MILITANCY AND WAR VIOLENCE IN SELECT FILMS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Militancy and war are two of the many aggressive models of insurrection adopted by a marginalised group of people against social institutions over perceived long-term structural violence against them. The implication of adopting these extremely violent approaches as a means of seeking redress is that physical violence which has a more direct and immediate negative effect on human lives becomes the ultimate means of attaining social justice. This study looks at the representation of militancy and war violence in
two selected films, namely; David Attwood’s Blood and Oil (2010) and Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close (2019) to compare how militancy and war violence influence social injustice and justice in the society. The study is qualitative research that hinged on the interpretation and analyses of the selected films on Content Analysis approach of qualitative research method. However, Johan Galtung’s Structural theory of violence is applied to interrogate the dynamics of violence in the films and how they impact society. Findings revealed that structural violence is a major factor that influences the use of militancy and war by exploited social groups to defend their lives and demand justice. Consequently, the study recommends the devolution of militancy and war as a means of seeking restitution because of the various negative effects on the human and social lives of the people. In conclusion, the study notes that film as a medium of representation can be used to deemphasise the use of war and militant approaches in society.