Nigerian film audience’s perception of homosexuality

Abstract

Homosexuality has been regarded as un-African and as an abomination. It is generally regarded as an element of Western culture that has been transported into Africa. The Nigerian constitution prohibits and criminalizes homosexuality in all its forms. However, homosexuality has been infused in films, including children’s cartoons. These homosexuality films which challenge societal mores and values have continued to be mainstreamed in the Nigeria media and cyberspace. This article seeks to determine whether these mainstreamed films have the potential to change the people’s perception and attitude towards homosexuality. Therefore, it seeks to first, determine the audiences’ perception of homosexuality in films; and, second, ascertain the extent these films could change opinions about homosexuality. To do this, two advocacy films – Hell or High Water (dir. Asurf Oluseyi Amuwa, 2017) and We Don’t Live Here Anymore (dir. Tope Oshin, 2018) – were randomly selected for investigation. Two hundred copies of the questionnaire were administered to respondents before and after their exposure to the two selected films to garner information about their perception of homosexuality. Findings showed that even though 100% of the respondents agree that film has a great potential to change preformed opinions about homosexuality, their exposure to the films under study did not alter their preformed opinions. These findings showed that respondents vehemently condemn and reject the act of homosexuality. The conclusion reached is that although Nigerians are open to Western culture, homosexuality remains an aberration and will for a long time be discriminated against. The article recommends that since homosexuality cannot be eradicated, energy should be expended towards curbing homophobic actions.