AMA: JOURNAL OF THEATRE AND CULTURAL STUDIES

RADICALISM AND VIOLENCE AS IMPERATIVES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HANGMEN ALSO DIE AS A METAPHOR FOR NIGERIA’S SITUATION

2024-02-16T07:47:58+01:00

The research explores the recurrent controversies surrounding radicalism and violence as imperatives for social change. Therefore, the problem of this study emanates from the preferred concept of social and revolutionary change: violent or peaceful processes to change. Since this concept is linked to leadership, the researcher critically examines the themes of leadership failure and the resultant radicalism and violence which stem from the lopsided relationship between the leaders and the led, the privileged and the less-privileged, as explored in Irobi’s Hangmen Also Die which is used as a paradigm to discuss radicalism and violence as inevitable reactions of the masses to insensitive leadership. The justification behind this research work is hinged on the fact that not much critical attention has been paid to the selected play from the standpoint of the failure of leadership giving rise to expressions of radical views by citizens who feel marginalized, oppressed and estranged by the system and the resultant violence in their determination to confront their oppressors and effect positive changes. Case study and content analysis approaches of the qualitative research method were adopted by the researcher for data collection and analysis. The primary source of data is Hangmen Also Die while the secondary sources are books, journals, magazines, and newspapers from the library and the internet. Marxist philosophy of a classless society provides the foothold for the thematic and ideological position of the playwright whose work has been used in this study since Marxism contends that the masses, otherwise referred to as the exploited class are inevitably locked in perpetual conflict with the bourgeoisie who own and control the means of production, thereby continuing the exploitation of the masses. Finally, the work recommends responsible leadership as a necessary antidote to radical agitations and violence by the masses. It also presents drama and theatre as tools for conscientization, reformation, transformation and national development.

MOTIFS AS SEMIOTIC COMMUNICATION IN CALABAR CARNIVAL COSTUME DESIGNS

2024-02-17T12:00:55+01:00

Carnival has become topical in contemporary tourism. It is an integral feature in the repertory of theatre and cultural tourism programmes in various parts of the world. However, carnival costume processions are often misunderstood by many critics, audience members, and culture administrators as mere displays of attire or sheer fashion parades. The objective of this research is to investigate the nature and application of motifs in carnivals using the Calabar Carnival as a paradigm. The study adopted the qualitative research method, using the Participant Observation approach to collect primary data. The data analysis was descriptive and interpretative and framed on the Theory of Semiotics. The study found that motifs are applied in the Calabar Carnival in various forms ranging from realistic to abstract concepts. Furthermore, the motifs are highly communicative and constitute a major medium for making key and strategic statements by the Bands and the carnival organizers. The study concludes that motifs need to be appreciated as indispensable elements of the carnival narrative. Hence, costume designers need to be supported with resources and policies to achieve the carnival target objectives, given the vast potential of carnival and tourism to the socioeconomic development of any nation.

STAGING POLITICS AS A MOTIF FOR CULTURAL ACTION: A DIRECTORIAL ARGUMENT FOR NWABUEZE’S THE DRAGON’S FUNERAL

2024-02-17T12:39:03+01:00

Playwrights world over and through the ages have responded to dominant socio-political, economic and religio-cultural issues in their environment with varying verses of revolutionary stunts. While dramatic literature is in search of its audience, some theatre directors have paved the way and have touched the sensibilities of their audience with spectacular performances that burlesqued with the people’s customary traditions and socio-cultural conflicts. Emeka Nwabueze is one such playwright who has consistently satirized the Nigerian socio-political climate as exemplified in A Parliament of Vultures When the Arrow Rebounds and The Dragon’s Funeral. This research advocates for the staging of topical issues to bring to the fore the lapses in governance and the need for cultural action. Methodical analysis of the stage Performance of The Dragon’s Funeral served as the research approach while the concept of Revolutionary Aesthetics explored the significant contributions of theatre to society. The researcher’s findings reveal that staging politics is a loud visual strategy that will effortlessly create socio-political awareness among the people of Nigeria, and especially, the rural dwellers.

BETWEEN DIDACTICISM AND PRAISE-SINGING: FOLKLORISTIC DIMENSIONS IN NELLY UCHENDU AND IKEM MAZELI’S ORAL PERFORMANCES

2024-02-17T12:55:43+01:00

There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria nay Africa is endowed with diverse cultural heritages. One of the evidences of this rich cultural heritage is her abundant oral tradition. Folklore which is identified as one of the significant genres of oral literature through which cultural and moral norms are instilled into the people appears endangered in contemporary times due to its oral form. Folklore is faced with the danger of extinction as modernization seems to distract the younger generation who are unduly influenced by Western ideology and lifestyle from adequate attention to those cultural materials. This poses a threat to the preservation, and transmission of oral literature in this jet age. Oral performers therefore act as important vehicles for the sustenance, development, transmission and spread of this unique form of cultural knowledge by adapting oral literature into their performances. The oral performer therefore utilizes his artistic prowess and poetic license during an adaptive process to make creative inputs that can help to fully explore, exploit and expose the aesthetics potentially present in the performances. Through this approach, folklore has retained its oral form. This study aims at evaluating the folkloristic dimensions in contemporary oral performances by analyzing the works of two Igbo oral performers; Nelly Uchendu and Ikem Mazeli. The creative inputs and unique performance aesthetics in their adaptation of oral literature are critically examined. Content analysis approach of the qualitative methodology was adopted for the study. The efficacy and aesthetics of the performances are tested on Ukala’s Folkism theory. Library and internet materials provided additional data needed for the study. Findings reveal that while didacticism which is a core distinguisher of the African folk tradition is
consciously retained in the performance aesthetics of the two performers, praise-singing is creatively woven into their performances to enrich the aesthetics, making them contemporaneous, relevant as well and commercially viable. The study recommends that the oral performance tradition should be sustained as a means of preserving and promoting the
unique cultural values of Africans

MILITANCY AND WAR VIOLENCE IN SELECT FILMS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

2024-02-17T13:05:07+01:00

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.

FILM AND MARITAL CRISES RESOLUTION: AN EVALUATION OF MARRIED BUT LIVING SINGLE

2024-02-17T13:37:24+01:00

Film as a veritable medium of sensitization and changer of the human psyche has not been fully aligned and used as a counselling intervention model to curb marital crises in the Nigerian space. Marital crises stem from incompatibility of couples, intolerance, early marriage, infidelity, lack of courtship before marriage, sexual dissatisfaction, impatience and external influence. Nigeria has recorded a large number of marital conflicts, broken homes and deaths of couples as a result of these factors. This study explores the potential of film as a viable instrument of conflict management in marriages, and how to fully adopt it to sensitize couples and those on the verge of getting married. The study also investigates the filmmakers’ use of movies in their peace advocacy regarding marriages analysing Femi Brainerd’s Married but Living Single (2012) as a case study that exposes some of the harrowing experiences and their causes in marriages. The researcher adopted the mixed method of research which employs various approaches such as interviews, content analysis, and primary and secondary data collection. Hence, the research found out that tolerance, patience, prayers, forgiveness and understanding are key vehicles that can drive marriages without havoc. Therefore, the paper recommends that there should be a culture of the annual cinemagoing season in all states, specifically for the viewing of films that their thematic preoccupations centre on marital-related issues. Also, filmmakers, marriage counsellors and related professionals should work together to enlighten the targeted couples and intending couples about the power of film in changing the human psyche and exposing the danger of marital conflicts and how it can educate them on most of these critical issues concerning marriage. This study is hinged on Media Dependency Theory.

NATURE-NURTURE DICHOTOMY IN A SELECTED NOLLYWOOD FILM

2024-02-17T13:46:49+01:00

The level of anti-social behavioural patterns in Nigeria has almost reached its crescendo. In our society today, there are cases of armed
robbery, kidnapping, political thuggery, and sexual immoralities amongst others. All these have eaten deep into every aspect of Nigerian society. Many filmmakers have portrayed these themes in their films as a way of reflecting the society, but just a few of them have portrayed the root causes of these antisocial behaviours, some only glorify these issues which have done more harm than good to the Nigerian society. However, this research work investigates the two major propelling and influential factors to the above worrisome behaviours, which are; nature (Biological) and nurture (Environmental) factors as emphatically portrayed in a few Nollywood films. Consequently, a Nollywood film. Nimbe (2019), was identified and selected purposively as a case study for critical evaluation of the research topic. The researchers adopt the content analysis approach of qualitative research methodology and also utilise Emile Zola’s theory of Naturalism as a theoretical framework to show how nature and nurture control human behaviour and how filmmakers can use their arts to educate, correct and reflect society. The researchers, through content evaluations of the filmic characters in the selected film, found out that trait development in humans is greatly influenced by nature or nurture elements as witnessed in the case study. For instance, the character of Nimbe metamorphoses from being a good person to being a bad one because of nurture elements such as peer association, social norms and bad parenting.

THE STRUCTURAL CONCEPT OF CONSTRUCTIVISM IN MODERN THEATRE: STUDY OF THE PHYSICIST BY FREDRICK DURRENMATT

2024-02-17T13:56:00+01:00

A constant phenomenon is change. Taking into consideration the adventurous nature of humans, man is in constant search for discoveries hence, the impossibility of comfortably settling for one rather, when it gets to stage one; he begins to imagine how stage two will look like or feel like. This can be likened to the advent of avant-gardism in the theatre. Avant-garde theatre deals primarily with the experimentation of new forms that break the tradition to achieve a better form. It is through these experimentations that the movement "Constructivism" emerged. Man in his nature is selfish and his selfishness cuts across many factors that affect man’s quest for survival without paying attention to the negative consequences his desire may cause. This research, therefore, set out to investigate the level of selfishness of man and the extent he is willing to go to achieve his aim or goal by analyzing the structural concept of constructivism and its contribution to the modern theatre. Content analysis approach under the qualitative research method will be adopted for the content evaluation of The Physicists (1961) by Fredrick Durrenmatt and other related literature. Social development theory is used for this research. This research has been able to discover that not all knowledge is positive as there is some knowledge that could be harmful as portrayed in the play The Physicists. This research recommends therefore, that man should take up the responsibility of keeping his environment safe and that man in his daily endeavors should avoid waiting for someone to do things for him but, should take full responsibility for his safety and that of his environment.

THE EGHUGHU FESTIVAL OF ADUHANHAN PEOPLE OF EDO STATE AS A PARADIGM IN PERFORMANCE STUDIES

2024-02-22T11:21:40+01:00

Modern advancements have had a diminishing influence on mosttraditional festivals and celebrations, thus engendering a paradigm
shift of attention from the sacred-religious aspects to their social entertaining components. It is within this purview that this paper
investigates Eghughu Festival of Aduhanhan people of Edo State and evaluates the performance components, concerning other
social activities, and the role and significance of this festival in performative studies. Employing the framework of Performance
Studies, the paper adopts a mixed-method approach and participatory observation of the festival, as the primary source of materials. The paper using Historical and Descriptive techniques however provides a historical overview of the Aduhanhan people and the Eghughu festival, as well as to describe the festival in process, respectively. The study, however, discovers that performative elements of space/setting, mimetics, dramatization, spectacles, plot, masking and, most importantly, traces of “restored behaviour” characterized the festival. Further evaluation reveals that the performative elements have gained prominence and attention because the sacred-religious components of the festival have been greatly affected by modern advancements (including Christianity). Consequent to this, the level of enjoyment or the ‘aesthetic communitas’ and the ‘unspoken authority’ given to the observer/audience to become active participants were salient features of Performance Studies inherent in the festival. The studytherefore concludes Eghughu Festival emerges as a paradigm that transcends its immediate cultural context, providing a rich tapestry for understanding the nuanced relationships between tradition, performance, and cultural identity in 21st-century Nigeria.

POLICY CHALLENGES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PERFORMING ARTS: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF NIGERIA’S CULTURAL POLICY AND THE COPYRIGHT LAW

2024-02-26T17:35:30+01:00

The need to critically evaluate policy challenges as they affect the development of the performing arts as encapsulated in the Nigeria
Cultural Policy and the Copyright Law gave impetus to this study. Policies are made by the government or its agencies to ease administration as well as clarify functions and avoid clashes between different agencies of government. However, some policies if not well articulated, may become clogs in the progress of the organization it is meant to assist. The study adopted the content analysis approach of the qualitative research methodology which involves critically analyzing the Nigeria Cultural Policy and Copyright Law to point out some challenges which may hinder the full implementation of the policy. It was discovered that though the cultural policy was drafted in good faith, it contains many superfluous, unnecessary and phoney directions aimed at passing responsibility to nobody. Again, the multifaceted nature of arts, demands that arts should be given detailed attention in the cultural policy, specifically with modalities for funding. Furthermore, the most debilitating challenge is the lack of willpower to fully interpret and implement the policy as spelt out in the document. On the other hand, piracy poses a very devastating challenge towards the welfare of performing artists and the implementation of the copyright law. In addition, lack of funds and a database of artistsare some of the challenges unearthed that may hinder the realization of the copyright law and cultural policy. The study recommends adequate funding, training and retraining of officials saddled with the implementation of the policies as well as adherence to modern trends of technology to fasttrack the development of performing arts.