {NTA} and
the Nigerian Federal Radio Company {FRCN} with various national stations as well
as other television and radio stations owned by State Governments. Although,
private individuals were not empowered and given licence to own electronic
media as it is for their publishing counterparts. The important thing regarding
Nigerian Press at this point of our political growth is that the press
continues to perform their roles, which appears to be a danger to the
egotistical interests of certain people in government who plan to monopolize
and dominate the public space as a result of which the instruments available in
government have become clever tools to achieving their goals.
MAJOR
DEVELOPMENTS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
A lot of development strides have occurred since the inception of the 21st
century. Some of these developments are in the economic sector with the
development of economic policies that drive trade and commercial activities. On
the other hand, there is a technological development that cut across different
sectors such as infrastructural, mechanical, automobile, telecommunication and
media (film and broadcast). The five major technological innovations of the 21st
century that has actually shaped our world and improved communication among
individuals, organizations and international communications and relations among
governments and multinational organizations include; Self-Driven Cars, 3-D Printing, Social
Media, Bluetooth and Fiber Optics. The film and broadcast industry are the
vehicles that drive these into the heart of society.
GLOBALIZATION
The mother of all developmental
strides is globalization. It is the bedrock upon which all forms of the
developmental initiative is thriving in the 21st century.
Alan B. Albaran (2009), described
globalization thus;
Globalization is a concept with many
different definitions (Micklethwait & Wooldridge, 2000); for media
companies and industries, the act of globalization happens when businesses move
across domestic boundaries to engage customers in other nations, thereby
widening their markets. Media globalization was initially limited to selling content
around the world, a trend that started with Hollywood movies and later
television programming. The United States is the world's largest exporter of
media content, posing many questions about America's hegemony abroad and the
notion of "cultural imperialism" (Jayakar & Waterman, 2000).
Albaran
went on to say that, Globalization also takes place as companies buy other
assets in other countries. News
Corporation was first an Australian newspaper business, purchasing newspapers
in the United Kingdom and the United States, and then buying a group of
television stations that would ultimately become the Fox TV Network. After first purchasing Colombia
Tri-Star and then MGM, Sony entered the film industry.
Globalization is fast
changing the world and is reducing it into a global village where governments
can relate and make economic, political, socio-cultural and trade policies that
affect citizens of different countries. The media through the film and
broadcast industry are major tools through which globalization is having a
reaching effect in our world.
Globalization also affected the
perspectives of international film production. Nolwenn Mingant and Cecilia
Tirtaine (2012), Global
Film and Television Industries Today: An Analysis of Industrial and Cultural
Relations wrote on the impact of globalization on film
production.
1.
Globalization has led
to increased communications between the various countries' film and television
industries, particularly within the English-speaking world. The international
business of the film and television industries, linked to globalization, has
had far-reaching implications from an industrial point of view, especially with
the creation of "runaway productions," as well as a cultural point of
view, with enhanced blurring of national frontiers and identities.
2.
The trend of
"runaway productions," that is to say movies that would be released
in the U.S. but whose filming took place outside of Hollywood or abroad (Peltzman),
while not recent, has become more common over the past two decades. Many
Runaways are economically driven. The developing countries–or host states
outside of California in the US–are producing a population that is
predominantly educated, healthier and less unionised. Local authorities and
national governments also provide very lucrative benefits that significantly
reduce the total cost of production. When there were no
studios, shooting facilities or post-production facilities in the host areas,
the As was the case at the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia (Goldsmith,
Ward, O'Regan) Hollywood majors regularly participated in their making. The
other runaways are "Peltzman" (creative runaway productions). With their "exoticism," their alienity, the production team
prefers unique international localities.
3.
The recent epidemic
of runaways has had significant implications. In Global Hollywood,
1st Miller et al. described the "universal division of cultural
labour," with a labor force of production spanning the globe. Then Goldsmith
and O'Regan underline the growing global rivalry between production centers in
different parts of the world in The Film Studio. This
paper draws attention to other implications. For example, Peltzman shows how competitive rivalry within the US is,
with many states attempting to defuse California as a major centre of
production. Therefore, rivalry doesn't necessarily affect all jobs. Not the
"above-the-liners" (actors, directors, etc.), but the
"below-the-liners" (extras and technicians) who work locally in
Hollywood are the hardest hit by the effects of the job versatility that the
runaway phenomenon entails.
4.
The
internationalization of the television and film industries also poses cultural
concerns. The internationalization of money, labor, and filming locations makes
it hard to establish a film's nationality. For example, Murillo's research
questions the nationality of The Scope of Control, a film shot on location in
Spain by an American director, with an international cast and produced by US
companies. The fact that in recent years Hollywood has created a growing array
of "French," "British," or "Australian" movies
has further complicated the issue of how to define a "nationality" of
a film. Movie remakes and adaptations of TV shows from one country to another,
including Till Death Us Do Part (1966) or The Office (2001), often include the
distortion of ethnic identity and ethnic origin. Defining a film and program's
nationality can be further complicated in certain cases by the cultural
identity it reflects. There might be a difference between the location of the
shoot and where it stands (such as Vancouver posing as New York, for example). The
distortion may be attributed to the characters in the film using many different
languages–and the native language of the characters is not necessarily the one
of the actors who impersonate them. For Hollywood blockbusters, the
multilingual film trend is gaining popularity, and Murillo reveals that
independent author Jim Jarmusch is pushing this to the limit.
5.
All relevant papers
also highlight the fact that ethnicity and cultural identity lies in the
beholder's eye. It is less something that exists per se than something that the
director has created and re-appropriated by the viewer. So Jarmusch did appear
to prefer a quasi-documentary strategy to the Spanish landscape, to isolate his
films from the Spaghetti Westerns filmed at the same locations in Andalusia. Both
Murillo and Ducray also emphasize in cultural terms the topic of audience
perceptions. To Spanish analysts, what US analysts interpret as Spanishness is
not the same. What US and British consumers view in a sitcom as funny
and/not "politically correct" is–in most cases –rather
different. Therefore cultural representation is strongly connected with
cultural perception.
6.
Thus, in a history of
internationalization and frequent intercultural interactions back and forth,
films and television shows are often watched and displayed on a very local
basis. A program is decoded according to the
cultural norms of which it is being played–hence the value of tailoring
programs for local audiences. The British example produced by Ducray parallels
recent cases of Hollywood film and TV producers adapting to Latin American
audiences the show The Nanny, Desperate Housewives or High School Musical. Reflecting
on cultural values and their portrayal is often an intellectual process, as
seen by the "un-American" label provided by U.S. critics to The Limits
of Control, or compliance with "political correctness" underlined in
The Office US. Similarly, when cultural and industrial problems are clearly
intertwined, local concerns are in the minds of policymakers, whether they are
called upon by American politicians to formulate protective legislation for
Californian employees or by Australian politicians collaborating with film
professionals to attract international film and television productions in their
area –the same applies to any host Nation or country, with lucrative deals
(subsidies, tax cuts, etc.).
7.
The paper also
highlights the globalisation of the film and television industry in
a groundbreaking way, presenting different views, by seeking to illustrate
the positive effects of Hollywood's participation in production abroad, rather
than just the negative, by deciding to challenge the effects on Hollywood
itself, not just on overseas locations, by preferring to concentrate on
independent films and not only on Hollywood blockbusters, and by reviewing a
British sitcom adapted to the US and not one of the American formats sold
abroad.
8.
Through questioning
reflection in their different approaches, the papers underline that the trend
is not unidirectional as opposed to what is conventionally assumed, in Hollywood
forcing its vision on foreign countries. Since the very beginning Ducray has
been challenging the validity of the principle of cultural hegemony in a
globalized age. Her paper stresses the importance of re-conceptualizing foreign
partnerships as cultural goods travel back and forth (but also production
teams). A deterministic force tends to be less than a continuous movement of
influences and counter-influences from a central location. On the industrial
level, the Gold Coast article by Goldsmith, Ward and O'Regan insists on the way
in which local interests take control of the development process and turn US
involvement to their advantage. At an industrial level, the Gold Coast report
by Goldsmith, Ward and O'Regan focuses on how local groups gain hold of the
development process and turn US participation to their advantage. Such positive
economic effects are the reasons why more and more countries (but also American
states) as pointed out by Peltzman are setting up lucrative deals and
opportunities to tempt US outputs. Hollywood is not the only driving force
behind the phenomenon of globalisation, and it is not the only benefitted from
it.
Besides film and
broadcast industries being major players in the 21s century development, they
have also been impacted upon by globalization.
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
Nyekwere Ogedi wrote “As
the world grows complex and sophisticated, new media technologies are invented.
The invention of new media technologies has always been a catalyst for change
in the broadcast industry. This change can be attributed to the introduction of
new media technologies in broadcasting occasioned by giant technological
advancement. The advancement in media technologies has cut the barrier of time
and space in our broadcast industry; it has also made communication easier and
more democratic and the creation and distribution of media content easier.”
This technological advancement in the media has always set for new vistas in
the communication industry. Nyekwere also observed Defluer and Dennis
(2001:221) when they said “Technology has always been a metaphor for change
in the media industry. As far back as Gutenberg, it was technology: the movable
type that spurred change. Later, fast printing presses, the telegraph, zinc
engraving, modern photography, radio, television, fibre optics, and other
technologies heralded new developments for media and their audience."
The entrance of new
media technologies and the complementary applications of these new technologies
with older once makes communication more convenient in society. It also makes
information processing, delivery, storage and retrieval easier and faster. The
new media technologies are a great facilitator in this era of globalization.
The emergence of new media technologies has according to Marshall McLuhan been
shrunk into a "global village". The concept of a global village
places communication at the very heart of society. Communication technology is
to the world what the central nervous system is to the human body. Development
of new communication technologies is shaping the way the world works and also
giving a new perspective to global issues like finding a cure pandemics, war,
natural disaster and climate change.
Not only did technological
advancement improve communication in our world, but it also changed the
production of the film. From the discovery of motion pictures during the second
industrial revolution, the film has not only become a big business, it has
become a major source of influence on how people view the world. Chris
Breitenbach observed and said that the entertainment industry “has
an enormous impact on how people perceive the world and how people behave, as
they provide information, elicit empathy, and shape everyday behaviour.” Chris
further asserts that since its inception, the “continual technological
innovation has improved the medium, all the while expanding its expressive
possibilities.”
New
film technologies in the areas of motion pictures, 3D video graphics, improved
sound effects, etc. have not only transformed society, but it also set
precedence for future developmental strides.
SOCIAL ASPECTS
OF FILM AND BROADCAST
Uchenna
Onuzulike (2008) in his analysis of the movie industry in Nigeria said,
“The
Nigerian film industry addresses social conscience and contributes t world
culture. It is my firm conviction that the film industry of any country should
promote the well-being of humanity, which is an issue that is increasingly
critical given the way in which movies play an ever-greater and more important
role in society. Films in Nigeria are produced on comparatively low budgets but
are extremely popular and a huge influence and impact on popular opinion and
culture there”
Uchenna
further pointed out that the films are shot in English and the 3 major
indigenous languages (Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba). This helps increase their
influence in society, and also export and promote their culture to other
African states within and outside the region. The film industry has not only
opened up an opportunity for filmmakers to express the cultural heritage of
their people, but to also showcase the cultural practice of other people's culture.
The
film industry in Nigerian has risen to be a strong element of Nigeria’s entertainment
and popular culture. It has established for itself the unique feature and
ability to not only meet the entertainment needs of the Nigerian society but it
also serves as an educator to a broad spectrum of the Nigerian society. Its
audience base stretches from the low-income earners in the rural and suburban
areas to the honourable members of the National Assembly which is the highest
decision making body of the country.
The
broadcast media industry also develop television and radio content to appeal to
their various audience scattered.
Nkrumah
(1964) in Albert-James Sarpey Tayman
(2014) stated that “every society is placed in nature. And it seeks to
influence nature, to impose such transformations upon nature as will develop
the environment of its society for its better fulfilment”. The broadcast media
through its programs engage and influence its audience to act and behave in a
certain way.
(O'Shaughnessy and Stadler 1999 in Tayman 2014 asserts that “the
media have become an important part of the daily routine of life for a lot of
people the world over. As a vehicle, it delivers into varieties of social
settings the news, information, entertainment, and distanced events; connecting
people from disparate communities into a virtual social community able to
witness, in real-time or through time-shifted programming, media content that
impacts social impressions, beliefs and knowledge systems about a plethora of
social and physical realities.” Television stations design content that
influences the minds of their audience on topical issues bordering around
culture and development. In this era of
technological advancement and globalisation, the media industry, especially
through televised content, is also increasingly being used to promote Western
concepts of modernity that governments in developing countries find unsuited
for their development goals but agree to in order to be accepted as progressive.
REGULATION
Government
regulations on the film and broadcast industries brought a lot of control to
the industry. The introduction of the Freedom of information Act (FOIA) in 2011
gave the broadcast industry more power to access information from government
agencies and parastatals. Although, the FOIA contains more exceptions which
stand as a hindrance to media practitioners having access to required
information. Duru and Ezeh (2018) said “Prior to the birth of the Act, Nigeria
had no law which guaranteed citizens access to public records and information.
Many Nigerian laws have secrecy clauses prohibiting the disclosure of
information, for instance, the Official Secret Act, the Criminal Code and the
Penal Code. Most public servants are made to swear to oaths of secrecy when
employed and the general consequence of these is an entrenched culture of
secrecy and arbitrariness in public institutions.”
Regulatory practices
differ from one country to the other; through regulation, governments require
businesses and industries to follow certain rules and regulations in order to
operate. Most businesses and industries want to operate without government
regulations. Any society that would operate like would end up in war and a
complete state of anarchy. But rules and regulations are important to
establishing and maintaining competition, to protect workers and consumers, and
to generate revenues through taxation in order for government and the society
to operate efficiently.
CONCLUSION
In this paper, we
talked about the development of film and broadcast industries by looking at the
history of film in Nigeria and also the history of broadcasting in Nigeria. We
went on to discuss the major developmental strides which aided communication
which is at the centre of development in the 21st century. The five
major external forces that influence media development in any society is;
globalization, government regulations, technology, economic policies and
socio-cultural life of a people.
Communication is a
major determiner to any developmental stride in any nation or society and this
paper established that communication is to development what central nervous
system is to the body.
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