Censorship and Compliance to Code of Ethics in Film Production: An Appraisal of Three Nigerian Home Video Films

Abstract

Despite the success and popularity of the Nigerian Home Video Films (Nollywood films), there has been accusations of non-compliance to the Code of Ethics and Production for Film Makers developed by National Film and Video Censor’s Board (NFVCB). The accusations are premised on the distortions and misrepresentation of our national values and culture, manifest in films containing immoral, licentious and objectionable contents. It is against this backdrop that this study examined three (3) purposively selected ‘popular’ Nigerian home Video films in English language (Glamour Girls, Omata Women, the Wedding Party), to determine the veracity or otherwise of non-compliance to the statutory regulatory provisions on film making in Nigeria; as well as other forces within the Nigerian video colony that determine what we see in the films. Anchored on Development Media theory, the study adopted the content analysis method based on direct observation of films, and found that two of the films (Glamour Girls and Omata Women) contravened the code while the Wedding Party complied with the code. The reasons for contravention of the Code were traced to socio-political and economic factors such as lack of political will on the part of the government, influence of foreign culture, economic situation of the country and poor regulatory standards among others. The recommendations included banning of films with immoral and objectionable content, sanctioning of marketers, producers cum actors of such films; as well as government periodic sponsorship of films etc.